Funferal

Community radio roundup

Interesting to see that the Canadians impose talk quotas on community radio too. Of course theirs is “to develop 25 per cent talk radio over the next few years” as opposed to the 40% from the start that Flirt FM was supposed to achieve from the start in Ireland, back in 1995.
Elsewhere in Canada, a prospective community station is realizing the importance of maintaining interest and momentum, in that interminable period between going public with plans, and actually getting a license – and then the further gap before one can actually go on air.
In Kurdistan – or rather the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq – youth radio is being modelled on the Swedish community radio approach with one station already on air, and at least another underway.
Following up on the recently announced plans for community radio in India, various UN agencies (UNESCO, UNDP) are working with the Indian government to “organize a two-day National Consultation on Community Radio in New Delhi in the first trimester of 2007.” Meanwhile, the number of community stations continues to grow, particularly in certain areas:

Out of the total 20 community radios in the country, nine are in Tamil Nadu, Sreedhar said adding that the state was community radio capital of the nation.