Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in

Journalism & Mass Communication

BJMC-12
ADVANCE BROADCAST MEDIA

Block - 1
Public Service Broadcasting
UNIT-1: Public Service Model in India (Policy and Laws)

UNIT-2: Global Overview of Public Service Broadcasting

UNIT-3: Community Radio and Campus Radio

UNIT-4: Presentation of Public Service Broadcasting

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The materials used in this block Unit-3 is taken from e-PG Pathshala an initiative of the MHRD
under the National Mission of Education through ICT(NME-ICT) being executed by the UGC .

The Course follows the UGC prescribed syllabus for BA(Honours)

Journalism and Mass Communication under Choice Based Credit
System (CBCS).

Course Writer Course Editor

Samanta Biswabhusan Dhir(Unit-1,2,4) Sambit Mishra(Unit-1,2,4)
Academic Consultant Academic Consultant
Odisha State Open University, Odisha State Open University,
Sambalpur Sambalpur

Programme Coordinator

Samanta Biswabhusan Dhir

Academic Consultant
Odisha State Open University,
Sambalpur

Material Production
Dr. Manas Ranjan Pujari
Registrar
Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur

(CC) OSOU, September 2021. Public Service Broadcasting is made available

under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licences/by-sa/4.0
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Unit -1: Public Service Model in India (Policy and Laws)
1.0 Unit Structure
1.1 Learning Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Public Service Broadcasting
1.4 All India Radio(AIR)
1.4.1 Organisational structure of AIR
1.4.2 Activities of Subordinate Offices of Air in Brief
1.4.3 Commercial Broadcasting Service Centres & Vividh Bharati Service (VBS)
1.5 Doordarshan News
1.5.1 Organisation Structure of Doordarshan
1.5.2 Objectives of DD News
1.6 Public Policy for broadcast media (Television and Radio)
1.7 Prasar Bharti Act, 1990
1.8 Code of Commercial Broadcasting
Check Your Progress

1.1 Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you will be able to understand;
 The Public Service Broadcasting Model in India
 The structure of AIR;
 Functions of DD news;
 Policy and code of conduct of AIR and Doordarshan

1.2 Introduction
Public broadcasting is associated with radio, television, and other electronic media
outlets, the primary mission of which is public service. In many countries of the world,
broadcasting is not free. The government collects money comes from the public,
especially through the fees levied on annual receipts. In the United States, the public
broadcaster may receive some money from both federal and state sources, but usually,
most of their financial aid comes from foundations and small business undertakings
(from small shops to corporations). A large number work as private non-profit
corporations.
Depending on the country and station, the broadcast may be national or local. In some
countries, one organization broadcasts publicly. In other countries, multiple public
broadcasting organizations operate in regional or different languages. Historically,
public broadcasting was once the dominant or only one form of broadcasting in many
countries. Commercial broadcasting now exists in most of these countries; Only in the
late twentieth century did the number of countries decline significantly with only public
broadcasting.

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But in India Public Broadcasting is completely free of cost for all citizens. Prasar
Bharati (Doordarshan and All India Radio) is the public broadcaster of India. Yet it has
commercial advertisements. It consists of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
(India), an autonomous government corporation of the Government of India and the
Doordarshan Television Network and, All India Radio. Prasar Bharati was established
on November 23, 1997, which demanded that the government grant independence to
Indian-owned broadcasters in India. In 1990, the Indian Parliament passed a law
granting independence, but it did not take effect until 15 September 1997.

1.3 Public Service Broadcasting

Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act
and came into existence on 23.11.1997. It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the
country. The objectives of public service broadcasting are achieved in terms of the
Prasar Bharati Act through All India Radio and Doordarshan, which earlier were
working as media units under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and since the
above said date became constituents of Prasar Bharati.
The Directorate General, All India Radio functions under Prasar Bharati. Director-
General is the Head of the Department and is responsible for the overall administration
and supervision of the entire AIR network.
Doordarshan is an autonomous public service broadcaster founded by the Government
of India, which is one of two divisions of Prasar Bharati. It is one of India's largest
broadcasting organizations in terms of studio and transmitter infrastructure, having been
established on 15 September 1959. It also broadcasts on digital terrestrial transmitters.
DD provides television, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and
regional India, as well as overseas, through the satellite network.

1.4 All India Radio (AIR)

The Directorate General, All India Radio functions under Prasar Bharati. Director-
General is the Head of the Department and is responsible for the overall administration
and supervision of the entire AIR network. In the performance of his duties and
functions, the Director General, AIR is assisted by officers of the following wings.

1.4.1. Organisational structure of AIR

Programme Wing
Additional Director Generals (ADGs) at the Headquarters and in the Regions assist the
Director General in proper supervision of the stations. The Headquarters of the Regional
ADGs are situated at Kolkata (Eastern Region), Mumbai (Western Region-I), Lucknow
(Central Region-I), Bhopal (Central Region-II) and Guwahati (North Eastern Region),
Chennai (South Region-I), Bangalore (South Region-II), Delhi (North Region-I) and

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Chandigarh (North Region-II). Another office of ADG is to be set up in Ahmedabad
(Western Region-II).

Engineering Wing
In respect of the technical matters, Director General is assisted by an Engineer-in Chief
and ADG (Engineering) at the Headquarters and by the Zonal Chief Engineers in zones.
In addition, there is a Planning and Development Unit at the Headquarters in respect of
the Development Plan Schemes of All India Radio. For the civil construction activities,
the Director-General is assisted by the Civil Construction Wing (CCW) of AIR, which
is headed by a Chief Engineer. The CCW caters to the needs of Doordarshan also.

Administrative Wing
Additional Director General (Administration) and Additional Director General
(Finance) assist the Director General on all matters of the administration and finance
One Director each looks after the Engineering Administration, Programme
Administration, and financial matters.

Security Wing
The Director General is assisted by a Deputy Director General (Security), an Assistant
Director General (Security) / Deputy Director (Security) on the matters relating to the
security and safety of AIR installations viz., transmitters, studios, offices, etc. The
Security requirements of Doordarshan are also looked after by these officers.

Audience Research Wing

There is a Director (Audience Research) to assist the Director General in carrying out
feedback studies on the programmes broadcast by the stations of All India Radio.
Director (Audience Research) is assisted by a Joint Director (Audience Research).

1.4.2. Activities of Subordinate Offices of Air in Brief

There are several subordinate offices of All India Radio performing distinct functions.
The broad activities of these offices/divisions are summarised as under:

News Services Division

The News Services Division works round-the-clock and it broadcasts over 607 news
bulletins both for Home and External Services. The bulletins are in Indian languages
and various foreign languages. The Division is headed by the Director General (News).
There are 46 Regional News Units in AIR. The bulletins vary from region to region
according to the news worthiness of national, regional and, local affairs.

External Services Division

The External Services Division of All India Radio broadcasts in 27 languages i.e., 15
foreign and 12 Indian languages. These services are radiated for an aggregate duration
of 72 hours daily and are projected to over 100 countries.

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Transcription & Programme Exchange Service
This service looks after the exchange of programmes among the stations, building up
and maintenance of sound archives, and also the commercial release of prestigious
recordings of music maestros.

Research Department
The functions of the Research Department include Research and Development of
equipment required by AIR and Doordarshan, investigation and studies relating to AIR
and Doordarshan, development of prototype models of R&D equipment for limited use
field trials in AIR and Doordarshan network.

Central Store Office

AIR‟s Central Store Office, located in New Delhi, performs the functions relating to
procurement, stocking and, distribution of the engineering stores required for the
maintenance of technical equipment at All India Radio Stations.

1.4.3 Commercial Broadcasting Service Centres & Vividh Bharati Service (VBS)
There are 41 Vividh Bharati-cum-Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS) Centres
including the exclusive VB Centres. The work relating to CBS is performed by two
Wings i.e. Sales Wing and Production Wing. An independent Central Sales Unit along
with 15 main Commercial Broadcasting Service Centres looks after the marketing of
broadcast time in AIR.

