The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is hosting a symposium on the future of Community Radio in the UK, scheduled for Tuesday, 26th March 2024, at their London office in Parliament Street. The event aims to cover a range of topics pertinent to the community radio sector, with a structured agenda planned for the day.
The schedule that aims to cover various themes pertinent to community radio broadcasters and stakeholders. However, it’s important to note that details of this event have been sourced directly from DCMS, and not from the Community Media Association (CMA) or the UK Community Radio Network (UKCRN), who are reportedly involved in organising and promoting the event.
Critically, the development of the event’s agenda appears to have been conducted without extensive consultation with, or contributions from, a broad spectrum of civic society organisations who have an interest in the future role and public purpose of community media. This includes groups such as Better Media, the Media Reform Coalition, and the Voice of the Listener and Viewer. Also, there appears to be no involvement from any bodies representing local government, local health services, local policing, education or other VCSOs (voluntary and civic society organisations).
Addressing the pressing social concerns of a modern, socially democratic UK, requires a focused and strategic approach from community media. Mental wellbeing, loneliness and social isolation, educational attainment, skills development, English language comprehension, the climate crisis, critical thinking, the challenges of globalisation, misinformation, and social fragmentation, each represent a spectrum of issues that community media is uniquely positioned to tackle. The public purpose of community radio extends far beyond entertainment and information dissemination; it is a critical platform for engaging communities in dialogue, education, and action on issues that directly impact their lives and well-being. The absence of these considerations from the symposium indicates a significant oversight in aligning the agenda with the broader social objectives and challenges facing the UK today.
In addition, the absence of a wider open consultative process raises concerns about the representativeness and inclusivity of the discussions planned for the symposium. It suggests a missed opportunity to harness a more diverse range of perspectives and insights, particularly from groups that are prominent about the need for reform and greater support within the wider media sector. Have contributions from the Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity been sought, given the importance of community media for people from ethnic minority backgrounds? Has the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) been invited to contribute, given their work on news deserts, and their work to foster emerging cooperative funding models, as they are being trailed across the UK?
The agenda itself, while broad, does not fully reflect the priorities and concerns of the vast majority of public and civic sector stakeholders who may have an interest in better supporting the function and purpose of community media at an exclusively local level. As community radio continues to evolve, facing both opportunities and challenges in a rapidly changing social environment, the importance of including a wide array of voices in such dialogues cannot be overstated. This is particularly true when considering the potential impact of regulatory changes, funding models, technological advancements, and shifts in civic engagement strategies.
In light of this, there is a palpable need for future planning and discussion forums, related to community media, to adopt a more inclusive approach. As the lead organisation, DCMS should be actively seeking and incorporating inputs from a wider array of groups and individuals, including those outside the immediate circle of the Radio Centre, CMA, and the UKCRN. By going beyond this assortment of trade bodies, and talking with its own social departments, such as levelling up, education, health, safe communities, and so on, DCMS could be leading the way, ensuring that community radio remains vibrant, responsive, and sustainable in the long term. This wider public purpose approach would not only enhance the relevance of community radio as a platform for diverse voices, but it would also strengthen its capacity to contribute to social gain and community development in the UK.
The symposium begins at 9.30 am with an initial welcome, followed by an opening panel at 10 am. This panel includes Ivor Etienne of The Beat and Shemiza Rashid of Inspire FM, who will discuss the role of community radio in achieving social gain and engaging listeners. While the choice of speakers indicates a diverse perspective, the effectiveness of such discussions in sparking substantial change remains to be seen, particularly as the opportunity for wider discussion about the diverse experiences of different community media providers is limited to this one session.
Following this and later in the morning, representatives from Ofcom, Omnigov, and the Charity Commission will present their work with the community radio sector. This session is expected to offer insights into the regulatory and support structures available to community radio stations, though the depth and applicability of the information provided will be crucial for its relevance to attendees. Ofcom have just announced their consultation about proposals to water-down the key commitments requirements of AM and FM community radio stations, which is now an active factor that has to be considered in these discussions.
