Funferal

Community Radio in the 21st century

I’ll be giving a talk to the Radio Society in NUI, Galway tomorrow (Wednesday) evening. The topic is “Community radio: the position of the sector in the twenty-first century.” OK, it’s not the most catchy title ever, but it was the best I could come up with.

The content should be familiar to those who’ve been following my work – or just talking to me at random – in recent months. We’ll talk a little about the history of the radio industry and the emergence of community radio. Then we’ll look at some of the emerging technologies (webcasting, podcasting, DAB/DVB). Finally we’ll examine the issues raised by these technologies, and hopefully have a conversation about how community radio – and, since it’s a student society, college radio – can and should position itself as we move forward.

Hmm, perhaps a bit too much on emergence in the blurb there, but you get the idea. I’ll be pointing to issues around regulation (including ComReg’s fascinating current consultation on local/regional DVB) as well as copyright, etc., etc. Nothing too heavy (I’ll try to avoid citing academic authors , but it should be a fun discussion I think.

If you’re around Galway, do drop by – 8:00 in the IT building (for an 8:15 start). Since it’s the first week of college (and many college offices have been rendered under-staffed by a round of ‘flus and colds) we’ve had difficulty identifying the exact room in advance, but follow the posters and look for the huddle of students.

Oh, and on Thursday I’ll be addressing data retention, ANPR and similar issues in a talk to the Computer Society – details to follow.