Dear Naimur, to answer your question (from the UK stations) about average number of volunteers, you can find on page 20 of the Ofcom CR report (link: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commun_radio/cr_annualrpt/ or http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commun_radio/cr_annualrpt/cr_annualrpt.pdf for the reprort)
The Executive summary says > 1.11 On average each community radio station has 74 volunteers who > give a combined total of around 214 hours volunteer time a week per > station (just under 3 hours for each volunteer a week). Speech forms > around 33% of daytime output, and each station broadcasts around 81 > hours of original output a week, most of this output is live and the > vast majority is locally produced. Probably your question was about the average no. volunteers in India, but thought this might be of help :) Best Wishes, Salvo Naimur Rahman wrote: > > Sajan, > > We do excel in finding another shoulder to carry our cross! We must > remember that almost half of these 124 years, we are a free > independent nation – but did not find time to reform an archaic > colonial legislation. And we still are not ready to give real ‘voice’ > to community. I have failed to understand why most of the ‘functional’ > CR stations still struggle for content – and we the civil society > interlocutor spend precious time discussing (arguing?) who should > source/vet content for CR stations. Would be interesting to know the > average no. of volunteers in a CR stations, and how stiff is the > difference with our British counterpart. > > Naimur > > ---- > > Naimur Rahman > > Director, OneWorld South Asia & > > GKP Regional Coordinator for South Asia > > _New Delhi__ - 110016 INDIA_ > > Tel: 91 11 41689009 > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > *On Behalf Of *sajan venniyoor > *Sent:* 10 March 2009 19:22 > *To:* CR India > *Subject:* [cr-india] Community radio - a rare success story,Media > Guardian (9 March 2009) > > The United Kingdom got its CR policy (the Community Radio Order 2004) > two years /after /India got its first CR policy in 2002. They now have > 130 CR stations, with 50 waiting to launch. This, in a country smaller > than Andhra Pradesh, smaller than Maharashtra, smaller than Madhya > Pradesh, smaller than Rajasthan; on an island where there's scarcely a > frequency left on their crowded FM dial. > > Seven years and two CR policies later, we have 41 CR stations, with > 170 waiting without much hope for something to happen. > > Maybe India isn't ready for 'Gaydio' (!) or Christian hip-hop yet, but > our CR stations should also note that their British counterparts > deliver on average 81 hours of "original and distinctive output" every > week, have 74 volunteers per station and are generally meeting their > costs. > > And to think it's the same perfidious Albion which gave us the Indian > Telegraph Act 1885 and sc**wed us over for 124 years... > > Sajan > > -------- > > [From creative-radio: thanks to Salvatore Scifo for the link] > > COMMUNITY RADIO - A Rare Success Story > > John Plunkett, Guardian.co.uk <http://Guardian.co.uk> (blog), 9 Mar 2009 > > Community radio was today hailed as a triumph by the media regulator, > Ofcom, but is the new breed of volunteer-run stations filling the void > in local programming that commercial radio has left? > > There are now more than 130 community radio stations across the UK, > with another 50 preparing to launch. Although, given current economic > conditions, it remains to be seen how many of those will actually take > to the air. > > But with commercial radio in the doldrums, any radio success story > outside the BBC is to be celebrated. > > The not-for-profit stations are required by Ofcom to deliver "social > gain to one or more communities" in their local area, with stations > catering for urban music fans (New Style in Birmingham), experimental > music aficionados (London's Resonance FM), the armed forces (Garrison > FM in Edinburgh) and religious communities (Cross Rhythms in Stoke on > Trent). > > Ofcom says the community stations are "generally meeting their costs", > with the average station costing £101,000 to run, with average station > income also at £101,000. Well, they are supposed to be not for profit. > > But it is worth noting, as Ofcom does, that the figures for the median > station are somewhat lower, with operating costs of £64,500 and income > of £65,500, suggesting that a small number of stations earn - and cost > - significantly more than the majority. > > Community radio relies on a huge band of volunteers - an average of 74 > a station, according to Ofcom - delivering a total of more than > 100,000 volunteer hours a month. In return, some of them get training > and qualifications that they would not receive elsewhere in the sector. > > But how much can community radio provide the "local factor" that will > inevitably go missing from the big commercial radio stations as they > turn their back on locally produced content and heritage station names > in favour of syndicated programming and national brands? > > Announcing Ofcom's first annual report of community radio today, Peter > Davies, Ofcom's director of radio policy, said community radio was a > "real success story". > > "It delivers rich and varied content to listeners and provides > additional benefits through community involvement and training. > > "In just over three years, 130 stations have sprung up across the > length and breadth of the UK ... We are delighted that interest from > those wishing to run such stations for their own communities remains > high." > > Each community radio station provides 81 hours of "original and > distinctive output", according to Ofcom, with most of it locally produced. > > To protect the revenue of existing commercial stations, community > broadcasters are barred from raising more than 50% of their income > from on-air advertising and sponsorship - it currently stands at 18% - > with the majority of their backing coming from public sources such as > local authorities. > > Less than 15% of the UK population - around 6.5 million adults - are > able to receive a community radio station aimed broadly at them, says > Ofcom. The shortage of FM frequency availability hasn't helped this, > although the process of "digital migration" - you probably shouldn't > hold your breath - may one day free up extra spectrum. > > My earliest experience of community radio was more than a decade ago, > when I covered the launch of the Rochester-based Medway FM in north > Kent. One of the joys was hearing about local news and events, which > were never covered by BBC Radio Kent, even though it was based just > down the road. > > But it didn't have the newsgathering resources of the local newspaper > - I admit it, I was working for it - and the amateurish presentation > quickly moved on from endearing to irritating. > > Still, Medway FM has moved on since then - its office is now a wine > bar and the newsroom a ladies' loo - and so has community radio, with > the current band first licensed in 2004. > > Do you work in community radio? Do you listen to it? Is it in danger > of being left behind by digital radio - or are the current stresses > and strains of the commercial sector community radio's biggest > opportunity yet? > > Source: > http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/mar/09/community-radio-ofcom-plunkett-blog > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > cr-india mailing list > [email protected] > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india _______________________________________________ cr-india mailing list [email protected] https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india