The early afternoon is reserved for discussions on funding, focusing on collaborative bids to the Community Radio Fund, sponsorship, and listener donation drives. Given the ongoing financial challenges faced by many community stations, the practicality of the suggestions and examples provided will be key to their usefulness to the sector. However, the tendency is to relate commercial media models as good examples of best practice, and have never really got to grips with the challenges of running a social organisation that develops partnerships and social-value models of support and revenue generation.
Mid-afternoon sessions are dedicated to reflecting on the future of community radio, featuring a pre-recorded interview with James Cridland and thoughts from Lee Price on the impact of AI, online listening trends, and potential collaborations with commercial radio, the BBC, and independent audio production. While these discussions promise to offer forward-looking insights, the concrete impact of such technologies and strategies on community radio’s traditional model needs to be critically assessed.
Typically, at these industry-led sessions, a top-down view is expressed from people who are operating in an entirely different market, with a wholly different attitude to participation, civic empowerment, and accountability to the communities that are served. Events where the leaders of the industry come and share their insights are largely a waste of time for most community radio station volunteers, many of whom don’t want to follow this model of corporate and highly formatted type of broadcasting. Community radio volunteers are typically motivated by the need to represent their communities, and to meet the needs of those communities in ways that the mainstream media doesn’t.
The event is set to conclude around 4 pm. It represents an opportunity for those involved in community radio to engage with various topics. However, the symposium’s success in addressing the practical needs and challenges of community radio stations, beyond theoretical discussions, will ultimately determine its value to the sector.
While the symposium on the future of Community Radio in the UK presents an opportunity to engage with a range of topics pertinent to the sector, it notably omits several critical areas that are essential for the comprehensive consideration of community radio’s evolving role within the UK. Among these overlooked subjects are diversity and inclusion, which are fundamental to ensuring that community radio serves as a truly inclusive platform reflecting the rich tapestry of UK society. Furthermore, community cohesion, an area where community radio has traditionally played a significant role, is conspicuously absent from the agenda, alongside discussions on skills and learning, health and wellbeing, and policing and criminal justice, which are increasingly relevant in today’s socio-economic context.
Additionally, adult education, economic policy, and the government’s levelling-up agenda, which could greatly benefit from the unique reach and influence of community radio, are not slated for discussion. This omission overlooks the potential of community radio to contribute to educational outreach and economic development, especially in underserved regions. The symposium also fails to address participation in civic democracy, art and creativity, and cultural democracy, missing an opportunity to explore community radio’s capacity to enrich public life and culture.
Most critically, the agenda does not explore the concepts of social gain and social value models of investment, which are pivotal to understanding and enhancing the impact of community radio in addressing social challenges and promoting public welfare. These models offer pathways for sustaining community radio stations while amplifying their contributions to societal wellbeing and development.
Additionally, the symposium’s agenda does not seem to account for the crucial aspects of evaluation and the verification of the social gain that community media generates. There is a conspicuous lack of focus on how community radio stations will be supported in building their capacity to self-evaluate their achievements and contributions to their communities. Moreover, the engagement with the academic community, which could provide valuable insights and methodologies for such evaluations, appears to be tenuous, weak, and subjectively approached. This gap underscores a missed opportunity to strengthen the evidence base for community radio’s social impact, which is vital for securing ongoing support and investment in the sector.
The failure to include these important themes and mechanisms for evaluation in the symposium’s agenda not only limits the depth of the discussions but also raises questions about the sector’s ability to navigate and adapt to future challenges effectively. Without addressing these areas, the potential for community radio to maximise its social value and contribute to a more inclusive, informed, and cohesive society may remain underexploited.
The exclusion of these topics from the symposium’s discussions suggests a need for a broader and more inclusive approach to exploring the future of community radio. It is imperative for future forums to encompass these essential areas, ensuring that community radio remains a vibrant, responsive, and integral part of the UK’s media landscape, capable of addressing the diverse needs and aspirations of its communities. Only through a comprehensive and inclusive dialogue that embraces the full spectrum of community radio’s potential roles and challenges can we ensure a sustainable and impactful future for this vital sector.