Community Media

The CMCS has developed strong expertise in alternative, activist and community media. In October 2005 it hosted the major international conference Re:activism, and from early 2007 it has established a research focus on community broadcasting. It also cooperates with the Open Society Archives and international partners in the project Alternative Culture.

A recent study by the World Association of Community Radio (AMARC) found that the number one impediment to the development of community radio sectors around the globe is the lack of an enabling environment, i.e. the lack of supportive government policies and licensing schemes. Led by community media specialist Kate Coyer, Director of the CMCS, the Center engages in research projects that analyze policies and regulations that affect community media. In particular, Kate Coyer is researching community broadcasting policies in Eastern and Central Europe in a comparative perspective, with the purpose of assessing the status of such policies, investigating the role played by civil society in their development, and identifying 'best practices' for an enabling regulatory environment. CMCS research in this field also more broadly aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of civil society and social movements. 

The CMCS organized a workshop on community broadcasting in Europe in May, 2007. A follow-up workshop was held May 2008 related to the impact of digital convergenceon community broadcasters, funded by a grant from the European Science Foundation. In 2010, Kate Coyer and CMCS Research Fellow Joost van Beek authored a chapter on community radio in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a book by the Mediacentar Sarajevo and the Center for Social Research Analitika, Communication and Community: Citizens, Media and Local Governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina.