Notes from the Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Community Media Association held in London, UK on 2 November 2002, written by Grant Goddard in November 2002.

1. REVIEW: COMMUNITY MEDIA
ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE &
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: 2
NOVEMBER 2002
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
November 2002

2. COMMUNITY MEDIA ASSOCIATION
Conference & AGM – 2 November 2002
The conference was held at London Voluntary Resource Centre, 356 Holloway
Road, London from 10.30am to 5pm.
The delegate list numbered 82 people (17 of whom were CMA staff). Having
not attended a CMA/CRA meeting for more than a decade, I had anticipated a
larger turnout and a wider range of community radio groups to be in
attendance. There was a definite lack of excitement at the event and a startling
amount of antipathy between those community radio groups who were taking
part in the Access Radio experiment and those other groups whose
applications had been unsuccessful.
1.
OPENING SESSION
1.1
Mary Dawson, CMA Chair, listed the highlights of the past year within
the organisation and the major achievements.
1.1.1 Commedia Millennium Awards. These awards are in their third and final
year and are used to fund people’s creative production for the first time.
245 people have been funded over the three years the awards have
run, covering a wide range and diversity of projects. Unfortunately, no
further funding has been found to continue these awards.
1.1.2 Policy & Advocacy. The CMA responded to an enormous amount of
public consultations in the following forums [fora?]: Digital TV
Stakeholders’ Group, Access Radio Advisory Group, and the All-Party
Community Media Parliamentary Group. An Early Day Motion
advocating the development of community media has been signed by
113 MPs. The CMA gave oral evidence to the DCMS Select Committee.
1.1.3 New technology. The CMA has launched an online Community Media
Archive and the process of digitising community media from different
projects has begun. The CMA has launched an Internet Media Service
offering free web-streaming to its member groups. The CMA has
supported learning & development activities within its member
organisations.
1.1.4 Regional developments. There have been major regional development
achievements, particularly in London and Yorkshire. The CMA has
taken on more staff and secured funding for its organisation. It has also
supported the Sheffield Community Media Centre initiative.
1.2
Steve Buckley, CMA Director, said that “in the next twelve months, we
will be on the verge of a breakthrough.” He said that in the past year, the
driving force had been the political and regulatory environment. But during the
next year, much of the legislation will have been completed. The hope is that
there will be significant opportunities for community media development. The
main points of the last year were:
Review: Community Media Association Conference & Annual General Meeting: 2 November 2002
©2002 Grant Goddard
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3. 1.2.1 Community Radio. There has been a breakthrough with the award of 15
Access Radio licences for a twelve-month trial period. The CMA hopes
that there will be a continuation of these licences into the new OFCOM
regulatory regime. There were 200 applications for these licences and it
is only a pilot scheme at the moment. Some of the stations are
struggling a bit, but they are all on the air. There is a wide diversity of
programming. The first evaluation of the experiment has just been
conducted and it shows a very positive reaction. Short-term licences
under the RSL scheme are continuing.
1.2.2 Community Television. This sector has not been so productive in the
past year. The takeover of many RSL stations by one company, and its
subsequent bankruptcy, has caused major problems to the whole
sector. However, there still exist some independent organisations that
may not be making money but at least are still going. On the Isle of
Wight, there was an ownership change from a commercial operator to a
community organisation.
1.2.3 Cable TV. There has not been so much development.
1.2.4 New media. There have been developments in community-based
wireless networks, interactive TV and the internet.
The programming produced by community media is making major social gains.
Empowering communities, increasing participation in local democracy and
encouraging education. This is very important and this is why the government
is putting community media into its legislation.
Future developments that need to be highlighted are:
1.2.5 Policy & Regulatory Environment. This is the most important change. It
will move the CMA from primarily focusing on lobbying to focusing on
development. The draft Communication Bill provides Access Radio on a
permanent basis, local television and a Community Radio Fund. There
is no reason to think that these items will be drawn back before
legislation. But there is nothing specific in the Bill about the regulation of
these items – the details will be put in a further Bill at a later date. Such
flexibility could be welcomed but, despite intensive lobbying, we are still
not in a position where we know the rules of the game. We will need to
go back to OFCOM & DCMS and hammer out the detail at a later date.
