This article outlines the early history of the Australian community radio sector. It focuses on t... more This article outlines the early history of the Australian community radio sector. It focuses on three of the country's oldest stations-Radio Adelaide, 4ZZZ and 3CR-to document the establishment and growth of the sector over the past fifty years. Two theoretical lenses are identified from the literature on Australian community broadcasting, loosely categorized as citizens' media and empowerment media, and these are evident in the narratives of the case study stations. A third framework-social movement theory-is proposed for further understanding the value of community broadcasting and its contributions to the wider media landscape.
Community broadcasting is largely made up of ‘traditional’ and ‘legacy’ media platforms that have... more Community broadcasting is largely made up of ‘traditional’ and ‘legacy’ media platforms that have not substantially changed in Australia since their emergence in the 1970s. That is, they remain predominantly broadcast services via AM and FM frequencies. However, there has been a massive growth in digital media and communication technologies—much of which has been successfully integrated into community radio content delivery and promotion, to complement traditional modes of broadcasting. The Australian community broadcasting sector, dominated by radio, has often led the way in experimenting with innovative, digital technology that delivers time-shifted content to a mobile audience, although this has received little scholarly attention. The increasing reach, and cost, of digital-based content delivery does pose significant disruption to community broadcasting—both positive and negative.
This PhD research asks the question: to what extent, and in what ways, does community radio contr... more This PhD research asks the question: to what extent, and in what ways, does community radio contribute to communication for social change? Community radio remains a unique communication platform under digital capitalism, arguably capable of expanding the project of media democratisation. Yet there is a lack of in-depth analysis of community radio experience, and a dearth of understanding of its functionality as an actively transformative tool for greater equity in society. This project combines the theoretical positions of critical Political Economy of Communication and a citizen's media perspective in order to interrogate community radio's democratic and regenerative potential. Significant not-for-profit community radio sectors exist in Australia and Timor-Leste, and using a case study approach two stations are examined-3CR in Melbourne and RCL in Lospalos-applying multiple research methods. The project reveals community radio's amplification of media participation, communication rights, counter-hegemony, media power, communicative democracy and a regenerative voice. iii Declaration This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma to any university. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made within the thesis itself. Short excerpts from Chapters 2 and 3 in this thesis also appear in Fox, J.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
Increasingly digital media is the central conduit through which reality is constructed. With the ... more Increasingly digital media is the central conduit through which reality is constructed. With the proliferation of digital devices and platforms one could be mistaken in thinking that everyone’s reality is now reflected across the plethora of digital networks. However, for many, especially those marginalised by social, political and economic factors, life presented across the multitude of media platforms does not represent their reality and indeed sits in stark contrast to their everyday experiences. This chapter presents community radio as a dedicated space for the diverse realities, and unheard voices, of those living at the margins. Through the case study examples we see the application of community radio for reality construction, resistance to hegemony, symbolic fracturing, alternative viewpoints and dissenting voices.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
A central and historic aim of community radio is active engagement in the ownership, management a... more A central and historic aim of community radio is active engagement in the ownership, management and content production of the station. Participation in a community radio setting is facilitated, collective and collaborative and this chapter argues that community radio facilitates a type of ‘critical participation’ that is deeply enabling of a more equitable allocation of communicative power. In this chapter participation is also closely associated with a sense of place, the building of community, the emergence of solidarity and the accessibility of radio technology. The chapter presents data from participant interviews, listener questionnaires and content mapping to better understand participation within the context of the case study locations.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
Community radio seeks to effect change, transform people and systems and increase and deepen demo... more Community radio seeks to effect change, transform people and systems and increase and deepen democracy through communication. How can we understand of the experience of transformation, the personal impact of radio agency, and the broader action of listeners and participants within political social change? This chapter draws on the qualitative data of forty semi-structured interviews with practitioners, and seventy listener questionnaire respondents, to explore the role of transformation in a community radio setting. Through the wide lens of communication for social change (CfSC), we see a cycle of diversity, cooperation and conflict within the community radio form. The chapter highlights how community radio can host unique incarnations of communicative agency, political listening, social movement development and sustained technological relevance.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
This chapter considers the societal impacts of neoliberalism at the intersection of democracy, ci... more This chapter considers the societal impacts of neoliberalism at the intersection of democracy, citizenship and communication. How can we seek to understand the role of communicative democracy and the application of participatory media? There is a need for a deeper analysis of the impacts of community media production and its outcomes. Here, Clemencia Rodriguez’s ‘citizens’ media’ (Fissures in the mediascape: An international study of citizens’ media. Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ, 2001) perspective is introduced to the reader, presenting a lens through which to see the type of media power and everyday communicative agency present within the space of community radio. The analysis is then further situated within the field of communication for social change, focusing on the everyday experience and the localised ‘micro’ practice of media making.
Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social... more Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social and political processes against criteria based on capital production and economic efficiency. How valuable is this within media ecologies that seek to prioritise democratic contributions or counter-hegemonic practice? Community radio globally was established to promote participation and increase democratic communication. This study adopts a citizens’ media approach within a critical political economy of communication epistemology to investigate social change impacts related to symbolic fracturing, reality construction, and democratic dialogue within community radio practice. Based on a case study of 3CR Community Radio in Melbourne, Australia, this study identifies social discourse rupture, recoding, and critical participation as key themes that emerge through qualitative interviews with station founders, current practitioners, and listeners. While numerous studies have documented the Australian community radio sector’s contribution to media participation and diversity, this paper considers the counter-hegemonic outcomes of a station that seeks to resist and subvert social injustices and to deepen the democratisation of the media. Results reveal that listeners and practitioners engage in counter-hegemonic media practice through the community radio form.
This article asks the question: is digital logic compatible with the democratic aims of community... more This article asks the question: is digital logic compatible with the democratic aims of community broadcasting? The focus is on the Australian community broadcasting sector, and the purpose is to step back from the minutiae of creating and distributing community radio content to consider the logics, commodifying processes, and commercial consequences of digital disruption. To address this concern, I will first consider how digital platforms interplay with the logic of the market, facilitating an ever-expanding monetisation of communication. Secondly, I will reflect on the means of production and the shifting digital sands that increasingly place once publicly held communication modes and methods under corporate influence or control. Thirdly, I will look at the impact of the digital on the producer and the listener. The article presents a theoretical interrogation of how community radio is impacted by the growing spread of a digital logic under neoliberalism. The article extends Rodríguez, Ferron and Shamas's (2014) alternative media research agenda by emphasising the need to account for historical context, anchor analysis in a political economy of communication framework, and acknowledge complexity within all communication processes. Finally, it calls on future research to critically engage with concerns around media democratisation and digital logics within the wider space of communication for social change.
Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social... more Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social and political processes against criteria based on capital production and economic efficiency. How valuable is this within media ecologies that seek to prioritise democratic contributions or counter-hegemonic practice? Community radio globally was established to promote participation and increase democratic communication. This study adopts a citizens’ media approach within a critical political economy of communication epistemology to investigate social change impacts related to symbolic fracturing, reality construction, and democratic dialogue within community radio practice. Based on a case study of 3CR Community Radio in Melbourne, Australia, this study identifies social discourse rupture, recoding, and critical participation as key themes that emerge through qualitative interviews with station founders, current practitioners, and listeners. While numerous studies have documented the Australian community radio sector’s contribution to media participation and diversity, this paper considers the counter-hegemonic outcomes of a station that seeks to resist and subvert social injustices and to deepen the democratisation of the media. Results reveal that listeners and practitioners engage in counter-hegemonic media practice through the community radio form.
This article outlines the early history of the Australian community radio sector. It focuses on t... more This article outlines the early history of the Australian community radio sector. It focuses on three of the country's oldest stations-Radio Adelaide, 4ZZZ and 3CR-to document the establishment and growth of the sector over the past fifty years. Two theoretical lenses are identified from the literature on Australian community broadcasting, loosely categorized as citizens' media and empowerment media, and these are evident in the narratives of the case study stations. A third framework-social movement theory-is proposed for further understanding the value of community broadcasting and its contributions to the wider media landscape.
Community broadcasting is largely made up of ‘traditional’ and ‘legacy’ media platforms that have... more Community broadcasting is largely made up of ‘traditional’ and ‘legacy’ media platforms that have not substantially changed in Australia since their emergence in the 1970s. That is, they remain predominantly broadcast services via AM and FM frequencies. However, there has been a massive growth in digital media and communication technologies—much of which has been successfully integrated into community radio content delivery and promotion, to complement traditional modes of broadcasting. The Australian community broadcasting sector, dominated by radio, has often led the way in experimenting with innovative, digital technology that delivers time-shifted content to a mobile audience, although this has received little scholarly attention. The increasing reach, and cost, of digital-based content delivery does pose significant disruption to community broadcasting—both positive and negative.
