Community radio: It's back to basics

[icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu]

After all the noise and controversy over direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting
and conditional access system (CAS), it's back to basics--radio. Govern-ment
is busy studying the international models on radio operations, both
community and commercial. The one question to which bureaucrats are trying
to find answers is, how can India increase the number of stations in
commercial as well as community radio? While the second phase of FM
privatisation is expected to popularise commercial radio, expansion of
community radio is top of the mind job for the government now. At present,
series of government clearances, including an Intelli-gence Bureau
investigation, needed for setting up community radio stations is understood
to be the main hurdle. For community radio, the models being studied include
those in South-East Asia, UK and the US. The objective is to have hundreds
of community radio stations up and running as fast as possible, just like it
is in some other countries. Do a reality check, and all you have are 12
licences for community radio, even as 45 applications have been submitted.
Comm-unity radio was allowed in the country middle of last year.

Source:
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=30321