Three-tier Broadcasting System

AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting. These three levels of programmes are the
National, Regional and Local each having distinct audiences.
National programmes are broadcast from Delhi for relay by the Capital, Regional and
Local Radio Stations. Some of these are the National Programme of Talks and Features
in Hindi and English, the National Programmes of Drama and Music.
The National Channel of All India Radio located in Delhi broadcasted programs that
were heard on Medium Wave and also on Short Wave. Starting on 18th May 1988, this
channel worked as a night service from 6.50 PM to 6.10 AM the next morning.
Broadcasting in Hindi, Urdu, and English, the programme components of the channel
had been designed to make it representative of the cultural mosaic and ethos of the
country. It has been closed in January 2019
The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting. They
originate programmes in the regional languages and dialects. Regional Channels are
located in the major linguistic-cultural region of every state. 116 Regional Channels are
spread over 29 states & 6 Union Territories including the North-Eastern Service at
Shillong that projects the vibrant cultural heritage of the North-Eastern region of this

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country. The Regional Channels, broadcast largely on the Medium Wave frequency,
follow a composite programme pattern comprising of music - classical, light, folk and
film, News and Current Affairs, Radio plays, features, Farm and Home programmes,
programmes on Health & Family Welfare and programmes for Woman, Children, etc.
Local Radio is relatively a newer concept of broadcasting in India. Local radio stations
serve small communities, showcase local culture and, broadcast area-specific
programmes for the benefit of the community. The transmission is in FM mode. The
programming is flexible and spontaneous and the stations function as the mouthpiece of
the local community. At present, there are 86 Local Stations spread across the country.

Growth & Development

Broadcasting in India began about 13 years before AIR came into existence. In June
1923 the Radio Club of Bombay made the first-ever broadcast in the country. This was
followed by the setting up of the Calcutta Radio Club five months later. The Indian
Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into being on July 23, 1927, only to face liquidation
in less than three years.
In April 1930, the Indian Broadcasting Service, under the Department of Industries and
Labour, commenced its operations on an experimental basis. Lionel Fielden was
appointed the first Controller of Broadcasting in August 1935. In the following month
Akashvani Mysore, a private radio station was set up. On June 8, 1936, the Indian State
Broadcasting Service became All India Radio.
The Central News Organisation (CNO) came into existence in August, 1937. In the
same year, AIR came under the Department of Communications and four years later
came under the Department of Information and Broadcasting. When India attained
independence, there were six radio stations in India, at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta,
Madras, Tiruchirapalli, and Lucknow. There were three in Pakistan (Peshawar, Lahore,
and Dacca). AIR then had coverage of just 2.5 % of the area and 11% of the population.
The following year, CNO was split up into two divisions, the News Services Division
(NSD) and the External Services Division (ESD). In 1956 the name AKASHVANI was
adopted for the National Broadcaster. The Vividh Bharati Service was launched in 1957
with popular film music as its main component.
The phenomenal growth achieved by All India Radio has made it one of the largest
media organisations in the world. With a network of 262 radio stations, AIR today is
accessible to almost the entire population of the country and nearly 92% of the total
area. A broadcasting giant, AIR today broadcasts in 23 languages and 146 dialects
catering to a vast spectrum of the socio-economically and culturally diverse populace.
Programmes of the External Services Division are broadcast in 11 Indian and 16 foreign
languages reaching out to more than 100 countries. These external broadcasts aim to
keep the overseas listeners informed about developments in the country and provide a
rich fare of entertainment as well.

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The News Services Division, of All India Radio, broadcasts 647 bulletins daily for a
total duration of nearly 56 hours in about 90 Languages/Dialects in Home, Regional,
External, and DTH Services. 314 news headlines on an hourly basis are also being
mounted on FM mode from 41 AIR Stations. 44 Regional News Units originate 469
daily news bulletins in 75 languages. In addition to the daily news bulletins, the News
Services Division also mounts several news-based programmes on topical subjects from
Delhi and its Regional News Units.
AIR operates at present 18 FM stereo channels, called AIR FM Rainbow, targeting the
urban audience in a refreshing style of presentation. Four more FM channels called,
AIR FM Gold, broadcast composite news and entertainment programmes from Delhi,
Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai. With the FM wave sweeping the country, AIR is
augmenting its Medium Wave transmission with additional FM transmitters at Regional
stations.
In keeping with the Government's decision to transition to the digital mode of
transmission, AIR is switching from analog to digital in a phased manner. The
technology adopted is the Digital Radio Mondiale or DRM. With the target of complete
digitization by 2017, the listeners can look forward to highly enhanced transmission
quality shortly.

1.5 Doordarshan News(DD News)

DD News and DD India are two news channels of Prasar Bharati, India‟s Public
Service Broadcaster. These National News Channels are operational on a 24×7 basis to
bring to the people of the country and viewers abroad, news and current affairs
programmes in English and Hindi. These channels are successfully discharging their
responsibilities to give balanced, fair, accurate and authentic news without
sensationalizing as well as by carrying different shades of opinion. DD News is the
only terrestrial cum satellite News Channel of the country, with the terrestrial reach of
49% by population and 25% by area of the country. The Satellite footprint of the news
channel is spread all across the country. DD News Channel was launched on 3
November, 2003 by converting DD Metro into a 24 hour news channel. Satellite
footprint of DD India is also 100% across the country. Both the channels are available
on High Definition on various distribution platforms, both cable and D2H.
DD News is currently producing news content in Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit languages.
Over 14 hours of LIVE transmission include telecast of more than 20 news bulletins in
these languages. The channel telecast daily current affairs programmes apart from
special shows on Sports, Health, Youth issues, Cinema, Art & Culture, flagships
schemes, international events etc are produced and telecast by the News Channel.
DD India produces and telecasts over 7 hours of LIVE transmission of news bulletins.
The channel also telecasts daily current affairs programmes and special shows on

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sports, health, youth, cinema, art, culture, government schemes, international events
etc. The Prime Time bulletins of Morning, Day and Evening on DD India are LIVE.
News Wing of DD News is also producing news content for its sister channels i.e. DD
Bharati and DD Urdu.
DD News has 31 functional Regional News Units / Bureaus which are broadcasting
over 157 news bulletins in 22 languages/dialects with a consolidated more than 47
hours of daily telecast of bulletins and programmes. RNUs besides producing regional
news also cater to DD News in Reporting, Visual feeds & Special Programming. All
the States have a Regional News Unit (RNU), except Sikkim. Jammu and Kashmir has
2 RNUs, while there is one in Leh for Ladakh UT. Over 900 stringers are working for
the DD News Network, across the country in all districts.
On Social Media, DD News and DD India have significant presence on Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. DD News Twitter handles are
https://www.twitter.com/ddnewslive and https://www.twitter.com/ddnewshindi and its
YouTube channels are https://www.youtube.com/ddnews and
https://www.youtube.com/ddindia .

1.5.1 Organisation Structure of Doordarshan

Every organization has its own organizational set up which makes it run. Looking at the
TV channels set up, organizations are important. Every organization's action is very
important if we are talking about TV channels then we must first know that TV channel
is an important organisation where every second counts. Therefore, it is very important
to have a highly efficient organizational set up one TV channel can create high-value
products, names, and be credible to its viewers. Always the economic condition decides
its organizational structure. Firstly it‟s important to know government-owned National
broadcaster‟s organization Doordarshan. In India in every Doordarshan center, there is a
Regional Director, under him 3 important departments are there. They are:

1. Programme Department
2. Administrative Departments
3. Technical Department
1. Programme Department: In the programme department there is one functional
producer. Under him or her more than one producer and an assistant producer
are employed. The work of programme department is to produce interesting
news, information and entertainment programmes.

2. Administrative Department: The administrative departments look after mostly

all the administrative work of the organisation. Under the administrative
department, all other department works. The department is headed by a section
officer.

3. Technical Department: The department is run under the direct supervision of

the Station Engineer. Under the central technical department, Executive

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 Engineers run the show. The department has a Programme transmission room,
control room, electrical engineer, sound engineer, and computer engineer.

1.5.2: Objectives of DD News

• Inform freely, truthfully, and objectively the citizens of India on all matters of
public interest, national and international.
• Provide adequate coverage to the diverse cultures and languages of the various
region of the country through appropriate Programmes in the regional
languages/dialects.
• Provide adequate coverage to sports and games.
• Cater to the special needs of the youth.
• Promote social justice, national consciousness, national integration, communal
harmony, and the upliftment of women.
• Pay special attention to the fields of education, and spread of literacy,
agriculture, rural development, environment, health, family welfare and science
and technology.
• Provide comprehensive TV coverage through the use of appropriate technology.
• Undertake at regular intervals auditions for classical dance forms.
• Ensure that the programmes telecast on its channels are in full compliance with
the AIR/Doordarshan program and advertisement code.
• Place basic data about its network, Acts and guidelines, list of
commissioned/sponsored programmes, defaulting agencies, and tender notices
in the public domain through its website www.ddindia.gov.in.

