Passion, purpose and pathways: A typology of volunteer motivations in community radio

References

1. ACMA (2022), Community Radio Broadcasting Licences, Canberra: Australian Government.
   [Google Scholar]
2. Anderson, H. (2019), ‘The digital disruption of news and current affairs in the community broadcasting sector: An Australian perspective’, 3CMedia Journal of Citizen’s, Community and Third Sector Media, 9, pp. 19–30.
   [Google Scholar]
3. Anderson, H., Backhaus, B., Bedford, C. and de Souza, P. (2021), Community Media Destinations: Spotlight on Creative Industries, Brisbane: Griffith University.
   [Google Scholar]
4. Anderson, H., Backhaus, B., Bedford, C. and de Souza, P. (2022), ‘“Go join that radio station up there”: The role of Australian community radio in journalism education and training’, Australian Journalism Review, 44:2, pp. 171–89, https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00102_1.
   [Google Scholar]
5. Anderson, H., Forde, S., Rane, H., Alexander, B. and Souza, P. de (2024), Connecting Communities in a Digital Media Era: Australian Ethnic Community Broadcasting in the 21st Century, Brisbane: Griffith University, https://apo.org.au/node/325582. Accessed 20 February 2024.
   [Google Scholar]
6. Arai, S. M. (2000), ‘Typology of volunteers for a changing sociopolitical context: The impact on social capital, citizenship and civil society’, Loisir et Société (Society and Leisure), 23:2, pp. 327–52, https://doi.org/10.1080/07053436.2000.10707534.
   [Google Scholar]
7. Backhaus, B. and Anderson, H. (2025), ‘“Unrelenting passion and selflessness”: Theorising the affective labour of community radio practitioners’, Media, Culture & Society, 47:8, pp. 1582–98, https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437251351794.
   [Google Scholar]
8. Backhaus, B., Anderson, H. and Bedford, C. (2023), Community Media Destinations: Spotlight on Training, Brisbane: Griffith University.
   [Google Scholar]
9. Backhaus, B., Anderson, H. and Bedford, C. (2024), ‘Communities, connections, and careers: Building personal and professional networks through community media work’, Continuum, 38:1, pp. 124–36, https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2024.2344074.
   [Google Scholar]
10. Baker, S. (2007), ‘Young people and community radio in the northern region of Adelaide, South Australia’, Popular Music and Society, 30:5, pp. 575–90, https://doi.org/10.1080/03007760600835389.
    [Google Scholar]
11. Bonini, T. and Gandini, A. (2016), ‘Invisible, solidary, unbranded and passionate: Everyday life as a freelance and precarious worker in four Italian radio stations’, Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 10:2, pp. 84–100, https://doi.org/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.10.2.0084.
    [Google Scholar]
12. Bosch, T. (2014), ‘Community radio’, in K. Wilkins, R. Obregon and T. Tufte (eds), The Handbook of Development Communication and Social Change, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 426–38.
    [Google Scholar]
13. Browne, D. R. (2012), ‘What is “community” in community radio? A consideration of the meaning, nature and importance of a concept’, in J. Gordon (ed.), Community Radio in the Twenty-First Century, Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 153–73.
    [Google Scholar]
14. Bryant, P. and Pozdeev, N. (2014), ‘Build it and they will come: A case study of the impacts of governance on programming volunteer recruitment within community media organisations’, Third Sector Review, 20:1, pp. 141–62, https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.535428245710242.
    [Google Scholar]
15. Caldwell, L. L. and Andereck, K. L. (1994), ‘Motives for initiating and continuing membership in a recreation-related voluntary association’, Leisure Sciences, 16:1, pp. 33–44, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490409409513215.
    [Google Scholar]
16. Carpentier, N. (2016), ‘Beyond the ladder of participation: An analytical toolkit for the critical analysis of participatory media processes’, Javnost: The Public, 23:1, pp. 70–88, https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2016.1149760.
    [Google Scholar]
17. CBAA (2024), ‘Shape of the sector 2024’, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, https://www.cbaa.org.au/membership/station-services/data-insights. Accessed 6 June 2025.
18. CBAA & CBF (2023), ‘Roadmap 2033’, https://www.roadmap2033.org.au/s/FINAL-Roadmap-2033-digital-viewing.pdf. Accessed 28 November 2023.