This PhD research asks the question: to what extent, and in what ways, does community radio contr... more This PhD research asks the question: to what extent, and in what ways, does community radio contribute to communication for social change? Community radio remains a unique communication platform under digital capitalism, arguably capable of expanding the project of media democratisation. Yet there is a lack of in-depth analysis of community radio experience, and a dearth of understanding of its functionality as an actively transformative tool for greater equity in society. This project combines the theoretical positions of critical Political Economy of Communication and a citizen's media perspective in order to interrogate community radio's democratic and regenerative potential. Significant not-for-profit community radio sectors exist in Australia and Timor-Leste, and using a case study approach two stations are examined-3CR in Melbourne and RCL in Lospalos-applying multiple research methods. The project reveals community radio's amplification of media participation, communication rights, counter-hegemony, media power, communicative democracy and a regenerative voice. iii Declaration This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma to any university. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made within the thesis itself. Short excerpts from Chapters 2 and 3 in this thesis also appear in Fox, J.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
Increasingly digital media is the central conduit through which reality is constructed. With the ... more Increasingly digital media is the central conduit through which reality is constructed. With the proliferation of digital devices and platforms one could be mistaken in thinking that everyone’s reality is now reflected across the plethora of digital networks. However, for many, especially those marginalised by social, political and economic factors, life presented across the multitude of media platforms does not represent their reality and indeed sits in stark contrast to their everyday experiences. This chapter presents community radio as a dedicated space for the diverse realities, and unheard voices, of those living at the margins. Through the case study examples we see the application of community radio for reality construction, resistance to hegemony, symbolic fracturing, alternative viewpoints and dissenting voices.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
A central and historic aim of community radio is active engagement in the ownership, management a... more A central and historic aim of community radio is active engagement in the ownership, management and content production of the station. Participation in a community radio setting is facilitated, collective and collaborative and this chapter argues that community radio facilitates a type of ‘critical participation’ that is deeply enabling of a more equitable allocation of communicative power. In this chapter participation is also closely associated with a sense of place, the building of community, the emergence of solidarity and the accessibility of radio technology. The chapter presents data from participant interviews, listener questionnaires and content mapping to better understand participation within the context of the case study locations.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
Community radio seeks to effect change, transform people and systems and increase and deepen demo... more Community radio seeks to effect change, transform people and systems and increase and deepen democracy through communication. How can we understand of the experience of transformation, the personal impact of radio agency, and the broader action of listeners and participants within political social change? This chapter draws on the qualitative data of forty semi-structured interviews with practitioners, and seventy listener questionnaire respondents, to explore the role of transformation in a community radio setting. Through the wide lens of communication for social change (CfSC), we see a cycle of diversity, cooperation and conflict within the community radio form. The chapter highlights how community radio can host unique incarnations of communicative agency, political listening, social movement development and sustained technological relevance.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
This chapter considers the societal impacts of neoliberalism at the intersection of democracy, ci... more This chapter considers the societal impacts of neoliberalism at the intersection of democracy, citizenship and communication. How can we seek to understand the role of communicative democracy and the application of participatory media? There is a need for a deeper analysis of the impacts of community media production and its outcomes. Here, Clemencia Rodriguez’s ‘citizens’ media’ (Fissures in the mediascape: An international study of citizens’ media. Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ, 2001) perspective is introduced to the reader, presenting a lens through which to see the type of media power and everyday communicative agency present within the space of community radio. The analysis is then further situated within the field of communication for social change, focusing on the everyday experience and the localised ‘micro’ practice of media making.
Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social... more Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social and political processes against criteria based on capital production and economic efficiency. How valuable is this within media ecologies that seek to prioritise democratic contributions or counter-hegemonic practice? Community radio globally was established to promote participation and increase democratic communication. This study adopts a citizens’ media approach within a critical political economy of communication epistemology to investigate social change impacts related to symbolic fracturing, reality construction, and democratic dialogue within community radio practice. Based on a case study of 3CR Community Radio in Melbourne, Australia, this study identifies social discourse rupture, recoding, and critical participation as key themes that emerge through qualitative interviews with station founders, current practitioners, and listeners. While numerous studies have documented the Australian community radio sector’s contribution to media participation and diversity, this paper considers the counter-hegemonic outcomes of a station that seeks to resist and subvert social injustices and to deepen the democratisation of the media. Results reveal that listeners and practitioners engage in counter-hegemonic media practice through the community radio form.