1.6 Public Policy for broadcast media (Television and Radio)

The policy came into existence in the year 1982 by the government of India for the
functioning of public broadcasting services in India.
1. There should be a clear understanding between the news and the views.
Reporting of news should be actual, factual, and objective. There should not be
any interpretation in the broadcast news.
2. Each story should be judged and followed according to the news value.
3. AIR and Doordarshan should be guided by the highest professional standard of
journalism. Should be determined on news selection and received from the wide
range of public. News should reach different languages and potential audiences.
4. Apart from news AIR and Doordarshan should provide the background of the
event and happenings to the audiences around the country with a proper
perspective.
5. The broadcast news needs to satisfy the highest accuracy and responsibility.
They should develop the sources of verification of events and happenings before
they broadcast.

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 6. In a developing country like India news should be more based on development,
achievements, and problems. Development news covers a wide range of
economic technological social and cultural activities. Should not be confined to
political and personal issues.
7. With the limitation of time, the vast audience should get the benefit of air and
Doordarshan programs and news coverage followed by the newspapers.
8. Style and method of reporting should be based on fundamental principles of
national policies. The fundamental principles include territorial integrity,
national integration, secularism, maintenance of public order, and holding the
dignity and prestige of the parliament legislature, and judiciary.
9. Ministry label statement of any policy, particularly from the prime minister, are
much important, should be made to understand by the public on basics of
national policies. Similarly, the implementation of government programs should
be given more priority in the news the focus should be on the information based
on an official document for the implementation at an adequate time.
10. Reporting political controversies on broadcasting should be guided with
accurate and fair play as possible. If a variety of view point of reports or
statements is collected then the news should be kept on balance for a reasonable
period.
11. In international events, importance should be given to world developments.
Special reference should be made to give the proper background of the events.
In the selection of news greater interest should be given to the developing
countries and neighboring countries. More importance should be given to
foreign correspondents and carefully selecting the location and the area for the
coverage of developmental news from India and other developing countries.
12. Error and direction should create a wing-off National broadcasting system to
inform the public about events and developments. Preparing programs on news
and current affairs National interest must be kept in the mind. The national
policy of peace and peaceful existence of friendly countries support need to
report properly. Independence and freedom struggle shall we always highlighted
on behalf of the national integrity.
13. The primary purpose of current affairs programmes should be to lighten the
public on various aspects of political, economic, social, and cultural
development. The treatment of the subject should be comprehensive projecting
different viewpoints which should aim for proper understanding and
implementation of events and issues.
14. The current affairs program should be broad-based in the selection of topics and
participants with the various interest of the nation. The format should be
innovative and the best language.
15. News and current affairs programs should be on daily basis.

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 16. Characteristics of news language should be drafted or scripted in a spoken
style. The language should be simple and clear from the point of view of
listeners. Clarity and simplicity are necessary for better communication looking
after the segment of illiterate people. AIR and Doordarshan should develop as a
stylesheet for news writing.
17. Provision should be made to evaluate the news bulletins from time to time.
Greater interest should be given to the training and development of news
personnel in AIR and Doordarshan.
18. The implementation of all the policies should be made with professional
capacity to run the public broadcasting news and current affairs program. Each
professional should have a training program on news writing in the language
broadcasted in India.

1.7 Prasar Bharti Act, 1990

The Prasar Bharati Act (Broadcasting Corporation of India) was passed by the
parliament in 1990. This unique feature of broadcasting is to disseminate any form of
communication like signs, signals, writings, pictures, images, and sounds of all kinds of
transmission of electromagnetic waves through cable intended to receive by the general
public directly or indirectly through the medium of relay stations. The corporation was
established and functions in 1997 in both AIR and Doordarshan.

Objectives
The corporation shall discharge duties and function as guided by the central
government, as follows;
1. Upholding the unity and integrity of the country and the values enriched in the
constitution;
2. Safeguarding the citizen‟s right to be informed freely truthfully and objectively
on all matters of public interest national or international importance. Whether
fair and balanced flow of information including contacting views without
advocating any opinion or ideology of its own;
3. Paying special attention to the field of education and spread of literacy
agriculture rural development and Government health and family welfare and
science and technology;
4. Providing adequate coverage to the diverse culture and languages of various
religions of the country by broadcasting appropriate programs;
5. Providing adequate coverage to sports and games to encourage healthy
competition and the spirit of sportsmanship;
6. Adding appropriate programs keeping in the view special needs of the youth,
7. Farming and stimulating the national consciousness regarding the status and
problems of women and paying special attention to the upliftment of women;

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 8. Promoting social justice and combating exploitation in equality and such events
as untouchability and advancing the welfare of the weaker section of the
society;
9. Safeguarding the rights of the working class and advancing their welfare;
10. Serving the rural and weaker section of the people and those residing in the
border regions backward or remote areas;
11. Providing suitable programs keeping in view special needs of the minorities and
tribal communities;
12. Taking special steps to protect the interest of children the blind the aged the
handicapped and other weaker section of the people;
13. Promoting national integration by broadcasting in a manner that facilitates
communication in the language in India and facilitating the distribution of
regional broadcasting services in every state in the language of that state;
14. Providing comprehensive broadcast coverage through the choice of appropriate
technology and the best utilization of the broadcast frequencies available and
ensuring high-quality reception;
15. Promoting research and development activities to ensure that radio and
television broadcast technology is constantly updated; and
16. Pending broadcasting facilities by establishing additional channels of
transmission at various levels.

1.8 Code of Commercial Broadcasting

Code for commercial broadcasting is the general rules of conduct in advertising. The
procedure for the implementation of the code gives experts from the code of ethics
issued by the advertising council of India an inappropriate code of standards about the
advertisement of medicines and treatments. It also highlights standards of practice of
Radio and Television advertising and for the advertising agencies.

The main points of the code are,

An advertisement should be prepared by the laws of the country and should not be a
friend against any moral activities and the religious image abilities of the people.

No advertisements should be allowed

Which marks race, caste, color, create, or nationality except for the specific purpose of
effective dramatization in opposing prejudice. Which is against any of the objectives
principles for the provision of the constitution.

Works people to crime or to promote disorder violence or breach of law. Which puts
criminality as desirable or details of crime or initiation thereof. Unfavorable effect

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friendly relationship with foreign States. Which exploits the National emblem the
constitution or the person or personality of national leaders or state dignitaries.

On Cigarettes and tobacco products

 No advertisements shall be permitted the object where of our holy are mainly of
a religious or political nature advertisement must not be directed on words any
religious or political end or have any relation to any industrial dispute.
 Advertisements for services concerned with the following are not: money
lenders, chit funds, and saving schemes other than those conducted by
nationalized banks matrimonial agencies and license employment services,
fortune tellers or scotch share, etc. with the claims of hypnotism would be
excluded from advertising on television.
 Advertisers or their agents must be prepared to produce evidence to substantive
any claims or illustrations.
 Advertisements should not contain this pairing reference to another product or
service.
 Visual and verbal representation of actual and competitive prices and cost must
be accurate and should not mislead on account of undue emphasis is or
distortion. Testimonials must be genuine and must not be used in a manner
likely to mislead the weaver‟s advertisers or the agencies must be prepared to
produce evidence in support of any testimonial and any claims it may concern.
 Director General Doordarshan in all other matters will be guided for purpose of
commercial telecasting in Doordarshan by the code of ethics for advertising in
India as modified from time to time.
 Notwithstanding anything contained herein, this code is subject to such
modification as may be made or stored by the government of India from time to
time.

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 Check Your Progress
1. Describe the term Public Service Broadcasting?
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2. Who are the public service broadcasters of India?

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3. Describe the public policy for broadcasting in India?

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4. Describe the objectives of the Prasar Bharti Act?
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Unit -2: Global Overview of Public Service Broadcasting
2.0 Unit Structure
2.1 Learning Objectives
2.2 Introduction
2.3 Global Public Service Broadcasting
2.3.1 Public Service Broadcasting in the United Kingdom(UK)
2.3.2 Public Service Broadcasting in Canada
2.3.3 Public Service Broadcasting in Mexico
2.3.4 Public Service Broadcasting in Brazil
2.3.5 Public Service Broadcasting in Japan
Check your Progress
2.1 Learning Objectives
After completion of this unit, the learner will be able to understand;
 History of global public broadcasting
 An overview of some countries public service broadcasting

2.2 Introduction
Public Service Broadcasting PSB involves radio, television, and other electronic media
outlets whose primary mission is public service. In many countries of the world,
funding comes from governments, especially via annual fees charged on receivers.
Public broadcasting may be nationally or locally operated, depending on the country
and the station. In some countries, a single organization runs public broadcasting
stations. Other countries have multiple public-broadcasting organizations operating
regionally or in different languages. Historically, public broadcasting was once the
dominant or only form of broadcasting in many countries (with the notable exceptions
of the UK, Canada, Japan, United States, Mexico, and Brazil). Commercial
broadcasting now also exists in most of these countries; the number of countries with
only public broadcasting declined substantially during the latter part of the 20th
century.

