Community radio in the West: a legacy of struggle for survival in a state and capitalist controlled media environment

In this article the legacy of struggle by community radio in the West is analysed from a comparative perspective. More specifically, the focus of this article is on Western media policies towards community radio. It is argued that while many community radio discourses, theories and policies are oriented towards developing countries and emerging democracies, community radio stations in the West are often forced to operate in the margins. Case studies on the US, the UK and Belgium are presented. Some influence of distinct regulatory paradigms can be observed, but overall in each of these countries community radio stations have a legacy of struggle for their existence and survival. This exposes the need to account for the distinct nature of community radio in (Western) regulatory regimes. A common thread in the cases being presented is the difficulty involved in (local) community radio legitimating its existence on the FM-band alongside commercial and public broadcasters. Unlike these, community radio movements have little lobbying power and are usually positioned as rogue and unprofessional actors within the broadcasting community. From a democratic perspective emphasizing the importance of participation and civic culture, Western media policies urgently need to create an enabling environment for participatory community radio initiatives

Immigrant and Ethnic Minorities and the EU's 'Democratic Deficit'

This article explores the links between the development of European Union immigration policy and the frequently analysed 'democratic deficit'. It shows that immigration policy at EU level emphasizes tighter control of the numbers of immigrants and asylum-seekers, rather than the development of measures to combat racism and xenophobia. This emphasis stems from the provisions of the Single European Act, as free movement of EU nationals was seen as necessitating firm control of external frontiers. The consequence of this policy, it is argued, is accentuation of both institutional and participatory aspects of the 'democratic deficit'. Copyright 1995 BPL.