Community radio

285 Pages·2007·4.07 MB·English

CR: A user’s guide to the
technology
A guide to the technology and technical
parameters of community radio in India
N. Ramakrishnan
CR: A user's guide to the technology (2007)
© UNESCO (2007)
ISBN 81-89218-12-3
This publication may be produced in any media appropriately
acknowledging UNESCO
Published by :
The United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
UNESCO House
B-5/29, Safdarjung Enclave
New Delhi - 110019, India
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
N.Ramakrishnan is a development communications professional, trainer
and author with more than a decade of experience in the development
sector. He is also a cinematographer, editor, director, and technology
enthusiast; and conducts workshops on community radio, developmental
filmmaking and low cost radio and video technology.
With extensive experience in developing community-derived and
community-oriented behaviour change materials, Ramakrishnan has worked
on a number of behaviour change communication tools, including the
National Award winning film Nirankush, on female infanticide in the Indian
state of Rajasthan; and the acclaimed Growing Up/Badhte Hum/Time of
Our Lives video module series on reproductive and sexual health for young
people.
Ramakrishnan works with Ideosync Media Combine, a communication for
development organization based in the NCR of Delhi, India,. He is currently
engaged on several community radio and radio for development initiatives,
including a cross border radio programme series on safe migration and
HIV for Nepali, Garhwali and Kumaoni migrants.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This manual is the outcome of a number of years of practical field work, and
the inputs of a vast number of communication and audio/video professionals
that its has been my pleasure and privilege to work with over the last several
years. Their advice, tips and generosity in sharing their own experiences and
learning has been central to the compilation of the information contained in
these pages.
This manual has also been through an extensive process of review on the
Solution Exchange and CR India e-discussion lists. Mr.Arvind Kumar, Director
(Broadcasting Policy & Legislation), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting,
Govt. of India, participated in this discussion by placing the use of this manual
in the current context. The members of both lists have been more than
generous with their time, and in sharing their vast experience and
understanding of community radio technology and audio equipment for the
betterment of this manual. Their combined knowledge is a wonderfully rich
resource which I have made extensive use of in this volume.
In particular – and without in any way reducing the value of the contributions
by the other members of both lists – I would like to extend my gratitude and
thanks to the following community members who volunteered their time
and energy :
Ashish Bhatnagar, Prasar Bharati (Akashvani and Doordarshan), New Delhi
Ramnath Bhatt, VOICES, Bangalore
Benjamin Grubb, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Douglas Bell, Education Development Center, Bangalore
Aaditeshwar Seth, University of Waterloo, Canada
Jayalakshmi Chittoor, Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies
(CSDMS), New Delhi
Michelle Chawla, Nomad India Network, Dahanu (Maharashtra)
Frederick Noronha, BytesForAll, Panaji (Goa)
My thanks also to Shri D.Singaravelu, Dy.Advisor (Wireless), WPC, Ministry
of Communication & Information Technology, for his key inputs on the
technical aspects of the guidelines governing CR policy in India; and to
Choy Arnaldo, who has provided several photographs in this manual
illustrating CR experiences from around the world.
(iv)
A special word of thanks to UNESCO, for understanding and responding to
the need for this manual; and specifically to Seema Nair at UNESCO, and
Sajan Venniyoor and Gitanjali Sah at Solution Exchange who jointly
constituted the editorial team for this manual. I thank them all for their
enthusiasm and hard work in rearranging, clipping and pruning this manual
into its final shape.
Last – but not least – my thanks and appreciation to my colleagues at Ideosync
Media Combine, who helped organize a vast number of resources into
something that I could use to write this manual; and to the members of
Hevalvaani and Mandaakini Ki Awaaz CR groups in Uttarakhand, who
provided valuable feedback on the kind of information that would make
this manual usable and accessible to its users.