2.3 Global Public Service Broadcasting

The model, established in the 1920s, of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) an
organization widely trusted, even by citizens of the whole World War II was widely
emulated throughout Europe, the British Empire, and later the Commonwealth
countries. The public broadcasters in many countries are an application of the model
used in Britain.

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Modern public broadcasting is often a mixed commercial model. For example,
broadcasting is funded by advertising revenue supplemented by a government subsidy
to support its television service.

2.3.1 Public Service Broadcasting in the United Kingdom(UK)

In the United Kingdom, the term "public service broadcasting" refers to broadcasting
intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests. The
communications regulator Ofcom(Office of Communications) requires that certain
television and radio broadcasters fulfill certain requirements as part of their license to
broadcast. All of the BBC‟s television and radio stations have a public service remit,
including those that broadcast digitally.

The BBC, whose broadcasting in the UK is funded by a license fee and does not sell
advertising time, is most notable for being the first public service broadcaster in the
UK. Its first director-general, Lord Reith introduced many of the concepts that would
later define public service broadcasting in the UK when he adopted the mission to
"inform, educate and entertain".
With the launch of the first commercial broadcaster ITV in 1955, the government
required that the local franchises fulfilled a similar obligation, mandating a certain level
of local news coverage, arts, and religious programming, in return for the right to
broadcast.
The next commercial television broadcasters in the UK, the state-owned Channel 4 and
S4C, were set up by the government in 1981 to provide different forms of public
broadcasting. Channel 4 was required to be a public service alternative to the BBC and
to cater to minorities and the arts. S$C was to be a mainly Welsh
Language programmer. Neither was required to be commercially successful as Channel
4 was subsidized by the ITV network and S4C received a grant from the central
government. However, Channel 4 was later restructured under the Broadcasting Act
1990 to be a state-owned corporation that is self-financing and from 2013 the BBC took
over funding for S4C.
When the final analog terrestrial broadcaster, Channel 5, was launched in 1997 it too
was given many public service requirements. These included the obligation to provide
minimum amounts of programming from various genres, minimum amounts of
programming originally commissioned by the channel and of European origin, and
maximum limits on the number of repeats.
The advent of the digital age has brought about many questions about the future of
public service broadcasting in the UK. The BBC has been criticized by some for being
expansionist and exceeding its public service remit by providing content that could be
provided by commercial broadcasters. They argue that the BBC can distort the market,

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making it difficult for commercial providers to operate. A notable example of this is the
Internet services provided by the BBC.
However, those who defend the BBC suggest that the BBC needs to provide new
services and entertainment, to remain relevant in the digital age.
ITV has been attempting to significantly reduce its obligations to produce and
broadcast unprofitable public service programming, citing the increased competition
from digital and multichannel television. Similarly, Channel 4 has projected a £100m
funding gap if it is to continue with public service broadcasting after digital switch-
over. As of 2005, Ofcom had been consulting on what direction public service
broadcasting should take in the future.

2.3.2 Public Service Broadcasting in Canada

In Canada, the main public broadcaster is the national Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation (CBC; French: Société Radio-Canada), a crown corporation, which
originated as a radio network in November 1936. It is the successor to the Canadian
Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), which was established by the administration
of Prime Minister R.B. Bennett in 1932, modeled on recommendations made in 1929
by the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting and stemming from lobbying efforts
by the Canadian Radio League. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation took over the
operation of the CRBC's nine radio stations (which were largely concentrated in major
cities across Canada, including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal , and Ottawa). The CBC
eventually expanded to television in September 1952 with the sign-on of CBFT in
Montreal; CBFT was the first television station in Canada to initiate full-time
broadcasts, which initially served as a primary affiliate of the French language
Télévision de Radio-Canada and a secondary affiliate of the English language CBC
Television service.
CBC operates two national television networks (CBC Television and Ici Radio-Canada
Télé), four radio networks (CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, Ici Radio-Canada
Première , and ICI Musique) and several cable television channels including two 24-
hour news channels (CBC News Network and Ici RDI) in both of Canada's official
languages – English and French – and the French-language channels Ici Explora and Ici
ARTV, dedicated to science and culture respectively. CBC's national television
operations and some radio operations are funded partly by advertisements, in addition
to the subsidy provided by the federal government. The cable channels are commercial
entities owned and operated by the CBC and do not receive any direct public funds,
however, they do benefit from synergies with resources from the other CBC operations.
The CBC has frequently dealt with budget cuts and labor disputes, often resulting in a
debate about whether the service has the resources necessary to properly fulfill its
mandate.

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2.3.3 Public Service Broadcasting in Mexico
In Mexico, public stations are operated by municipalities, state governments, and
universities, there are five national public channels. Canal Once is owned and operated
by the National Polytechnic Institute. It started transmissions on 2 March 1959 as the
first public broadcasting television in Mexico. The government of
Mexico implemented Telesecundaria in 1968 to provide secondary education to
students in rural areas through broadcast television channels, such as XHGC-TV in
Mexico City. With the launching of the Morelos II satellite, Telesecundaria began
transmitting on one of its analog channels in 1988; in 1994, it began broadcasting in a
digital format with the advent of the Solidaridad I satellite, and Edusat was established
and began transmitting in Mexico, Central America and certain regions of the United
States. In 1982, Canal 22 was founded and began operations eleven years later by
the Ministry of Culture as part of the "RED México".
2.3.4 Public Service Broadcasting in Brazil
In Brazil, the two main national public broadcasters are Brazil Communication
Company(Portuguese: Empresa Brasil de Comunicação; EBC) and the Father Anchieta
Foundation (Portuguese: Fundação Padre Anchieta; FPA). EBC was created in 2007 to
manage the Brazilian federal government's radio and television stations. EBC owns
broadcast the television channel TV Brasil (launched in 2007, being the merger of TVE
Brasil (formerly, Rio de Janeiro Educational Television), launched in Rio de Janeiro in
1975 and TV Nacional, launched in Brasilia in 1960), and the radio
stations Nacional and Radio MEC, broadcast in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro.
The FPA was created by the government of the state of São Paulo in 1967 and includes
a national educational public television network (TV Cultura, launched in 1969 in São
Paulo, which is available in all Brazilian states through its 135 affiliates),[ two radio
stations (Rádio Cultura FM and Rádio Cultura Brasil, both broadcasting to Greater São
Paulo), two educational TV channels aimed at distance education (TV Educação and
Univesp TV, which is available on free-to-air digital TV in São Paulo and nationally by
cable and satellite), and the children's TV channel TV Rá-Tim-Bum, available
nationally on pay TV. Father Anchieta Foundation is a non-profit organization that
maintains financial and administrative autonomy.
Many Brazilian states also have regional and state-wide public radio and television
stations. One example is Minas Gerais, which has the EMC (Minas Gerais
Communication Company; in Portuguese: Empresa Mineira de Comunicação), a public
corporation created in 2016, formed by Rede Minas, a state wide television network
and the two AM and FM stations of Rádio Inconfidência. In the state of Pará, the state-
funded foundation FUNTELPA (Pará Broadcasting Foundation) operates the public
educational state-wide television network Rede Cultura do Pará (which covers the
entire state of Pará, reaching many cities of Brazilian Amazon) and the FM radio