Also in the pipeline for the future are digital AM, broadband, the internet
and Digital Radio Mondiale.
1.2.6 Social Environment. This is changing and there is more awareness
about community media. It is very exciting to see the mainstream
recognition of what we are doing. The danger is that the mainstream
might dive in now that community media are becoming more highprofile. The BBC announced that it will invest £1m in community media
projects in the next year.
1.2.7 Economic environment. There are increasing opportunities for public
funding of our sector. Many areas that resonate with the community
media sector can tap into these opportunities and create activities.
During the next two to three years, there will be a reduction of European
funding that has been used to fund community media to date. In three
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4. years’ time, twelve new countries will have joined the European Union,
which will shift the funding structures from West Europe to East Europe.
As we are given more licensing opportunities, we will create more
income opportunities at a local level, creating a substantial funding
base. The Access Radio Fund is included in the Communication Bill.
The hope is that we can turn that into a Community Media Fund in the
next year.
There will be more competition from new entrants in the sector. As this thing
becomes trendy, everybody in your neighbourhood will be wanting to set up
community media projects.
The CMA needs to look at how it can grow to provide more services. It now
has 22 staff and its turnover has doubled in the last few years to exceed £1m.
Things that need to be thought about for the future are:
1.2.8 The CMA will continue to be involved in policy areas – dialogue,
advocacy and lobbying – but not with as high a priority as it has been.
1.2.9 Learning opportunities. We need to provide people with the means of
creating community media. This is a major area of public policy.
1.2.10 Content and quality of content will come to the fore as community media
develop. Sharing content between broadcasters will become more
important.
1.2.11 Distribution platforms. This is becoming a much more complicated area
than it was. The internet has changed things and the mobile phone will
become a new channel for content delivery.
1.2.12 Investment environment. We have to look at the way the sector is
funded – grants, loans, self-generating revenue.
1.2.13 Service provision. There are tricky questions about the CMA assisting
with copyright for access radio, audience research and discount
purchase of equipment.
1.2.14 Help groups in depth with their business planning and project
management.
1.2.15 International relations. This has become a significant area for the CMA
in the last few years. The ITU took a global decision to use DRM for
digital AM. The CMA is engaged in the World Summit On The
Information Society over the next few years, a UN-organised global
summit working with like-minded organisations. The right to
communicate is a human right.
In summary, there are major new opportunities for the community media sector
over the next few years.
The CMA has appointed Arts Business Ltd in the last few days as consultants
to work with the CMA to look at the future development of the sector and at
how the CMA can provide the right enabling environment for its members in
the future.
1.3
Scott Ferguson & Mark Prescott of Cultural Consulting made a
PowerPoint presentation which they had used earlier in the week to pitch
for the consulting contract from the CMA. The presentation set out the
Review: Community Media Association Conference & Annual General Meeting: 2 November 2002
©2002 Grant Goddard
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5. regulatory changes that are affecting broadcasting policy making and the
possible role the CMA has to play within the new legislatory framework.
2.
WORKSHOP – “A PLACE ON THE DIAL?” – The Future Of
Community Radio
2.1
Martin Blissett of the Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre in Birmingham
spoke about his group’s history.
In 1993 Martin assembled a group that bid for the Birmingham licence but lost
out to Choice FM. After two to three years, Choice sold out to Chrysalis.
Martin’s group raised a petition against the change of ownership because the
new Promise of Performance granted to Chrysalis was completely different to
that of Choice and they felt that the Afro-Caribbean community had been left
out. The petition was unsuccessful so that Martin’s group was reduced to
training people in radio skills to work for Birmingham pirate radio stations. Now
the group has one of the experimental Access Radio licences. Martin said the
group had been disproportionately successful in the work they had done. Their
nine-month training programme had helped a lot of people get into pirate radio
locally. The Access Radio station is called New Style Radio. Martin felt that
Buzz had come into the Birmingham market and had sold out. Choice FM had
entered the Birmingham market with a group made up of five local black guys
and the management team from Choice FM London, but they had also sold
out. This is why New Style Radio’s slogan is: “We give people great BUZZ and
real CHOICE.”
