Alleviation: An International Journal of Nutrition, Gender & Social Development, ISSN 2348-9340 Volume 4, Number 4 (2017), 1-9
© Arya PG College, Panipat & Business Press India Publication, Delhi
www.aryapgcollege.com

Community Radio and Societal Development

Rameshwari Pandya1* , Pooja Mistry2, Vrunal Wasulkar3& Niharika Dave4
1Professor,2Research Scholar, 3Teaching Assistant & 4Teaching Assistant
Department of Extension and Communication, Faculty of Family and Community Sciences,
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara , Gujarat, India
*Email: amurt40@hotmail.com

Abstract

Community Radio is a unique and effective tool to empower communities. The growth of rural radio stations reflects both the improvements in information technologies and the shifting of development paradigm towards a more participatory style of information and knowledge transfer. Community radio is identified as an avenue for participatory communication and as a tool relevant in both economic and social development. Community radio is a type of radio service that offers a model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial and public service. Community radio broadcasting serves geographic communities and communities’ interest. The content of broadcasting is largely popular and relevant to a local/specific audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters. Community radio stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve. Community radio is not-for profit and provides a mechanism for facilitating individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators and contributors of media. In many parts of the world today, community radio acts as a vehicle for the community and voluntary sector, civil society, agencies, NGOs and citizens to work in partnership to promote community development. Among many reasons, one of the foremost reasons is the communication gap between government devised policies and common masses as people largely remain ignorant regarding them. Among various existing genres of local community media, community radio will prove most effective as it can easily cover a wider range of areas as well as diversified audience. Besides, experiments with community radio in many parts of India have proved it to be the cheapest and the strongest medium for fulfilling communication gap between the community and the government. It has proved to be a vital tool in strengthening the ‘Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression’. As the community radio is still evolving, it might be possible that in the near future, we will witness its various new forms which will be more superior as well as user friendly. Well whatever the case may be, community radio has proved to be one of the best medium of communication at the grass-root level. In order to bridge this gap, a firm communication policy will prove crucial. According to this policy, local community media should be promoted in order to enhance community development, at least at grass root level

Keywords: Community, Development, Media, Radio.