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station Radio Cultura (which broadcasts for Belém). The state of Espírito Santo has the
RTV-ES (Espírito Santo Radio and Television), with its television channel TVE-ES
(Espirito Santo Educational Television) and an AM radio station (Radio Espírito
Santo), and in Rio Grande do Sul, the state-wide public television channel TVE-RS
(Rio Grande do Sul Educational Television; in Portuguese: TV Educativa do Rio
Grande do Sul) and the public radio station FM Cultura (which broadcasts for Porto
Alegre metropolitan area). Regional public television channels in Brazil often broadcast
part of TV Brasil or TV Cultura programming among with some hours of local
programming.
Since the government of Michel Temer, EBC has received several criticisms from some
politicians for having an alleged political bias. The current president of Brazil, Jair
Bolsonaro, said in his campaign for the presidential election in 2018 that the public
broadcaster is allegedly a "job hanger" (a public company existing only to secure
positions for political allies) and has proposed to privatize or extinguish the public
company. On April 9, 2021, the president inserted the public company into the National
Privatization Program, to carry out studies about the possibility of privatization of the
public broadcaster. Some states often had problems with their public broadcasting
services. In São Paulo, the Padre Anchieta Foundation had sometimes dealt with budget
cuts, labor disputes, and strikes. In the Rio Grande do Sul, TVE-RS and FM Cultura
were managed by the Piratini Foundation, a non-profit state foundation. However, due
to the public debt crisis in the state, in 2018, the Piratini Foundation had its activities
closed, and TVE-RS and FM Cultura started to be managed by the Secretariat of
Communication of the state government.
Brazil also has several community radio stations and many campus radio stations and
educational local TV channels (many of them belonging to public and private
universities).
2.3.5 Public Service Broadcasting in Japan
In Japan, the main public broadcaster is the NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).
The broadcaster was set up in 1926 and was modeled on the British Broadcasting
Company, the precursor to the British Broadcasting Corporation created in 1927. Much
like the BBC, NHK is funded by a "receiving fee" from every Japanese household, with
no commercial advertising and the maintenance of a position of strict political
impartiality. However, rampant non-payment by a large number of households has led
the receiving fee to become something of a political issue. NHK runs two national
terrestrial TV stations (NHK General and NHK Educational) and two satellite-only
services (NHK BS1 and NHK BS Premium services). NHK also runs 3 national radio
services and several international radio and television services, akin to the BBC World
Service. NHK has also been an innovator in television, developing the world's

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first high-definition television technology in 1964 and launching high-definition
services in Japan in 1981.

Check Your Progress

1. Describe Public Service Broadcasting in the UK?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

2. Describe Public Service Broadcasting in Mexico?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

3. Describe Public Service Broadcasting in Brazil?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. Describe Public Service Broadcasting in Japan?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

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Unit -3: Community Radio and Campus Radio
3.0 Unit Structure
3.1 Learning Objectives
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Concept of community Radio
3.3.1 Origin of Community Radio
3.3.2 Community Radio Initiatives in Developing World
3.3.3 Community Radio in Indian Nation-State
3.3.4 Community Broadcasting in Colonial India
3.3.5 Initiatives after Independence
3.3.6 NGO-based Community Radio and Community
3.3.7 Overview of Community Radio
3.4 Campus Radio
3.4.1 Origin of Campus Radio
3.4.2 Campus Radio Initiatives Worldwide
3.4.3 Campus Radio in India
3.4.4 Campus as a Community
Check Your Progress

3.1 Learning Objectives

After going through this unit, the learner will be able to understand;
 Operation of Community Radio
 Objective of Community Radio
 The functionality of Campus Radio

3.2 Introduction
Community radios as well as analyze the contests in which these community radios
emerged and served various communities. You will also come to know how a
community radio initiative functions towards the development of a community. The
concept of Campus Radio will also help learners to analyze campus radio as an
educational, entertainment, and development tool vis-a-vis its history and genesis in the
context of different nations and its contribution in presenting “campus as a
community”. Moreover, with the help of this module, the learners will also come to
know about the history and growth of campus radio in India.

3.3 Concept of Community Radio

According to Partridge (1982), the term “Community Radio” was first coined by
Powell in a leaflet titled “Possibilities for Local Radio” in 1965. Community radio is
known as Waves of Freedom, Rural Radio, Participatory Radio, Cooperative Radio,

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Free Radio, Alternative Radio, Popular Radio, Education Radio, etc. These names
indicate different uses and perspectives of community radios in different situations.
Louie Tabing (2005) in his book “How to do Community Radio” defines community
radio as “one that is operated in the community, for the community, about the
community, and by the community”. Tabbing clarifies that the story of a community
radio starts with community and evolves with the community and it is a platform for
sharing their voices within the community.

A community radio station is characterized by its programming and ownership, and the
community it operates for. Mostly, it is owned and controlled by a non-profit
organization whose structure provides for membership, management, operation, and
programming primarily by members of the community at large. Its programming is
based on community access and participation and reflects the special interests and
needs of the people it is licensed to serve. This describes the typical functions and
features of community radio.

The above characteristics of community radio contrast it completely from mainstream

media and also emphasize participatory communication as an integral part of
development at the grassroots level. Participation in a community is central to the
concept of community radio. Thus, community radio plays a crucial role in the
discourse of social change, community development, and audience participation.

3.3.1 Origin of Community Radio

Community radio broadcasting began approximately 70 years ago in Latin America

when the miners‟ radio in Bolivia came into existence. The miners‟ radio was the result
of a trade union response to the dreadful situation faced by mine workers and it was
used to provide a voice to the miner community. One of the pioneer community radio
stations was established by a priest in the Boyaca region of Colombia, named Radio
Sutatenza in 1949. It was driven by his mission to bring education to peasants to help
them in their development and wellbeing apart from using it for religious
communication. Community radio developed as an alternative radio to the commercial
or government-controlled public broadcast system intending to inculcate a sense of
socio-cultural democratization in the local communities with their specific situations
and character in all regions now. UNESCO has played a pivotal role in promoting the
mission of “free flow of ideas by word and image” by launching an initiative to support
participatory community radio during the 1980s. The participatory community radio
showed its presence in all the continents surpassing the boundaries of developed and
developing making it an effective tool for the development at the grassroots level and
empowering the communities.

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3.3.2 Community Radio Initiatives in Developing World

Community radio has taken shape of people‟s radio movement and is spread in the
developing world with the help of big international organizations like UNESCO. Here
is an overview of community radio as established in different countries of the
developing world, especially from Africa and South America continents. Today,
besides giant organizations like UNESCO and numerous non-governmental bodies with
social agendas, it‟s the community people that form the strong foundation of
community radio.

Bolivia in South America is considered as the originator of community radio which

started in 1947. Such a station was started later in Colombia to give „voice to voiceless‟
people from this new and alternative radio platform with limited capacities of
instrument and infrastructure. The miners‟ radio stations in Bolivia flourished as
entertainment and political medium. They are illustrations that how these local radio
stations function in times of peace and crisis to build political consciousness.
Marginalized people were an indigenous, immigrant, refugee, or black ethnicities as the
target for serving through this medium. There will be around 10,000 community radio
stations across Latin American countries. There are a few Latin American countries like
Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, and El Salvador, where community radio is
vibrant. For instance, community radio stations in rural El Salvador strengthened civil
society at the end of the civil war in the early 1990s (Agosta, 2007).

Throughout the African continent, community radio came to appear as a social

movement. The countries including South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, and
many more have a good presence of community radio. Community radios in South
Africa contributed to dismantling apartheid and building democracy and civil society in
the country. These community radios are owned by not only NGOs but also
cooperatives, religious bodies, ethnic groups. There are more than 150 community
radios in South Africa, which broadcast in various languages and represent diverse
groups. Radio Ada, the first community radio of Ghana went on air on 1 February 1998
after the government liberalized the airwaves by offering licenses to non-profit
organizations to set up community radio. Kenya as a prominent opener of UNESCO-
supported community radio stations sparked off the initiative in 1982 with low watt
transmitter. Homa Bay was set up in the western part of Kenya in May 1982, which
was among the first in Africa. Now, the number of community radios in Kenya has
grown due to cheap licensing fees. These community radios not only produce programs
on health, education, and sanitation but also on politics. Hence, community radio in
Kenya makes people critical and conscious citizens. Community radio stations in
Africa have mushroomed partly due to increased support from international donors.
These local stations hardly generate any revenue from advertisements to sustain the

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stations. Lack of economic viability is a major constraint, which leads to the high
turnover of staff. Though there are challenges, however, community radios have
burgeoned in Africa since the 1990s. It has grown faster compared to commercial and
state-owned radio stations in many countries of Africa, including small countries like
Liberia and Sierra Leone.

3.3.3 Community Radio in Indian Nation-State

Community radio initiatives in India can be broadly divided into two parts i.e. before
the judgment of the Supreme Court in 1995 and after it. There are many community
broadcasting initiatives before 1995, though most of them are initiated by the formal
and informal agencies, mostly government and top-downs in rank. After 1995, non-
governmental organizations have played a crucial role in it. Let‟s discuss the first part
commencing from the colonial era.

3.3.4 Community Broadcasting in Colonial India

Das writes rural broadcasting or community broadcasting was promoted not by the
colonial government but by the romantic champions of Indian tradition. With the help
of romantic champions‟ efforts, a few experimental community listening systems were
established in the early 30s on the outskirts of major cities in India i.e. Lahore, Delhi,
Madras, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Peshawar. Community broadcasting means listening to
the radio through a village loudspeaker in a group. These loudspeakers are kept in the
custody of traditional village leaders i.e. school teachers, shopkeepers, zamindars,
lambardars, and the well-to-do khans. But, a few villagers accept it as it was a new
technology to them and they did not spend any money to buy the loudspeakers.
Community broadcasting is a pre-independence phenomenon, though it was top-down
in approach and for the community. Participation of community in radio broadcasting is
a post-colonial phenomenon.