19. Community Broadcasting Foundation (2020), ‘About community media’, https://cbf.org.au/learn/about-community-media/. Accessed 4 June 2021.
20. Cunningham, S. and Turnbull, S. (2014), The Media and Communications in Australia, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
    [Google Scholar]
21. Deuze, M. (2007), Media Work, Cambridge: Polity Press.
    [Google Scholar]
22. Downing, J. D. H. (2014), ‘Social movement media in the process of constructive social change’, in K. Wilkins, T. Tufte and R. Obregon (eds), The Handbook of Development Communication and Social Change, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 331–50.
    [Google Scholar]
23. Dreher, T. (2017), ‘Social/participation/listening: Keywords for the social impact of community media’, Communication Research and Practice, 3:1, pp. 14–30, https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2016.1273737.
    [Google Scholar]
24. Fairchild, C. (2006), ‘The grinding gears of a neo-liberal state community radio and local cultural production’, Southern Review, 39:2, pp. 61–76.
    [Google Scholar]
25. Fairchild, C. (2012), Music, Radio and the Public Sphere: The Aesthetics of Democracy, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
    [Google Scholar]
26. Felton, N. (2024), ‘Keep it locked (down): How Melbourne’s community radio stations performed scene functions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic’, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 38:2, pp. 181–92, https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2024.2329977.
    [Google Scholar]
27. Forde, S., Van Issum, H., Bargallie, D., Meston, T., Anderson, H., de Groot Heupner, S. and Barnett, L. (2024), Radio, Television and Digital Media in 21st Century Indigenous Broadcasting: A Place of Old and New Ways, Canberra: Griffith University and National Indigenous Australians Agency.
    [Google Scholar]
28. Forner, V. W., Holtrop, D., Boezeman, E. J., Slemp, G. R., Kotek, M., Kragt, D., Askovic, M. and Johnson, A. (2024), ‘Predictors of turnover amongst volunteers: A systematic review and meta-analysis’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 45:3, pp. 434–58, https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2729.
    [Google Scholar]
29. Hagan, J. (2022), ‘The pitfalls and potential of participant-observation: Ethnographic enquiry in volunteering’, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 33:6, pp. 1179–86, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00421-y.
    [Google Scholar]
30. Hayton, J. W. and Blundell, M. (2021), ‘Exploring the relationship between social class and sport event volunteering’, Sport Management Review, 24:1, pp. 92–115, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2020.06.002.
    [Google Scholar]
31. Hustinx, L. and Lammertyn, F. (2003), ‘Collective and reflexive styles of volunteering: A sociological modernization perspective’, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 14:2, pp. 167–87, https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023948027200.
    [Google Scholar]
32. Jallov, B. (2005), ‘Assessing community change: Development of a “bare foot” impact assessment methodology’, Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 3:1, pp. 21–34, https://doi.org/10.1386/rajo.3.1.21/1.
    [Google Scholar]
33. Jamison, I. B. (2003), ‘Turnover and retention among volunteers in human service agencies’, Review of Public Personnel Administration, 23:2, pp. 114–32, https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x03023002003.
    [Google Scholar]
34. Katiyar, K. (2017), ‘Understanding community volunteering and representation: Case study of Waqt ki Awaz community radio station’, in S. Mall, A. Bansal and K. Kumar (eds), International Communications Management Conference Conference Proceedings, Ahmedabad, India, MICA, pp. 324–39.
    [Google Scholar]
35. King, G. (2017), ‘History of struggle: The global story of community broadcasting practices, or a brief history of community radio’, Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 12:2, pp. 18–36, https://doi.org/10.16997/wpcc.227.
    [Google Scholar]
36. Lindlof, T. R. and Taylor, B. C. (2017), Qualitative Communication Research Methods, 4th ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
37. Lockstone-Binney, L., Holmes, K., Meijs, L. C. P. M., Oppenheimer, M., Haski-Leventhal, D. and Taplin, R. (2022), ‘Growing the volunteer pool: Identifying non-volunteers most likely to volunteer’, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 33:4, pp. 777–94, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00407-w.
    [Google Scholar]
38. Lockstone-Binney, L., Holmes, K., Smith, K. and Baum, T. (2010), ‘Volunteers and volunteering in leisure: Social science perspectives’, Leisure Studies, 29:4, pp. 435–55, https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2010.527357.
