[CMA] tales of beauty, pain and glory?

[Cathy Aitchison]

Dear Phil and list
That's great to hear that you're publishing a manual on Community Radio.

My story/comment:
One of the most imporant things about community radio is that it gives
everyone the chance to make their voice heard.  Some of the people who use
it to the greatest effect are using it only sparingly - not permanently, or
as an activity in its own right, but as a powerful tool for democracy and
change.
People such as:
- children who do an annual radio project at school and put the questions to
their local council that the adults never thought to ask
- teenagers who attend a holiday training project, where they
learn skills which give them self respect and help them make something of
their lives
- young single mothers who learn radio at their local support centre,
and who then grow in confidence as they discover how to ask questions and
get people in authority to listen to their views
- citizens from communities undergoing change who use interviews and
documentaries to get a serious hearing for grassroots opinions.

Some of these people may get 'bitten by the bug' of radio, but many of them
use radio where they need it, when they need it, to help further their cause
or change their situation.

Long live short-term, short-burst community radio!  I do hope there's a
chapter in the manual to celebrate its empowering value, both via the RSL
(restricted service licence) and, increasingly, across the internet.

Cathy Aitchison
http://www.twiza.demon.co.uk/amd

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Korbel" <phil at radioregen.org>
To: <cma-l at commedia.org.uk>
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 1:41 PM
Subject: [CMA] tales of beauty, pain and glory?


> Dear friends
>
> You'll be glad to know that our DCMS-commissioned manual - The
> Community Radio Toolkit - is coming together nicely and we're
> confident of having copies for you at the CommunityFM2 event in
> October.  Ex Big Issue writer Ally Fogg is at the helm and is
> probably shackled to his keyboard as I write - trying to distil the
> information that you need from the experience of three years on air
> with two full time stations...
>
> But we thought you'd like the chance to get involved...
>
> Perhaps you could answer this question from the draft of chapter 1...
>
> "Before another word is said, we should warn you: Community radio
> will get into your blood. It may well stay there like an exotic
> parasitic disease, an itch to be constantly scratched. It may sap
> every last drop of your energy, wake you up in the middle of the
> night, drag you out of bed and turn your hair grey.  So why on earth
> should anyone do it?"
>
> So what's your best community radio story - one that sums up this mad
> beast for you, one that reveals the blood sweat and tears it takes to
> make the thing real, or one that simply champions your finest hour...
> Feel free to share it with the list or email me directly.  Any we
> use in the book will earn its author a discounted copy (I'd tell you
> how much but we haven't set a price yet).  Other may be used on the
> book's website.
>
> Ally will also be in Sheffield for the CMA Festival so he might catch
> you there...
>
> best wishes
>
> Phil Korbel
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