community radio stations regulations
Can be comfortably ignored by everyone else. What sort of advertisements need to be cleared in advance by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre and which need only be cleared by station staff (all ads must be cleared by someone before broadcast). They can cater for whole communities or for different areas of interest - such as a particular ethnic group, age group or interest group. If OFCOM receives a complaint about anything you have broadcast, you will need to be able to submit a copy of your broadcast for their consideration and judgement. Key Principles 2. This document explains important provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. Community radio stations are operated, owned, and influenced by the communities they serve. What happened? Community programs deliver content that is diverse and relevant to the local community. Related Content. Any profit or surplus must be used for securing or improving the future provision of the radio service or for delivering social gain/ community benefits to the station's target community. Was the presenter disciplined? For example, during the trial of Dr Harold Shipman at Preston Crown Court, two presenters on the citys main commercial station, Rock FM, made comments suggesting that the accused was guilty as sin and should just admit to it. Fortunately for them, their management acted swiftly in correcting their comments on air and suspending the presenters from broadcasting. Should be read closely by the business manager and engineer respectively. 2 Scope This document sets out the minimum standards for the establishment and operation of FM Sound Radio Broadcasting in the VHF Band II in Ghana. Since independence in 1947, and based on regulations that date to the colonial British period, India -- a country of one-billion people popularly described as the "world's largest democracy" -- has not had licensed community radio stations. While station management and licence applicants need to be totally familiar with the law and OFCOM and ASA regulations, you probably wont want to inflict all of that on your volunteers. Whenever we have guests in we have to explain you cant say this or you cant say that. Views and matters of fact must not be misrepresented. News, in whatever form, must be broadcast with impartiality and accuracy. Forbids you from libelling any individual or organisation. The licensing process for commercial radio services on the AM and FM bands are initiated by the Authority. Box 806 Paonia, CO 81428 (970) 279-3411 Celebrating 100 Years of Commercial Radio November 2, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of what is widely recognized as the first commercial radio broadcast when Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, under the call sign KDKA, broadcast the live returns of the Harding-Cox presidential election. A song lyric which would pass unnoticed at 11pm might generate outrage and serious complaints at 11am, and OFCOM recognises this. Local commercial radio stations are unlikely to give you much joy, but BBC local radio can be quite helpful apparently its in the BBC charter to help small community stations. Marketing 10. The next four sections cover the permitted forms of unlicensed operation in the AM band (535 to 1705 kHz) and FM band (88 to 108 MHz), and explain the penalties which may be assessed against those forms of unlicensed operation which do not fall within the permitted forms of unlicensed operation. Community radio licensees may then apply to Ofcom to extend their licences for two further periods of up to five years each. Matters of political or industrial controversy must be covered with impartiality and encompass both (or all) sides of the dispute. (Communications Act or Act) that apply to public broadcasting stations receiving a Community Service Grant (CSG) from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). sexually-related products, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, firearms etc). Guidelines for community radio stations that wish to use volunteer time as part of station turnover. The code is now divided into ten sections: It is essential that you download and devour all 89 pages of the code, however unappealing that prospect might be. The ASA code applies to every advertisement carried on any radio station and is overseen by a committee called the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). The community can be either based on geography or interests, as defined by the group Were apologies broadcast? The best way to find out which frequencies are available is to contact ICASA. Specific restrictions on how various products, such as financial services, can be advertised. community radio stations with a non-RPH broadcast licence. This 1-hour broadcast focuses on the rise of community radio in India. It provides diversity for listeners and skills for the commercial radio sector. Amrap. One of the privately licensed stations is the Voice of the Church Radio, seen as a respecter of the political status quo. What happens after I submit my application? You are legally obliged to have a mixed economy for your station the key rule is: A minimum of 25% of annual operational income must come from sources otherthan on-air commercial funding and the value of volunteer inputs. Broadcast information or convey techniques that would be. But it is no reason for complacency.A statement is considered defamatory if it unfairly damages reputation b Information for the TV, radio and on-demand industry, sign up for our broadcasting email updates, Decision Afro Caribbean Millennium Centre, Speech given by Dame Melanie Dawes to the Enders Analysis/Deloitte Media and Telecoms 2021 & Beyond conference. A small number of community stations where they overlap with small commercial services whose studios are not co-located with other stations are restricted to a maximum of 15,000 from advertising and sponsorship. The stress is on developmental programming, though there is no explicit ban on entertainment. The Engineering Code (see it in all its glory here) ensures that your radio station adheres to the technical obligations surrounding radio transmission equipment. Successful groups are required to start broadcasting within two years of the licence award. Contempt of court on the other hand is easily forgotten about, even by experienced broadcasters. Each presents a unique challenge that radio together can respond to, and discuss our collective needs with the countrys media policy leader. How they can or cannot refer to rival products. Everything broadcast at your station must adhere to three sets of rules: With so many inexperienced broadcasters, any community radio station theoretically sits on a precipice of legal action. This number must be published in the local telephone directory or be available from directory 5 See 73.1125 Drum the following motto into your presenters heads: A final fact may serve to strike the fear of court into the most radical amateur shock jock the person committing the libel can be sued in the same sitting as the radio station. Prometheus Radio Project teamed up with WGXC 90.7-FM, a project