New Style Radio started on 14 August 2002 and had spent a lot of time
publicising the launch and recruiting 100 volunteers to run the 24-hour station.
Almost all of the programmes are broadcast live and there are only a few hours
of automation. The programming is very diverse and not just music-based as
there are phone-in and talk shows. The music played covers the whole
spectrum of black music from soul, reggae and world music to African music
and Caribbean music. The term “black music” encompasses white musicians
making music in black styles.
The audience base is building up very quickly. Because of the different
approach to radio (earthy and grassroots), we believe that Access Radio
stations can build up a cult audience in the first six months. Whereas, our
experience with RSLs was that the audience just starts to build up at the end
of the first month, just as the RSL is about to finish.
New Style Radio was invited to John Prescott’s Urban Summit taking place
during the last three days and radio reports were sent back live for broadcast
on the station.
2.2
The discussion was opened to the floor and there was a very heated
exchange between those community radio groups who had been unsuccessful
in applying for an Access Radio licence and those groups who were
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6. successfully running Access Radio projects and/or RSLs. Some examples of
the debate:
2.2.1 Marilyn Wheeler of Raven Sound in Bromley [an unsuccessful Access
Radio applicant] wanted to know: “What do we have to do to get a
licence?”
2.2.2 There was a discussion about when exactly the long-promised
community radio sector would be licensed. Many representatives from
different groups wanted to know how long they would have to wait
before being given a licence.
2.2.3 One community radio representative said: “As an organisation, the CMA
needs to address the situation of groups who will never get a licence.
Even under Access Radio, there are likely to be no more than 40 or 50
licences across the country on a permanent basis.”
2.2.4 One Access Radio member said: “Finding funding has proved extremely
difficult because details of the Access Radio project such as what
frequency, what the coverage area is, what the PPL/PRS costs are –
this information was not forthcoming from the Radio Authority until very
late in the day. Then the projects were told that they had to go on-air by
a certain date. Funding proved very difficult to secure when applications
top funding organisations have to be made so far in advance and take
substantial time before a decision is made.”
2.2.5 Another said: “It serves no interest for us to complain about the
decisions that the Radio Authority has made, when what we need to do
is to look forward to what can be done to get community radio stations
on the air in the future.”
2.2.6 Jan Howarth of City University wondered whether Access Radio
licensees will bump RSLs off the airwaves in the future, particularly in
cities where there are not enough spare frequencies to use for both
purposes.
2.2.7 The CMA had put a ten-point community radio plan to the broadcast
authorities in Eire and they accepted it and are now developing a
community radio sector in line with AMARC guidelines. The same tenpoint plan was put to the UK government and was rejected in its
entirety.
2.2.8 A delegate said: “Is there a future for the CMA if it is no longer going to
continue its lobbying activity on behalf of those community media
groups who have not yet been granted a licence?”
The workshop concluded with the moderator [name unknown] noting his
disappointment that participants could be so gloomy about community radio
when there are now successes about which to be positive.
Review: Community Media Association Conference & Annual General Meeting: 2 November 2002
©2002 Grant Goddard
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7. 3.
LUNCHTIME PRESENTATION – The Community Channel
3.1
Chris Haydon explained that the Community Channel will be carried by
BBC on its national digital platform. He described it as a carrot to independent
filmmakers to have their product shown on a national channel. The Community
Channel has switched emphasis from being a channel for voluntary sector
organisations recruiting volunteers, to become a channel for genuine
community media. The Community Channel is presently distributed by internet
and by satellite. It also broadcasts 3 hours/week on Sky and on Freeview via
ITV stations. The Community Channel is a distribution mechanism as opposed
to a mass-media individual channel. Chris wants to make contact with
imaginative projects on a local basis to feed their productions into the
enhanced national channel.
4.
WORKSHOP – “MAKING THE LAW” – The Communications Bill &
the Community Media Campaign
Nicky Edmonds, Deputy Director of the CMA, and Lesley Pullar, CMA
Committee, explained the CMA’s actions to date around the Communication
Bill:
4.1
4.2
The All-Party Media Group. 80 MPs have signed up to support
community radio and the Community Radio Fund. This is the way that
the CMA can influence Parliament from within.
