Community Radio Edges Closer Despite Opposition
The creation of community radio stations looks increasingly likely as legislation has been laid before Parliament, despite fevered opposition from many commercial broadcasters claiming the new stations will cannibalise their listenership and advertising revenue.
The legislation, dubbed the Community Radio Order, must now be agreed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords before media super-regulator Ofcom can begin to advertise community radio licences. The proposal of community radio legislation follows a public consultation earlier this year in which several broadcasters voiced concern over the implications of the scheme.
Under the proposals for community radio, operators would be able to bid for a licence from Ofcom and apply for funding from a fund of approximately half a million pounds to set up and run their own radio station. It is intended that minority groups will take up the offer and launch low scale operations to serve their local community.
Ofcom claims that community radio stations will complement existing local radio broadcasters, giving local communities the opportunity to train and gain experience as broadcasters while learning other skills.
Announcing the Order being put before parliament, culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, said: “Community radio is an exciting new tier of not-for-profit radio broadcasting for the UK, which will complement the existing independent local radio stations. It offers a whole range of potential benefits including training, volunteering, regeneration, and social inclusion.”
She added: “As Professor Anthony Everitt said in his evaluation of community radio, ‘New Voices’, community radio ‘promises to be the most important new cultural development in the United Kingdom for many years.'”
However, when Ofcom announced its proposals for community radio in February it was met with criticism and scorn from commercial radio companies and industry bodies alike. At the time Lisa Kerr, external affairs manager for the Commercial Radio Companies Association, said: “Our small stations are very concerned, it could have a significant negative impact on the most critical small commercial stations and potentially distort local advertising” (see Ofcom Out Of Tune Over Community Radio Proposals).
DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.dcms.gov.uk Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk
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