Nick Ishmael-Perkins

This publication provides "new or aspiring community media initiatives with guidance on managing the regulatory framework in their countries." The author provides a series of "country-specific guidelines for licensing procedures" related to community radio in Southern Africa, and a summary of the current status of the sector in each country.

The publication notes that changes in legislation throughout Southern Africa have widened the opportunities for community media, while globalisation has provided an economic motivation. The author, however, observes that most countries in the region still have fairly strong government control over the media. Community radio, he argues, is currently being treated by these governments in much the same way as other non-state media, while, if fact, community radio could play an important role as part of the public broadcasting model.

Topics covered in this publication include:

• Policies and Legislation
• Making Policy Real
• The Case for Plural Media
• Specifying Community Radio
• Changing Development Practice
• Globalisation
• Governance

Countries highlighted:

• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

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AMARC Africa website on January 27 2005 and AMARC Africa website on October 13 2008.