Media and Community Building: How Community Media Contributes to Public Discourse, Democratic Processes and Community Building

Thursday, December 4, 2008

How Community Media Contributes to Public Discourse, Democratic Processes and Community Building

Abstract

In this class, we have read articles, scrutinized websites and explored what types community media is available to each of us in our own town. These exercises clearly demonstrate that access to public information and communication methods and systems are the foundation for a truly democratic society. Access to technology also empowers individuals with personal enrichment opportunities and educational advancement which can benefit the community at large. While all of these community media avenues are important, it is also important to recognize that technology is evolving rapidly in terms of new communication methods, and it is essential that community media outlets be supplied with the tools they need in order to keep pace with the rapidly changing media environment.

Public Discourse, Democratic Process, Community Building

The First Amendment continues to be the cornerstone for access television and other community media organizations (Boozell, Winter 2005). Unlike other forms of non-commercial media, community media in all its forms exists for the empowerment of citizens and communities. As Felicia Sullivan quoted in her article Everything Old is New Again “The rationale for public access television was that, as mandated by the Federal Communications Act of 1934, the airwaves belong to the people, that in a democratic society it is useful to multiply public participation in political discussion, and that mainstream television severely limited the range of views and opinion. Public access television, then, would open television to the public, it would make possible community participation, and thus would be in the public interest of strengthening democracy”. (museumtv)

Currently, mainstream media is overrun by media consolidation. A small number of conglomerates own the majority of media outlets and this has led to a gap in what the average person views online and on television, or hears on the radio, and what their daily lives actually consist of. Community media helps to restore the diversity and localism of media by being a vehicle for citizens to disseminate information relevant to their communities. Most for-profit media outlets exist to make money, and most of the income comes not from their audiences, but from commercial advertisers who are interested in selling products to that audience in order to generate a profit. From the perspective of who is determining the content for commercial media, this gives corporate sponsors a heavy influence over what the audience is ultimately exposed to. It makes sense that advertisers would not want to sponsor content that scrutinizes commercial media practices, and it makes sense that corporate sponsors prefer passive, happy consumers.

Advertisers are not only trolling for customers on television either. Businesses everywhere, from Target and Walmart to Ebay and Eharmony are all using the Web 2.0 environment to create “localized” content for consumers and there is concern that that these corporations will come to define community for us. However community networking is allowing new online services, ideas, resources and education to be shared without restriction, everywhere; with everyone in the world. The ability of dedicated individuals and groups to work together online is allowing the practice of online community networking to achieve good things for their real-life communities. (Odasz)

While community media is undergoing a change in its mission to reach and sustain audiences, the relationship between independent, non-commercial and commercial media is also changing. Non-commercial media is being viewed less and less as an underfunded version of commercial media. Traditionally, for a given work to be considered successful it had to reach and appeal to a mass audience. The cultural and economic success of independent media work is translating over to commercial media in terms of independent artists being viable to smaller audiences, rather than having broad appeal to a mass audience. (Blau) According to Andrew Blau, we are entering an era of enormous opportunity for media makers of every kind. A new generation of media makers and viewers is emerging; images, ideas, news and points of view will come from everywhere and travel along countless routes to be available to everyone.

Conclusion
The end results of community media utilizing new technologies and reinventing itself in order to better serve their respective communities is still in progress. Through open public discourse, the aim of community media to help citizens know their communities, leaders, and therefore themselves will help them to better foster a truly democratic society.

References
(n.d.). Retrieved from www.museum.tv/archives/etv/P/htmlP/
Blau, A. (n.d.). Global Business Network. Retrieved from The Future of Indpendent Media.
Boozell, G. (Winter 2005). Determined Media: On Technomania, The First Amendment and Being Heard. The Journal of the Alliance for Community Media .
Odasz, F. (n.d.). Retrieved from What is a Community Network? And Why You Should Care!: http://www.comtechreview.org/fall-2005/000347.html

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Working Definition of Community

Being a member of a community isn’t always easy. In a world where friends can be a click away but a thousand miles apart, where you can be next to someone but can’t talk except via instant messaging, and where you don’t know your neighbors next door but you do know intimate details about your friends across the country on Myspace, a venture into community requires a trust in an unrelated network of people.

Whether communities are defined by geographical boundaries or by the categorization of who belongs to a community and who does not, both are essentially the same, as Cohen suggests “boundary marking processes and rituals are a vital tool for defining community, identity, belonging and exclusion, and give a sense of reality to specific communities, although in fact they are merely mental or social constructs of insiders and outsiders”.