    [Google Scholar]
39. Martinez, T. A. and McMullin, S. L. (2004), ‘Factors affecting decisions to volunteer in nongovernmental organizations’, Environment and Behavior, 36:1, pp. 112–26, https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916503256642.
    [Google Scholar]
40. McCulloch, P. (2024), ‘The implications of COVID-19 on regional journalism in far north Queensland: Measuring the heart rate of local communities’, Australian Journalism Review, 46:2, pp. 229–47, https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00160_1.
    [Google Scholar]
41. McDougall, A. (2024), ‘Community radio: A lifeline for local bonds and resilience’, SGS Economics & Planning; SGS Economics & Planning, 16 February, https://sgsep.com.au/publications/insights/community-radio. Accessed 4 June 2025.
42. McNair yellowSquares (2024), ‘Community radio listener survey audience summary: 2024 – Wave 4’, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, https://dashboard.mcnair.com.au/Storyboard/RHViewStoryBoard.aspx?RId=%c2%b3%c2%b7&RLId=%c2%b1%c2%b2&PId=%c2%b6%c2%b5%c2%b7%c2%bc%c2%bb&UId=%c2%b4%c2%b4%c2%b4%c2%b3%c2%b7&RpId=66. Accessed 4 June 2025.
43. Meadows, M., Forde, S., Ewart, J. and Foxwell, K. (2007), Community Media Matters: An Audience Study of the Australian Community Broadcasting Sector, Brisbane: Griffith University.
    [Google Scholar]
44. Moylan, K. (2019), The Cultural Work of Community Radio, London: Rowman & Littlefield.
    [Google Scholar]
45. Order, S. (2014), ‘Narcissism in Western Australia’s community radio sector’, in M. Oliveira, G. Stachyra and G. Starkey (eds), Radio: The Resilient Medium. Papers from the Third Conference of the ECREA Radio Research Section, London, 11–13 September, Sunderland: Centre for Research in Media and Cultural Studies, pp. 139–54.
    [Google Scholar]
46. Pateman, C. (2014), Participation and Democratic Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
47. Pavarala, V. and Malik, K. K. (2007), Other Voices: The Struggle for Community Radio in India, New Delhi: Sage Publications India.
    [Google Scholar]
48. Pearce, J. L. (1993), Volunteers: The Organizational Behavior of Unpaid Workers, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
49. Putnam, R. D. (2001), Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Simon and Schuster.
    [Google Scholar]
50. Reed, P. B. and Selbee, L. K. (2000), ‘Distinguishing characteristics of active volunteers in Canada’, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29:4, pp. 571–92, https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764000294006.
    [Google Scholar]
51. Rodriguez, C. (2001), Fissures in the Mediascape: An International Study of Citizens’ Media, Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
    [Google Scholar]
52. Southby, K. and South, J. (2016), Volunteering, Inequalities and Barriers to Volunteering: A Rapid Evidence Review, London: Volunteering Matters.
    [Google Scholar]
53. Stebbins, R. A. (1996), ‘Volunteering: A serious leisure perspective’, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 25:2, pp. 211–24, https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764096252005.
    [Google Scholar]
54. Taylor, R. (2013), ‘Rethinking voluntary work: Dimensions of class, gender and culture’, in M. Hély and M. Simonet (eds), Le Travail Associative, Nanterre: Presses universitaires de Paris Nanterre, pp. 51–63.
    [Google Scholar]
55. Tucker, E. (2013), ‘Community radio in political theory and development practice’, Journal of Development and Communication Studies, 2:2–3, pp. 392–420.
    [Google Scholar]
56. Volunteering Australia (2024), Key Volunteering Statistics March 2024, Canberra: Volunteering Australia, https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/Volunteering-Australia-Key-Volunteering-Statistics-2024-Update.pdf. Accessed 24 May 2025.
    [Google Scholar]
57. Weisinger, J. Y., Borges-Méndez, R. and Milofsky, C. (2016), ‘Diversity in the nonprofit and voluntary sector’, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45:1, pp. 3S–27S, https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764015613568.
    [Google Scholar]
58. Wilson, J. and Musick, M. A. (1997), ‘Work and volunteering: The long arm of the job’, Social Forces, 76:1, p. 251, https://doi.org/10.2307/2580325.
    [Google Scholar]