This article asks the question: is digital logic compatible with the democratic aims of community... more This article asks the question: is digital logic compatible with the democratic aims of community broadcasting? The focus is on the Australian community broadcasting sector, and the purpose is to step back from the minutiae of creating and distributing community radio content to consider the logics, commodifying processes, and commercial consequences of digital disruption. To address this concern, I will first consider how digital platforms interplay with the logic of the market, facilitating an ever-expanding monetisation of communication. Secondly, I will reflect on the means of production and the shifting digital sands that increasingly place once publicly held communication modes and methods under corporate influence or control. Thirdly, I will look at the impact of the digital on the producer and the listener. The article presents a theoretical interrogation of how community radio is impacted by the growing spread of a digital logic under neoliberalism. The article extends Rodríguez, Ferron and Shamas's (2014) alternative media research agenda by emphasising the need to account for historical context, anchor analysis in a political economy of communication framework, and acknowledge complexity within all communication processes. Finally, it calls on future research to critically engage with concerns around media democratisation and digital logics within the wider space of communication for social change.
Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social... more Government and the private sector persistently prioritise the need to assess the impact of social and political processes against criteria based on capital production and economic efficiency. How valuable is this within media ecologies that seek to prioritise democratic contributions or counter-hegemonic practice? Community radio globally was established to promote participation and increase democratic communication. This study adopts a citizens’ media approach within a critical political economy of communication epistemology to investigate social change impacts related to symbolic fracturing, reality construction, and democratic dialogue within community radio practice. Based on a case study of 3CR Community Radio in Melbourne, Australia, this study identifies social discourse rupture, recoding, and critical participation as key themes that emerge through qualitative interviews with station founders, current practitioners, and listeners. While numerous studies have documented the Australian community radio sector’s contribution to media participation and diversity, this paper considers the counter-hegemonic outcomes of a station that seeks to resist and subvert social injustices and to deepen the democratisation of the media. Results reveal that listeners and practitioners engage in counter-hegemonic media practice through the community radio form.
Community Radio's Amplification of Communication for Social Change, 2019
This book explores how community radio contributes to social change. Community radio remains a un... more This book explores how community radio contributes to social change. Community radio remains a unique communication platform under digital capitalism, arguably capable of expanding the project of media democratisation. Yet there is a lack of in-depth analysis of community radio experience, and a dearth of understanding of its functionality as an actively transformative tool for greater equity in society. This project combines the theoretical positions of the political economy of communication with a citizen’s media perspective in order to interrogate community radio’s democratic potential. By presenting case studies of two radio stations in Melbourne and Lospalos, and applying multiple research methods, the book reveals community radio’s amplification of media participation, communication rights, counter-hegemony and media power — in effect, its distinct regenerative voice.
The topic “Politics, Civil Society and Participation” is dedicated to the fundamental question: H... more The topic “Politics, Civil Society and Participation” is dedicated to the fundamental question: How do media and communications practices within European cultures change with their environment? This volume consists of the intellectual work of the 2015 European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School, organized in cooperation with the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) and a consortium of 21 European partner universities at the ZeMKI, the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research of the University of Bremen, Germany. The chapters cover relevant research topics, structured into four sections: “Policies and politics of communication”, “Civil participation in and through the media”, “Media representations and usages” and “On methods”.
'Radical Radio: Celebrating 40 Years' of 3CR tells the story of 3CR’s contribution to Australian ... more 'Radical Radio: Celebrating 40 Years' of 3CR tells the story of 3CR’s contribution to Australian cultural and political life. When 3CR Community Radio hit Melbourne’s airwaves in 1976 it was Australia’s first community-owned and community-run grassroots radio station. Outspoken and independent, the station still gives voice to issues that would otherwise go unheard, and to people striving for political and social justice.
A collective and collaborative writing project, 'Radical Radio' celebrates these ongoing achievements, and highlights the diversity and dynamism of the programs and people that over 40 years have won 3CR its place in our hearts and on our radio dials.
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Papers by Juliet Fox
A collective and collaborative writing project, 'Radical Radio' celebrates these ongoing achievements, and highlights the diversity and dynamism of the programs and people that over 40 years have won 3CR its place in our hearts and on our radio dials.