Early Day Motion. This was put in May and MPs have until November
2002 to sign up. 114 MPs from all parties have added their names so
far. All CMA members have been asked to write to their constituency
MPs to persuade them to sign.
The Bill will be announced in the Queen’s Speech on 13 November. Two
weeks later the Bill will be published. In the House of Commons, the Bill will go
through the Committee stage, which will be all-party but with a Labour majority.
In the House of Lords, the Bill could run up against a lot of trouble when it is
debated on the floor, particularly about ownership changes. In summer/autumn
2003, the Bill be turned into an Act.
The things that the CMA want to be included in the Bill are:
4.3
To ensure that the Radio Fund and Access Radio provisions are
included.
4.4
To require that the Radio Fund be made cross-media to include
television.
4.5
To require OFCOM in law to take responsibility for community media to
work and thrive in this country.
4.6
To include a must-carry provision, particularly for TV, not only on cable
but for digital too.
Review: Community Media Association Conference & Annual General Meeting: 2 November 2002
©2002 Grant Goddard
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8. 5.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & ELECTION OF OFFICERS
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
Minutes of the previous AGM (27 Nov 01) were approved.
Report of the Council & Auditors approved.
Audited accounts for the year ending 31 Mar 02 presented.
New members of Council elected.
Appointment & remuneration of Auditors agreed.
21 resolutions were proposed to the AGM and accepted with minor
wording amendments:
RESOLUTIONS: [wording as presented]
5.6.1 That the CMA should continue its campaigning. The main issues include
Ofcom and its duties, the Community Media Fund and local and
community television in face of the Communications Bill and “must
carry” in the Communications Bill, including through broadband.
5.6.2 That the CMA promotes the concept of community television, and
encourages networking and partnerships.
5.6.3 That the CMA lobbies Government departments to pressurise the
Independent Television Commission to generate further digital
Restricted Service Licences.
5.6.4 That the CMA sponsors an Internet project event, which would provide
an opportunity for training workshops, for networking and for sharing
technical expertise, funding information and audience research.
5.6.5 That the CMA develops a platform for sharing expertise across the
organisation by way of, for example, online forums and an Internet
media service users’ group.
5.6.6 That the CMA promotes to the RSL sector the interests and ability of the
Community Channel to use (and time shift) its daily three-hour block on
the BBC digital platform.
5.6.7 That the CMA actively lobbies its members regarding interest in and
readiness to support programme making for the Community Channel.
5.6.8 That the CMA represents the views of the community sector to the
Government, BBC Ofcom and other appropriate bodies that there is a
need for a substantial fund for community media projects and that they
should administer and organise such a fund for capital and revenue
funding across the sector.
5.6.9 That the CMA requires the Government to make a definitive public
statement of its ongoing commitments to the present and future
development of Access Radio, and to further developments of
community access media across all transmission platforms.
5.6.10 That the CMA supports the development of a community news network.
5.6.11 That the CMA delivers a support database online for members to
access legal advice, skills training and contacts.
5.6.12 That the CMA provides streaming services and audience research
information.
5.6.13 That the CMA urges Ofcom to make a clear commitment to the
development of Community Media.
5.6.14 That the CMA asks Ofcom to give priority to early licensing of new
community radio services, given the high level of demand regarding the
Access Radio experiment.
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©2002 Grant Goddard
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9. 5.6.15 That the CMA lobbies to commence licensing of community television
services on digital.
5.6.16 That the CMA campaigns to ensure that the media landscape reflects
the ethnic diversity of the UK.
5.6.17 That the CMA identifies celebrities who would be interested in endorsing
the CMA campaign on the Communications Bill.
5.6.18 That the CMA promotes another Early Day Motion.
5.6.19 That the CMA organises a day of action involving all Access Radio
groups and RSL groups and to input on what happens on that day.
5.6.20 That the CMA produces a multimedia format promotional video with
profiles of each Access Radio station.
5.6.21 That the CMA should use the existing Access Radio stations to raise
awareness and promote their campaign for a Community Media Fund.
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk
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©2002 Grant Goddard
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