3.3.5 Initiatives after Independence

After independence, community listening was included in the five-year plan. Many
Indian states distribute radio sets to the village institutions in the 1950s and 1960s,
considering radio as an agent of change. They are called community radio sets. All
India Radio broadcasted programmes on various issues and concerns relating to social
change and development; villagers were listening to those programmes. Community
radio sets and community concern programmes of AIR helped in enhancing the
participation of the villagers in listening activities only. It seems the community is the
by-product of the nation-state for national development.

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Not only the state but also big international non-governmental organizations (BINGOs)
like UNESCO played a pivotal role in community broadcasting in India. UNESCO-
supported radio farm forum project experimented in All India Radio Poona in the late
1950s. No doubt, it again helped to enhance the participation in listening activities,
especially group activities. Though it was a rewarding experiment of AIR in terms of
participation, the marginalized communities like Dalits and women remained
marginalized in this activity (Neurath, 1962). All the aforementioned community or
village broadcasting, community radio sets, and radio farm forum project may be
considered as community radio broadcasting for the people by the state.

After a long gap of state‟s experiment on community broadcasting, the community

radio movement in India was started after the Supreme Court‟s judgment in 1995. The
judgment was that the airwaves are public property, which has to be controlled and
regulated by a public authority in the interests of the public. Following this judgment,
community radio campaigners struggled for a decade to create not-for-profit radio
stations. The Bangalore Declaration on Radio in 1996 and the Pastapur Initiative on
Community Radio Broadcasting 2000 urged the government to make broadcast free
from the state‟s monopoly by making media space available to communities.

After a long struggle, community radio broadcasting in India was legally permitted
after the 2002 policy in which only educational institutes were permitted with the
agenda to promote the development of marginalized and their education. After 4 years
in 2006, community radio policy was revised to accommodate non-governmental
organizations and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Agriculture Science Centres) as agencies to
host community radio stations. There are more than 200 community radio stations in
India after 2002 policy guidelines, though the number is less compared to neighboring
country Nepal.

Community radio in India is growing slowly and steadily. In between, a few

associations and forums have emerged. Among them, Community Radio Forum – India
(CRF-India) and Community Radio Association India are prominent. Activists,
academicians, community workers, media activists across the country, who campaigned
for setting up community radio stations, formed the network called CRF- India in 2007.
The forum advocates for a proactive community radio policy in the country. After four
years, a group of operational community radio stations in the country formed an
association, called Community Radio Association India (CRA India) in 2011. As Dash
(2015) writes, the way CRA India understands the pain of community radios, CRF-
India may not understand it, as the latter is an advocacy group. Nevertheless, both CRF-
India and CRA-India work towards strengthening the community radio sector in India.
A few local agencies emerged and took part in the process too. They are Voice and

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Maara in Bangalore, Ideosync Media Combine in Gurugram, GramVani in Delhi,
Nomad in Dahanu, near Mumbai, and so on.

3.3.6 NGO-based Community Radio and Community

The first NGO-led community radio station was set up in 2008. By the end of 2016,
there were about 76 community radio stations managed by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). A few of these NGOs are small local organizations working in
remote locations of India and a few are big NGOs working in many parts of a state or
more than one state. International organizations like UNESCO, Ford Foundation,
UNDP, UNICEF, etc. are involved in different phases in this sector. These BINGOs
supported financially to small organizations from time to time to operate community
radio stations. So, small NGOs manage their stations by taking financial assistance
from the government, the large international organization as well as local bodies.
Involvement of NGOs and BINGOs in community radio sectors in every phase
commencing from site location for radio station set up, staffing, program production,
broadcasting or narrowcasting, negate the community. We may call it not only
NGOisation of community radio sector but also NGOisation of the communities. After
a certain time of NGOs‟ involvement in the community radio sector, local communities
speak in the language of NGOs.

Community radio at the micro-level is a small, community project, but at the macro
level, it is a transnational project, which has been popularised in India since the late
90s. Though the community radio sector is moving forward at a slow speed, however, it
is expected that the sector will contribute not only to community development but also
to national development. There are a few states, which are having a good number of
community radio stations. These leading states are Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. Most of the community radio stations
are in urban space and fewer are located in the deprived regions and conflicts zones of
the country. So, states in the North-Eastern region, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and
Jammu, and Kashmir are lagging far behind in the number of functional community
radio stations. The community radio stations are still barred to broadcast news;
community radio loses its power and influence of being an alternative medium.

3.3.7 Overview of Community Radio

Radio programs that are of interest to the local audience but are overlooked by more
powerful broadcast groups. It is entirely different from general and commercial
broadcast Community Radio is a radio broadcast that caters to the interest of a certain
area and it generally broadcasts.

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The broadcast of a Community Radio is usually limited to a geographical radius,
usually within five kilometers aerial distance of its transmitter.

It focuses on a specific set of listeners such as students, farmers, rural population, an

ethnic group, or a range of listeners within its small broadcast area. Their target is to
benefit communities and society at large.

 These stations never broadcast for commercial gains.

 Most of the Community Radio stations in the world act as Non-
Government organizations.
 Community Radio stations take up issues that big commercial radio
stations choose to miss.
 The Community Radio stations typically avoid content found on
commercial outlets such as Top 40 music.
 Until late 2006, only educational institutions were allowed to set up
campus radio stations having a transmission range of 10-15km. The first
Community Radio station in India was started at Anna University on
February 1, 2004.
 The Government of India granted licenses to several NGOs, educational
institutions, citizens‟ societies, etc on November 30, 2008.
 India had 200 Community Radio stations by January last year.
 „Sangham Radio‟ was the first NGO from Andhra Pradesh to be granted a
Community Radio license on October 15, 2008.
 Madhya Pradesh‟s „Radio Bundelkhand‟ became the second Community
Radio station to broadcast on October 28, 2008.
 The Government of India has permitted the broadcast of the news;
information beneficial to the public such as on sports, weather, traffic
update, festivals, power cuts, warning about disasters, health, etc till now.
 The Central Government has allowed advertisement up to five minutes on
Community Radio.
 It is mandatory for all programs of Community Radio must abide by the
guidelines of the Central Government and State Governments.

3.4 Campus Radio

Campus Radio is also known as campus based-community radio. Most of the campus
radio is usually owned by the college, university, or educational institutions. The
campus radio station is operated, controlled, and maintained exclusively by the students
involved in the radio group of a college.

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Mostly this radio focused on on-campus activities and events such as art, culture, news,
sports, and politics of local importance.

3.4.1 Origin of Campus Radio

Universities are involved with radio from the very beginning. Teaching faculty,
especially from the departments of physics and electrical engineering is involved with
radio for a deeper understanding of electromagnetic spectrum and wireless
communication. Many students became excited by the potential of the new technology
for communication, while they were assisting the faculty members in building and
operating wireless stations in the USA during the 1910s. The students also took charge
of operating an experimental station 9XM in the University of Wisconsin during 1915
and 1916 known as “wireless squad”. 9XM was one of the few civilian stations that
were allowed to continue operation during World War I. Because of extensive
experimentation during the war, 9XM was much better prepared to pursue radio
broadcasting in comparison with many such university experimental stations.

3.4.2 Campus Radio Initiatives Worldwide

The idea of campus-based community radio stations first started in the USA and soon
spread to Canada, Europe, and then to Africa and Asia. In Canada, there is a separate
policy for campus radio. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission licensed campus radio for the first time in 1975. A campus radio station in
Canada is usually dependant on a limited advertisement, student fees, and donations.

Historically, in Europe, student radio is often categorized as a part of community

broadcasting. The earliest student radio stations in Poland were started from the
students‟ hostel as closed-circuit initiatives in the 1950s. Contemporary student radio in
Poland can be divided into licensed and non-licensed (closed circuit and internet
streaming). These stations broadcast alternative music and promote participation,
dialogue, and marginalized voices. The first student radio station in the United
Kingdom was launched in 1960, though it was a pirate one. There are a huge number of
campus radios in the U.K., but they are restricted to LPFM and their focus is on the
online broadcast. These student stations are also funded by students‟ fees. It is also
noteworthy that there are a few student radio stations that are very much independent
and radical in their approach. One such radio station is Radio Student, one of Europe‟s
oldest alternative and non-commercial radio stations. It was set up by the students of
the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in 1969. Though there is no distinct category of
campus or student radio in the Netherlands, there are more than 50 “student-run”
stations in the country.

