Who cares about community radio?


Dylan Perry, program manager at CHLY 101.7 FM,  
RACHEL STERN/The News Bulletin

By Rachel Stern
Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: March 01, 2010

In a saturated multi-media world plagued by mainstream convergence and corporate monopolies, a grassroots movement gives people the power and the voice.

Community radio tunes into community issues, amplifies the conversation, and offers people the opportunity to share their voice on the issues.

“Community radio offers people the opportunity to be the media,” said Dylan Perry, program manager at CHLY 101.7 FM, run by the Malaspina Radio Society. “Don’t complain about the media – be the media.”

Those who tune in or speak out on the airways tend to be people who are directly affected by the issues covered, said Kevin Midbo, co-host of People First Radio.

It’s people who are involved in the events, interested in political issues or seeking alternative opinions.

Midbo said community radio gets a mix of listeners and people who want to exchange ideas. Unlike traditional sources of media, community radio often spends more time on the issues and becomes a forum of discussion.

“It’s a way of amplifying the discussion from a community level,” he said.

Ken Zakreski, president of the Gabriola Radio Society, said community radio is created by producers, but also by the consumers, because broadcasters tend to be the consumers of the medium. It is geared toward a niche market – the community it broadcasts within, he said.

Community radio faces its own set of challenges.

Unlike commercial stations, community radio is mandated by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to provide an extensive range of spoken-word content. Stations are required to offer programming in French and other languages and must also have First Nations content.

“Community radio has a huge requirement for spoken-word content and as a result has more local content,” said Zakreski.

Providing the extensive programming is challenging, especially because community radio stations often work with a small budget, said Perry.

CHLY operates on $60,000 a year. About 40 per cent comes from a $1 fee paid for by students at Vancouver Island University, 40 per cent is from community donations and the remaining 20 per cent comes from advertising.

Like other media sources community radio is changing with technological advances.

While CHLY began streaming online for two years before it broadcast over its tower, it has now moved into the realm of podcasting. Perry said the Internet is making it a challenge to maintain listeners and it is important to keep up with the new technologies or risk losing the younger generation.

It’s also a challenge for people trained in traditional radio broadcasting to learn the new technologies, said Zakreski.

The Gabriola Radio Society currently podcasts content online, and is working toward gaining an FM signal.

Zakreski said it is hard for community radio station, which typically rely on volunteers, to train people to use newer technologies.

The Gabriola Radio Society is currently awaiting the CRTC ruling for its application to broadcast on the last FM station, 98.7 FM channel.

The society was at odds last year against Rogers Broadcasting because Rogers wanted to build a repeater on Salt Spring Island to boost the signal or it’s station 98.5 The Ocean. Rogers said giving the Gabriola Radio Station the FM channel would interfere with it’s signal.

Last year Rogers extended an olive branch in the feud promising to offer technical assistance to help identify a solution to launch a community radio station for the island. That could include applying for a low-power FM station or a new AM station and Rogers will take responsibility for preparing a technical brief if required by Industry Canada.

Previously, Rogers opposed Gabriola’s application for 98.7 FM, stating it would interfere with its current channel. However, Zakreski said the society still wants to have the original 98.7 FM station for which it applied.

For more information about CHLY 101.7 FM, please go to http://chly.ca, or for more information about the Gabriola Radio Society, please go to http://www.ckgi.ca.

reporter3@nanaimobulletin.com

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Zakreski should take the AM signal. It will suit their spoken word content and allow them the coverage to serve the community. Also a partnership with Rogers could include an internship program that would allow their volunteers to train with the industry pros.