of free103point9, to hold our 12th community radio barnraising and our first full power barnraising! If anyone says anything which defames an individual or organisation, the presenter and the station could both be sued for libel. (However, if they refuse or are unable to participate, the item may nevertheless go ahead.). The licence will last for up to five years at a time. This document sets out guidelines covering volunteer inputs used by the community radio sector. Mostly dull and TV-orientated but the radio gems are in there and will make you wonder why the radio station ever did what they did and sometimes how on earth they got away with it. Everyone else can happily ignore it but obey the guy when he starts quoting it. Except in exceptional circumstances, where a person is invited to make a contribution to a programme they should give . If they decide the rules have been broken they have the power to issue a fine or in serious cases take away the licence. Instead you should take the key components and make them into an easily understood set of broadcasting rules. Northeast England, Cumbria and North Yorkshire, West and South Yorkshire, Humberside and north west of England, East of England (with Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes), Greater London and other areas within the M25, Medium wave (AM) band, for locations anywhere throughout the UK, excluding London and areas within the M25. Most obviously this refers to court reporting what journalists say about the days events at a trial. License Free, Legal Low Power AM and FM Radio Station for school campus broadcasting, hobby broadcasting, neighborhood radio stations and specialty business applications under FCC Part 15 regulations Developmental stations are not, however, subject to other requirements regarding programming or In practice this means: Once again, the safest route is to expressly forbid your presenters from talking politics during election campaigns, except in well planned, carefully organised campaign special programmes. Community Radio by region. There guide to this is here. The document is even more detailed and complex than the OFCOM Programming Code, and anyone involved in making or broadcasting advertisements on a community radio station should read the entire document closely. How did you react to any complaint received to the station? That will should give you a buffer zone that allows you to rebuke or discipline a volunteer presenter before their behaviour generates a complaint to OFCOM. Community radio stations typically cover a small geographical area with a coverage radius of up to 5km and run on a not-for-profit basis. But it is no reason for complacency. Where there are particular restrictions on advertising practice (e.g. The community radio station is owned, managed, and accountable to a community. Developmental stations are subject to certain fundamental requirements set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the Regulations) and the policies for campus or community radio. It happens whenever someone passes judgement on a current court case or broadcasts information which may prejudice jurors for example revealing the defendants previous convictions. No company or organisation can hold more than one community radio licence. Act and Regulations. It means that any profits generated by the community radio station cannot be given to shareholders, for example, or used to benefit the people running the service. The published parts will include the name(s), address(es) and daytime telephone number(s) of individuals nominated to handle any press or public enquires on behalf of the applicant. By shifting to a cloud-based tool, radio stations get access to archival and backup that is compliant with BCCSA and ICASA regulations. Significant mistakes in news items must be corrected on air at the earliest appropriate opportunity. However, this requirement does not prevent stations from paying staff. How do you reserve and AM or FM frequency? Read more. Amrap. You may not take sponsorship from anyone who is not permitted to advertise with the exception of gaming and betting companies (and those may not sponsor programmes aimed at under 18s.). 43 community radio stations across South Africa face closure. The growth of community radio in Africa, from the mid 1990s onwards, and more recently in Asia, has brought a much greater focus on and awareness of the Nowadays community radio is experiencing a remarkable growth. Community broadcasting stations shall (a) empower the community through sharing of knowledge and information relevant to that community; (b) present programmes which promote law and order; (c) provide suf cient coverage of community, regional and national news and events in languages spoken within Highlights of the proposed regulations are: Community radio 80% local (eg Bush Radio*, Zibonele, CCFM etc) Commercial radio 35% local (eg KFM, Heart, Smile, Highveld, YFM) SABC Commercial 35% local (Metro FM, 5FM + Good Hope FM) The induction, volunteer agreement and training should all stress that a single careless slip of the tongue could result in the closure of the station. One final hint for this chapter. Raglan Community Radio is a voluntary organisation relying on its members to maintain certain standards of behaviour and performance to reach the public through its radio broadcasts. So much so in fact that the hot-bed of ideas and camaraderie required an outlet, and so Rendlesham Community Radio was born. Line Management 6. 15.2 - Exemption of Radio Apparatus on Board a Ship or Vessel 15.3 - Exemption of Radio Apparatus Operated in the Amateur Radio Service 16 - PART II - Broadcasting Undertakings In phone-in shows, care must be taken to ensure that all views are represented fairly (although not necessarily to identical mathematical balance, minute by minute). There are currently 34 commercial radio services on-air throughout the country, national, regional and local providing a mix of news/speech-driven, music-driven and local content-driven services.. Obtaining permission to air their work, and ensuring all podcasts meet broadcast regulations, are issues to be considered, though. If the number of applications received for any region is high, consideration of all applications is likely to take a number of months. 1. Many of the legal obligations upon a radio station (such as adhering to the law and keeping a record of transmission) are specified elsewhere and are no longer repeated within the code. Types of licences. In some respects the rules are quite specific, in others they are frustratingly vague. To protect yourself from OFCOM complaints, you should really set the standards of behaviour higher than the regulations demand. Good News Community Radio I thought if it had been British and about OFCOM maybe not, but that this was all about multinational corporations owning radio stations and so I thought it was quite appropriate and acceptable for a community station. This means creating direct links with its listeners, offering training opportunities and making sure that members of the community can take part in how the station is run. Obliges you to be impartial at election times.