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Radio Adelaide, the first community radio station in Australia was established to
continue education by Adelaide University in 1972. Students from Flinders University,
another public university in the city of Adelaide started broadcasting programs through
Radio Adelaide in the name of Flinders University Student Radio (FUSR) from 1997 to
2006. This station and program partnership was an experiment not only in Australia but
also an example for many developing countries. There are a few more active CCRSs in
Australia like University of Canberra Student Radio, though campus radio in Australia
is less prominent. They are largely funded through university student union grants. The
first student radio in New Zealand was started during the 1970s and there are about 10
such radio stations in New Zealand.

There is a good presence of CCRSs in African countries. The CCRSs have been
established in several universities across South Africa since the 1990s. These radio
stations were established to entertain, inform and educate campus communities as well
as to serve neighboring communities. Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg runs
its radio station from two small rooms on the campus, targeting mainly its fellow
students. Nigeria has also many campus radios. However, the programs of these
stations are tailored towards entertainment and are male-oriented. There are a few
student-oriented radio stations based on college campuses in Latin American countries
like Cuba. Students use these campus radio stations to get trained in all phases of radio
broadcasting. They use the stations as laboratories, do experiments and develop their
skills in radio broadcasting.

3.4.3 Campus Radio in India

In India, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Punjab Agricultural University
had applied for licenses to operate closed-circuit instructional TV systems and the pleas
were turned down by the government. After around five decades of a university‟s plan,
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led Government of India (GoI) permitted to open
CRSs to the well-established educational institutions such as universities, Indian
Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, residential schools, and
Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) only in December 2002. The objective behind the
opening of such stations was to promote the development of the marginalized sections
and to educate them. There are more than 200 community radio stations in India after
2002 policy guidelines, out of which more than half are campus-based community
radios.
Though the development of CCRSs in India is a twenty-first-century phenomenon, it is
nothing new. The first licensed community radio in India was set up on the campus of
Anna University, Chennai on 1 February 2004. The station is controlled and managed
by the Education and Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC) and the students of the
Media Science department of the university. A few other earlier campus initiatives are
Apna Radio by Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi; Jamia Radio by
Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 28
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; Vidyavani CR by Savitribai Phule Pune University in
Maharashtra; Radio Banasthali by Banasthali University in Rajasthan. Ravenshaw
Radio is Odisha‟s first Campus Community Radio Station which was launched on April
14, 2011, on the occasion of Utkal Divas. Ravenshaw Radio was inaugurated with the
“Voice of Ravenshaw” which featured a song competition. A couple of live broadcasts
of the Puri Rath Yatra and a local cricket match were the initial programs on
Ravenshaw Radio.

By the end of 2016, there are around 200 community radio stations, out of which 124
are on the campuses of schools, educational institutions, universities, and Krishi Vigyan
Kendras. These campus-based community radio stations are sandwiched between the
campus community and the greater community beyond the campus. These CRRSs can
work with both campus and community in a partnership mode. It has been found that
the campus can lead to having a partnership with the neighboring community and this
partnership may be problem-solving in nature by addressing critical local issues and
concerns and using resources of both campus and community. Though these
community radio stations are more sustainable in terms of financial supports from the
parent organisations, they are struggling to have people‟s participation and programme.
Again, the parent organisations of the campus-based community radio stations are
mostly either the central and state governments or private agencies.

Most CCRSs are situated in the cities or urban space, where there is media saturation
compared to rural parts of any country. Hence, these CCRSs compete with other
commercial and state-owned radio stations in the same space. To gain popularity, these
CCRSs have to enhance the participation of people in planning, programming,
production, and dissemination. They have to fight the hegemony of the mainstream
media. They have to become independent from political and market influence.

Indian educational radio network Gyan-Vani is being extensively used for university-
level and other educational programs. These radio stations can be revived if they move
steadily towards the goal of wider and better service for the community. When the local
community gains priority in programming and participation in the process of
production, it may contribute to revenue generation for the station and its sustenance.

3.4.4 Campus as a Community

Campus as a community is constructed by the educational system. The campus

community is dynamic and diverse. The members of it change frequently as new
students arrive at the beginning of every academic year and old students leave the
campus at the end of an academic year, new teaching and non-teaching members join,
and senior teaching and non-teaching members get retired. New members from diverse
caste, classes, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity groups join the campus community.

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Most of the members of the campus community are highly intellectual. According to
Ernest L Boyer, an American educationist, the campus is a purposeful, just, open,
disciplined, caring, and celebrative community (1990). For him, the campus is a;

Purposeful community, where students and faculty work together to strengthen teaching
and learning and lead the intellectual life;

Just community, where the dignity of every individual is affirmed and equality of
opportunity is purposed;

Open community, where freedom of expression is uncompromisingly protected and

civility is powerfully affirmed;

Disciplined community, where individuals accept their obligations to the group; Caring
community, where the well-being of every member is sensitively supported and service
to others is encouraged; and

Celebrating community, where the heritage of the institution is remembered and rituals
affirming both tradition and change are widely shared.

In the campus community, we find conflict and cohesion like other communities. There
are issues such as drug abuse, campus crime, breakdown of civility, caste tension,
harassment with women, and so on. To strengthen well-acclaimed Boyer‟s idea of the
campus community, CCRSs may assist the parent organization in visualizing its
mission and vision by building a harmonious campus and helping build a unique culture
in the campus. Therefore, a campus is known to society by its own identity.

Campus-based community radio stations not only supplement other media on the
campus but also create alternativeness to indicate their role as a sector rooted in a local
community and to define its programming as distinct from other stations. CCRSs can
construct campus as a community with the help of a pool of articulate, creative, and
innovative volunteers.

A college or university campus can provide a sustainable natural environment for an

independent and non-commercial radio station. These independent campus-based
community radio stations are primarily meant for the training of Broadcast Journalism
students and secondarily as “campus plus” radio stations for students, youth, and
residents of the surrounding areas in some countries. Having a “campus plus” audience
has multiple reasons. One of them is the relation between campus and neighboring
community. Another reason may be because of lack of availability of audience or very
small size of the audience and availability of low listenership on the campus. To be
more active and vibrant on the campuses, the radio stations must understand the social
stratification of the campus communities. This will help them to be able to cater to
various communities of interest within a particular geographic community. These
stations are hyper-local compared to commercial and state-owned radio stations. They
produce most of the edutainment programmes with voluntary support from the students.

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 30

Most of the campus-based community radio stations across the world, including India
are moving towards online broadcast. In India, these radio stations play a vital role in
the process of social change and development in the neighborhood.

Check Your Progress

1. Describe the development of Community Radio?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

2. What is a perception about Community Radio and its development in

society?
__________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

3. Describe the Campus Radio with the benefits to students?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. What is a campus-based Community Radio?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 31

Unit -4: Presentation of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)
4.1 Unit Structure
4.2 Learning Objectives
4.3 Introduction
4.4 Broadcasting in India
4.5 Public Service Broadcasting in India
4.6 Role of Public Service Broadcasting
4.7 Role of the Directorate of Audiovisual Publicity (DAVP)
4.7 Social responsibilities of public service broadcasting (PSB)
4.8 Changing scenario of Broadcasting in India
4.9 AIR Live-streams on NewsOnAir
Check Your Progress

4.1 Learning objectives

After completion of this unit, the learner will be able to understand;
 Role of public service broadcasting
 Social responsibility of public service broadcasting
 Changing scenario of public service broadcasting

4.2 Introduction

As per the Supreme court: “The right to freedom of speech and expression also includes
the right to educate, to inform and to entertain and also the right to be educated,
informed and entertained.” It gave a wider amplitude to the right to speech and
expression: “The government has no monopoly on electronic media and under Article
19(1) (a) a citizen has the right to telecast and broadcast to the viewers through
electronic media”.

Broadcasting is referred to as a central source of news and information across the globe.
Due to this trait, it tends to influence the opinions of the public at large and is a target
of illegitimate control.

The body that regulates and governs the media and entertainment sector in India is
enshrined in the Cable Networks Act, 1995, and the Prasar Bharti Act, 1990. These are
regulated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Prasar Bharti.

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4.3 Broadcasting in India
As of today, the Indian mass media comprises over 900 TV channels that reach 210
million Indian households now own TV sets in 2018, according to data shared by
BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council).

AIR‟s home service comprises 470 Broadcasting centers located across the country,
covering nearly 92% of the country‟s area and 99.19 % of the total population.
Terrestrially, AIR originates programming in 23 languages and 179 dialects.

Doordarshan have almost reach to the Indian households with different language
channels. DD News has 31 functional Regional News Units / Bureaus which are
broadcasting over 157 news bulletins in 22 languages/dialects with a consolidated more
than 47 hours of daily telecast of bulletins and programmes.