NRK
New Delhi
November 2007
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword................................................................................................... ix
What they said ........................................................................................ x
Introduction: Who is this manual for, and how should it be used?............ xii
Section A: Community Radio: An overview
Chapter 1: So what is radio, and how does it work? ...............................3
Radio broadcasting: The Process – and some terms .................................3
Radio waves: A brief look at some important concepts ............................8
Linking the technology to the production ..............................................10
Chapter 2: Technology I: Setting up a studio space ...............................15
Section A: Siting the CR station ..............................................................15
Section B: Defining the spaces ...............................................................17
Section C: Important considerations while setting up the spaces ............20
Chapter 3: Technology II: Studio Equipment .........................................39
Section A: The Broadcast Studio ............................................................39
Section B: The Production Studio .......................................................... 49
Chapter4: Technology III: Field recording equipment ...........................61
Why do we need field recording equipment? ........................................61
What are the main considerations in selecting
field recording equipment? ....................................................................62
What should a field recording kit consist of? ..........................................63
Chapter 5: Technology IV: Transmission equipment .............................69
Chapter 6: Telecommunications & other ancillary equipment ..............77
Section A: Telecommunications & Telephony ........................................77
Section B: Other office equipment .........................................................86
Chapter 7: Planning for maintenance & management ........................... 91
Setting rules & regulations in the studio .................................................91
Planning for maintenance ......................................................................92
Maintaining the documentation & plans ................................................93
Maintaining inventories of equipment ...................................................94
Assessing (and investing in) maintenance skills ......................................95
Assessing maintenance costs ..................................................................95
Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMCs) .................................................96
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Chapter 8: Assessing training requirements .........................................101
Assessing training needs ......................................................................102
Training resources ...............................................................................104
Chapter 9: CR guidelines in India and their implications ....................105
Section B: Detailed notes on equipment & audio concepts ................. 121
(See table of contents at beginning of Section B)
Section C: Appendices ........................................................................231
Appendix 1: Suggested setups for CR stations ......................................232
Appendix 2: Audio & Radio equipment manufacturers (Global list) .....245
Appendix 3: Index of advisory organizations & individuals ..................254
Appendix 4: Audio & Radio equipment vendors in India ..................... 260
Appendix 5: Useful web-based resources ............................................265
Bibliography ....................................................................................... 269
Notes pages .........................................................................................270
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FOREWORD
The Government of India earlier this year announced its intention to establish
4000 community radio stations by 2008.
This has brought a flood of questions from prospective Community Radio
applicants/operators and in particular: what equipment do you need to set up
a community radio, and how much would it cost? While there are many solutions
that are available off the shelf, our main line of advice has been “Costs depend
on the context of the Community Radio Station you are trying to build”.
We also strive to bear in mind the Objectives of UNESCO’s programme
stressing promotion of community access and engagement, and the Action
Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society, (Tunis, 2005) which
emphasises values of inclusive and pluralist knowledge societies. It is more
to such inclusiveness and the level of participation of a community, together
with relevant programming rather than the technology, that we owe the
success of a community radio station.
Our further piece of advice therefore, is to “Begin small and grow inch-by-
inch with your community”.
This manual is designed to accompany you in the demystification of each
piece of equipment usually found in community radio stations; its role and
function within a wider social context; advantages and disadvantages of its
usage. For others who dare to be technically more adventurous detailed
notes on equipment are also provided.
As hands-on participatory community development specialists it is in your
interest to be aware of the different options open to you in sourcing,
maintenance and operation of the equipment that is most suited to your
individual needs. This manual is intended as a tool for such information and
we hope you will find it useful in applying this knowledge to your own local
environments.
It is through localisation not only of content, but also of technology that we
may assist in accelerating the community radio movement in India and making
the intentions of the Government a live reality.
Jocelyne Josiah
Advisor in Communication and Information for Asia
UNESCO New Delhi
(ix)
What they said...
Radio is the theatre of the
mind. Steve Allen
You can make good radio,
interesting radio, great radio even,
without an urgent question, a
burning issue at stake.
Ira Glass
Radio could be the most
wonderful public
communication system
imaginable, a gigantic
system of channels – could
be, that is, if it were
capable not only of
transmitting but of
receiving, of making
listeners hear but also
speak, not of isolating them
but of connecting them.
Bertolt Brecht (1930) -
quoted in Lewis and Booth
(1989)
(x)
This is a miraculous power. I see Shakti, the
miraculous power of God in it [radio].
Mahatma Gandhi
It’s a pleasure,
a gift, an honor,
to go in front of a
microphone and
communicate.
Larry King
You don’t work for
the radio station.
You work for the people
out there.
Wolfman Jack
(xi)
Television is radio without the
imagination.
Anonymous
TV gives everyone an image, but
!! radio gives birth to a million
images in a million brains.
Peggy Noonan