• Nearly 80% of all adults in the Republic of Ireland agree that news and current affairs is sometimes biased towards the views of its owners
• 3 in 4 adults worry that individual people or businesses have too much ownership of the media.
• 84% feel that community radio would add to the diversity of content available to them as listeners
• Only 39% of those surveyed were aware that communities can set up their own community radio station.

News – Current Story in Full.

I’ve been listening to some of the station’s documentaries recently – now that the Documentary on One is consistently available online – and reminded of some of the great colour pieces regularly produced, such as a touching portrait of the situation on Arranmore in light of changes in fishing regulations. This content doesn’t attract the attention – or audience – of the big name stars, but is at the center of the public service remit of the station.

In more sombre news, the station is launching a redundancy plan, with plans to lay off at least 70 staff. That’s not an incredible surprise, in light of a recent opinion piece by DG Noel Curran in which he blamed a projected budget shortfall of €17m for this year (after remedial action to cut it from a possible €34m) on a range of factors, including (State) budget decisions, unexpected expenses associated with the two major recent State visits (by Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama), and a number of other unspecified items. The redundancy will actually increase the shortfall in the near term, by an estimated €10m, but result in savings of €5m a year thereafter. The original €34m projected overrun for this year was split between €20m in annual costs (the Budget issues and “other recent cost impositions on the public side”) and €14m in once-off expenses, so after the €17 in savings made this year (if those are sustainable on an ongoing basis, rather than once-off efforts such as maintenance deferral), the station’s finances should be stable in the medium term – provided there are no other State visits, funerals, or other unexpected events! In other words, the numbers add up, but the station’s still looking rather vulnerable to outside pressures.

If we look beyond the short-term budgetary pressures, though, what might we ask of a world class public service broadcaster, as it looks to the future. I’ve got three items on my list:

1. The broadcaster recently announced it would make its TV news available for free to members of the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI). This is part of a strategy to defuse pressure from the major newspaper groups, who claim that RTÉ is (and should not be) subsidizing its online operations from license fee (public service fund) revenue. A clever move (though it will be seen whether these commercial operations are able to both take the free service and continue to push for restrictions on RTÉ’s operations). Inspired by Simon McGarr’s attempt to be covered under the offer I would suggest that much RTÉ content should be made available for use, in non-commercial contexts, by outside users – and that in particular content produced with public funds should be made available to non-profit and non-commercial users on at least as favorable terms as they are made available to commercial users, such as the members of the NNI.
2. RTÉ should build new platforms and tools to provide improved services to the diaspora, drawing on the potential of digital (and internet) distribution technologies, including the ‘new’ emigrants of the post-Tiger age.
3. There’s a lot of attention paid to the ‘top 10′ presenters, focusing in part on their high pay (sometimes in contrast to their perceived, or actual, workload, though sometimes noting the tendency to find a talented person and place them in every possible part of the TV and radio schedule, in part on the varied quality of their output (with subjective readings of this element lending itself to a multitude of criticisms and critiques). There’s a more significant, and long-standing, issue – one that dates from the days of Sit Down and Be Counted – and which takes on a new significance and shape given the participatory potential of digital tools. RTÉ should take it upon itself to investigate how to facilitate a more multi-vocal, inclusive, and decentralized rendering of our national conversations. Public service broadcasting not just from D4, but threading more directions through and around our country. Documentaries such as that from Arranmore show what can be – and is – done, but there’s potential for far more ambitious undertakings here.

The BAI, of course, replaced the BCI (formerly the IRTC) and BCC in 2009.

I was reminded of this today when I saw this tidbit from Inside Radio (the story itself is behind a pay-wall):

AG: Talk show not contribution.

Maryland Attorney General’s office says it doesn’t consider a radio talk show a campaign contribution. WBAL, Baltimore talk host and former Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich has said he plans to remain on the air until he announces his bid in July to reclaim the governor’s office. Several Democratic groups protested his radio show, saying WBAL was giving Ehrlich an unfair advantage.

Radio stations are, during an election campaign, subject to the Equal Time rule, which requires (with certain exceptions) that stations provide time to all candidates under the same terms and conditions. The rule is codified in 47 USC 315. That rule, though, only covers ‘legally qualified candidates’ so there’s a loophole as:

Ehrlich has declared his intentions to run for governor and has started campaigning but has not yet officially filed his candidacy.

(In an added absurdity, Ehrlich actually has a campaign spokesperson, who is issuing statements about the issue that are clearly part of a campaign for office: “We were confident all along we were right in our position. And we hope now that everyone can focus on the issues that are important to Marylanders which are lower taxes and creating new jobs.”)

Those stations which hold non-commercial licenses (WBAL holds a commercial broadcast license) from the FCC are also banned, by FCC regulation, from selling airtime or airing ‘calls to action’, which largely prevents the airing of campaign ads. Further, many non-commercial stations are organized as 501 (c) 3 organizations, and so subject to IRS regulations that restrict political activities.

With this story, despite the advice from the office of the (Democratic) Attorney General that the show should not be considered a political donation to Ehrlich, we are reminded that state electoral financing rules might also affect what can, or cannot, be aired, and that the situation might differ state by state.

Incidentally, WBAL is covering the story heavily online and over the air today – together with another where Ehrlich’s non-candidacy status is actually hampering him somewhat, as supporters are being cited for zoning violations, for large (32-square foot) signs that don’t fall under the exception for election candidates. You can’t always have it both ways….

Of that total, 14,355 are radio stations, breaking down as 4,789 AMs, 6,460 FM commercial and 3,106 FM non-commercial. Another 858 LPFMs are counted separately.”

At first – indeed, second – glance, the premise of the campaign seems flawed. Surely the energy and imagination of the many individuals who had tried to get Branson’s attention – the long distance swimmer was only the last of a long line – could better be spent in raising small sums from a larger number of individuals, than on this long shot. And digging deeper, it seems that those at the station recognize this point:

But our decision to ask a billionaire for financial support shouldn’t be the concern. What’s really concerning is this: a station commanding a listenership of nearly a quarter of a million can’t rely on the community to put their money where their preset is.

The story at the station is not so much a parable as a series of parables. The station spent AUS$0.5m on its legal struggle to get on air. The recession has hit their normal fundraising hard – youth employment has been particularly hard hit. The station now faces a AUS$1m hole in its finances. The station has been, in any event, getting limited direct financial support from listeners: “FBi has 219,000 people tuning in every week. 2% of these are financial supporters.” There’s a billionaire, with his own private island, based inside the station’s coverage area.

Still, seeking large donations of this nature is a rather long bet, and speaks to the need for more sustainable models of support. Community radio can be – and is, in many communities – an important tool for community building, something that’s perhaps particularly important in economically troubled times such as these. But because of the indirect, and not always obvious, linkages between community radio and such development, it’s difficult to solicit support – from government or individuals, let alone corporate donors – at times such as these, when budgets are stretched and there’s an increased demand for public support, and a need for quick-acting economic boosts.

This is why it’s important for community stations to develop mixed-funding models, including support from government agencies, tariffs on commercial broadcasting revenues, and direct listener donations. Some stations may also be able to develop side-businesses, such as sound recording and professional services (space rental, training). Each of these will be hit when the economy takes a turn for the worse, but diversification of revenue sources will minimize the risk to the operation as a whole.

In the meantime, best of luck to FBi in their fundraising campaign!