In addition to the idea of community being a group of people with a common interest, be it geographical location, social clubs, religious beliefs or ethnicity, communities can also be influenced by external events beyond their control. With the current economic situation it seems like there’s more call for help and more people in need of support and assistance. In chapter 1 of Community-ariasm, Smith explains how the term community is both shaping and being shaped by society itself, in an endless loop or re-creation. Economic situations, new technologies, available education, and social opportunities are just some of the factors that can contribute to the way in which communities are shaped, and if they are sustainable or if they will eventually die out.

Even a concept as malleable as community has a common thread, however. In the various readings and articles we have covered so far, the idea of community being a vehicle for self-actualization is touched on repeatedly. One of the key benefits people get from participating in community and their reciprocal relationships is a sense of belonging that is a part of their individual identity. “People construct community symbolically, making it a resource and repository of meaning, and a referent of their identity’ (Cohen 1985: 118).

Another defining aspect, which also contributes to the constant flux of the definition of community, is that even though individuals can experience a sense of self through them, often communities are more than just the people who are in it. A community can continue to exist even as its individual members move through it, and as new members enter into it, the community itself can remain rather unchanged.

Aristotle tells us that community requires different kinds of capacity, interest and character among its members because through the interplay of diversities, people are able to serve as compliments of one another and to attain a higher and better life by the mutual exchange of different services. The phrase “sense of community” begins to get at this meaning. It refers to a sharing of common beliefs that involves a connection at a more personal or emotional level. Words like “passion,” “devotion,” and “commitment” also come to mind when discussing the concept “sense of community.”

It is usually assumed that when people feel that they belong to a community, they have an active interest in ensuring that it functions well and are more likely to contribute to the well-being of the community. The emphasis on a collective well-being over individuals is a large part of Community-ariasm which has a focus of interest toward communities and societies and away from the individual. Smith’s explains in Chapter 3 of Community-ariasm that as long ago as 1955 George Hillery listed some 94 definitions of community he had found in the social science literature, and concluded that the only thing they all held in common was a reference to people.

From our class readings so far, it is evident that the definition of community continues to shift and evolve, and the introduction of modern communication methods, i.e. instant messaging, internet, cell phones, etc. have contributed significantly to the rapidly changing idea of community on a global scale. Even with the constant change and the difficulty in defining exactly what community is, it seems clear that the strength of ties between the groups, no matter what the subject matter is, is truly the essence of definition of community.

Works Cited:
Smith, G "Community - arianism" Chapter One: Community; ideology and utopia
Cohen, A. P. (1985) The Symbolic Construction of Community, London: Tavistock (now Routledge). 128 pages.

Media and Community Building Conclusion

The boundaries of Community can sometimes be drawn on a map, other times it is a category of people or characteristics of members. (Smith) As a communication tool, community media is beginning to adapt to emerging technologies and the ever-sharpening interactive features online. As a result, community boundaries continue to change and realign, creating a new generation of members with a constantly-evolving sense of community.

In this enviornment, the media landscape will be reshaped by the bottom-up energy of media created by amateurs and hobbyists. (Blau) As an empowerment tool, it is among the poor and oppressed especially, that community becomes a means to group solidarity and mutual help. (Smith) Because Community Media is able to operate independent of traditional corporate influences, public access to Community Media is vital to the democratic health of a community.

Community Media is an effective means of citizens interacting with community leaders and politicians, and an invaluable tool for holding them accountable when necessary. Community Media is also a gateway for the enrichment of educational opportunities for community members who do not have private access to new technologies or who need assistance in utilizing them. The future of Community Media is an exciting prospect, as new technology allows for the dissemination of information with an immediacy never seen before, as well as a rapidly evolving web that features more and more interactive features for the consumer.

All of these exciting technologies require us – the consumers- to be well educated and informed as to who the source of the content is, as well as hone our abilities to discern for ourselves which of these technologies adds value to our individual lives and which don’t.

Works Cited:
Smith, G; Community-arainism, Chapter 1
Blau, Andrew; The Future of Independent Media, Sept. 2004

Media and Community Building

Thursday, December 4, 2008

How Community Media Contributes to Public Discourse, Democratic Processes and Community Building

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New Bedford, Massachusetts

Working Definition of Community

Media and Community Building Conclusion

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