Broadcasting services in India are provided by Cable TV, DTH Services, Terrestrial
services (Doordarshan), Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Radio (FM, AM,
Community Radio). Key features of broadcasting regulations are that they provide
signals on a non-discriminate basis to distributors, carry provisions for national and
regional languages. In the recent past, there has been an estimation of the growth of the
Indian broadcasting and cable TV market to undergo a robust rate of growth during the
forecast period. There has been an increasing demand for television sets especially in
the rural parts of the country is one of the key factors supporting the growth of this
market. It is projected that by 2025 there will be a huge surge in the entertainment
industry with a growing demand for international TV channels and shows driving the
growth of the Indian broadcasting and cable TV market.

4.3 Public Service Broadcasting in India

Broadcasting acts as an important Mass Communication channel through which the

right of freedom of speech and expression which is to receive and impart information
and dissemination of ideas freely can be sustained. Public service broadcasting PSB is
to meet community needs that exist beyond traditional geographic and institutional
boundaries.
Prasar Bharati through All India Radio-AIR and Doordarshan-DD network provides
maximum coverage of the population and is one of the largest terrestrial networks in
the world. Prasar Bharati aims to provide the most efficient media content of the
highest quality that will empower and lighten the citizen of India and its audiences
outside the country through original and relevant programs which inform educate and
entertain people. As the competition is going serious with the existence of private
channels and with the move into the digital age public broadcasting is at the forefront of
Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 33
using technology to provide better service and programs to an even wider and more
diverse community. This is a small study that tries to judge the public service
broadcasting scenario in India.

Public service broadcasting is the broadcasting made financed and controlled by the
public for the public. It is neither commercial nor state-owned it is free from political
interference and pressure from commercial forces. True public service broadcasting can
create as a keystone of democracy when it is guaranteed with pluralism, programming,
diversity, education, independence, appropriate funding, accountability, and
transparency. Public broadcasting includes radio television and other electronic media
public broadcasting on locally operated depending on the country and the citizen.

4.4 Role of Public Service Broadcasting

Public service broadcasting is one of the major points in initiating and knowledge social
change within the people as well as the nation through the means of mass media. It is
also intended to meet the community needs that exist beyond the traditional
geographical and institutional boundaries. Public service broadcasting is traditionally
been most important from broadcasting. Commercial broadcasting is taking over much
of the public service due to high viewership as high revenue. But the importance of
public service broadcasting cannot be under undermined in the Indian context.

Public service broadcasting is concerned with a broader set of a custom as well as a

larger authorization. The extent of public service broadcasting is vast it is aimed at
meeting the needs of the villagers sitting in the remote part of the country to the people
listening to the radio set or watching television in an isolated part of the country. Indian
consists of multiple or traditional religion and language variations. Public service
broadcasting should aim at developing taste promoting understanding and spreading
literacy. It also aims at creating informed debate as well as empowering the
disadvantaged.

4.5 Role of the directorate of audiovisual publicity (DAVP)

The directorate of audiovisual publicity plays a vital role in spreading public service
messages in rural villages. This exists in line with policies of the government intending
to promote informed and social transformation in the citizen. The team of DAVP goes
with an audiovisual communication system and communicate with the support of
different visual communication mode to the villagers to make them informed and
aware. Programs like Krishi Darshan, Gramin Bharat, Jago Grahak Jago have played an
important role in informing and educating the farmer's villages as well as the common
citizens alike. They are informed of the latest technology and innovation available to

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 34

them in the profession as the opportunities that they possess as citizens of the country.
This has affected the first segment of our country in making this information vital for
the citizen in rural India.

4.7 Social responsibilities of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)

The responsibility of public service broadcasting is to act responsibly. Their
responsibilities are diverse and composite they are frequently challenged and always
challenging. Their mission may not always be popular with the masses but decades of
social experience so the social work and importance of keeping faith with the mission.
Public service broadcasting is all about many things for many people because it's about
serving a public comprising of many publics and a cultural life creating many cultures.
The principles and practices have been rightly defined as the social responsibility
approach to broadcasting and electronic media. Their approach to broadcasting has
always been defined as a service to the public that is the soul of legal obligation and the
heart of the practical operation.

Public service broadcasting has the responsibility to provide services to a public

comprising of many individuals with linguistic cultures languages wide-ranging
difference is and broad similarities. Above all the identities the most important identity
is been defined as a creation of modern society the most important for the political
democratic process is one identity as a citizen. Good citizenship is the decision
requirement for a society at peace with itself and with each other. The ability to
effectively exercise one side entity as a good citizen depends on the quality and variety
of information that is necessary to make informed decisions about social policy
political scenarios and civic life. Public service broadcasting is obligated to act
responsibly in all news and current affairs programming as an essential service to the
public in the duties and privileges and title in the exercise of citizenship.

4.8 Changing scenario of Broadcasting in India

The year 1991 has made a remarkable change at the beginning of new policies of
globalization and liberalization for India. Only after the private players were allowed to
participate in the communication industry. Since then there have been several
advancements in the technological aspect of the industry and which is continuing even
today.

The arrival of private FM channels in India has played changing the scenario of
broadcasting. The rival of this entertainment check has been broken by the myth of
AIR. Suryan FM and many others have answered in the entertainment revolution. Some
community radio stations also were launched for instance Anna FM community radio
station of Anna University.

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 35

India experimented with FM broadcasters in the mid-90s to find places including four
cities of Delhi Chennai Mumbai and Kolkata and one additional at Goa. These were
followed by stations in Bangalore to Hyderabad Jaipur and Lucknow. FM channels
were not permitted to broadcast news initially but further, it was allowed to look at its
prominence in the society.
The television industry has changed its course since the cradle of satellites channels in
India. With the increase in the number of satellite channels, there has been rapid
augmentation in a variety of programs telecasted on these channels. Appearing on this
sense of consumption pattern of the few hours has easily changed. Looking back to the
Doordarshan era serials like Humlog, Ramayana, Buniyad, Udan, Chandrakanta, and
Mahabharat war were the major highlights of television that were most awaited by the
viewers. The feature film telecasted on Sundays evening is mostly viewed by the family
members together on their seats they were fascinated by the back-to-back display ads
by the Doordarshan channel. The letter DD metro channel brought daily soap serials
with a reflection of society well needed in the society.

4.9 AIR Live-streams on NewsOnAir

In the latest rankings of top countries in the
world where All India Radio (AIR) Live-
streams on News On Air App are most
popular.
In major changes in rankings of top AIR
streams globally, AIR News 24x7, FM
Rainbow Mumbai, Asmita Mumbai, and
AIR Punjabi are back in the top 10.
Rainbow Kannada Kaamanbilu, AIR
Raagam, AIR Kochi FM Rainbow and AIR
Tamil are out of the top 10 rankings. Vividh
Bharati National is at the top position, followed by FM Gold Delhi and FM Rainbow
Delhi.
More than 240 Radio Services of All India Radio are live-streamed on NewsOnAir
App, Prasar Bharati‟s official App. These All India Radio Streams on NewsOnAir App
have a large number of listeners not just in India, but globally, in more than 85
countries and eight thousand cities across the globe.

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 36

 Check Your Progress
1. Describe the role of public service broadcasting in India?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

5. Describe the responsibility of public service broadcasting in India?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

6. Describe the role of DAVP?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
7. Describe the changing scenario of public service broadcasting in
India?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 37

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_broadcasting_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_broadcasting#Americas
https://newsonair.gov.in/
http://prasarbharati.gov.in/

Readings:
1. Glen Creeber, Toby Miller and John Tulloch, The Television Genre Book (London:
British Film Institute, 2009)
2. Robert B Musburger and Gorham Kindem, Introduction to Media Production,
(Elsevier: Focal Press) Pg‐95‐133, 179‐212
3. Ambrish Saxena, Radio in New Avatar‐ AM to FM,(Delhi: Kanishka) , Pg‐ 92‐138,
271‐307
4. Ted White and Frank Barnas, Broadcast News, Writing Reporting & Producing,
(Elsevier, Focal Press,2012) 3‐17, 245‐257, 279‐286
5. Herbert Zettl, Television Production Handbook, (Delhi: Akash Press, 2007 ) 190‐
208
6. F.Vinod Pavarala, Kanchan K Malik, FACILITATING COMMUNITY RADIO IN
INDIA: Profiles of NGOs and their Community Radio Initiatives Other Voices
(New Delhi: Sage, 2007)
7. G. Mc Leash, Robert, Radio Production (US: Taylor & Francis )

Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur Page 38