COMMUNITY RADIO:
- Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting
- This is radio owned and operated by a community or members of a community.
- It can be supported by the State, individuals or corporates or even international bodies.
- The central purpose for this radio is to offer the people a voice and help develop the community.
- A radio station is recognized as ‘community radio’ when the station is owned by a non-profit group or by a co-operative whose members are the listeners themselves. The purpose - therefore the name – is to build community life.
WHO CAN USE IT?
- Under the new (2006) community radio policy, any not-for-profit 'legal entity' - except individuals, political parties and their affiliates, criminal and banned organizations - can apply for a CR license.
- Only organizations that are registered for a minimum of three years old and with a 'proven' track record of local community service can apply.
LICENSING:
Community Radio can be operated only after obtaining license from the Government of India.
The license entitles them to operate a 100 watt (ERP) radio station, with a coverage area of approximately 12 kilometers radius. A maximum antenna height of 30 meters is allowed.
THE HARDWARE:
A radio station has basically three components:
- Studio for live broadcasts or recording programme for later broadcasts.
- Transmitter, to convert the speech into a high frequency signal for transmission.
- Tower with antenna.
(An antenna mounted on a high pole or a tower is used to send signal in a
large area. In the case of FM broadcasts, allowed for Community Radio Station (CRS), the signal
travels in the line-of-sight. As such, a higher antenna has the advantage of higher coverage)