International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics - Volume 5, Issue 1-2, 2009

This article compares the historical role of North American grassroots groups in setting up telephone communications at the turn of the 20th century with contemporary campaigns of grassroots activists to establish broadband communications, in one US metropolitan region, the San Francisco Bay. The narrative analyses the local and national policy environment, the corporate commercial context and the activist constituencies. It focuses on mapping the frames used, the direction of their campaigns and the outcomes. Drawing from examples of citizens' activity in assessing community needs, policy-making and political mobilizing, including among historically marginalized communities, the author argues that digital inclusion, and democratic decision-making in broadband, is much more than a narrow technical question of providing access to new information and communication technologies, or of incorporating consumers in market-based development. The study concludes that democratizing the new communications platforms of the broadband Internet will involve the support of citizens' initiatives in building their own communications technologies and content; challenging the incumbent corporate players, and supporting a variety of municipally operated systems.

This article examines grassroots tech groups as civil society media (CSM) actors marginalised in the communications policy debate. We aim to insert these key providers of information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure into discussions on enabling CSM policy agendas. The article maps their policy objectives, traces their connections to broader Internet governance mechanisms and explores their potential roles as policy stakeholders. We conclude that grassroots tech groups, while operating largely outside of the debate, offer unique perspectives and contributions to multi-stakeholder policy dialogue, challenging norms of inclusion and representation.

Emerging from the international movement of Indigenous peoples, what the author terms the New Media Nation is linked to the explosion of Indigenous news media, information technology, film, music, and other artistic and cultural developments. The creators of Indigenous media projects experience an array of government, transgovernment, corporate and other policies and pressures: these range from supportive to disinterested, to hostile and sometimes life-threatening. In the most supportive environments, they are able to participate as citizens working within government media policies. In the most hostile environments, they are forced to become outlaws, finding ways to send printed materials, radio signals and Internet transmissions across borders that often artificially (re)construct Indigenous peoples as bounded by nation-states. Indigenous people are using old and new technologies to amplify their voices and expand their power, disseminating information to a rapidly expanding global audience. The article draws on more than 20 years of research in several countries and picks up key themes elaborated in the book, The New Media Nation, now in press.

In Brazil, distinct movements have developed a critical discourse since the mid-1980s that aims to re-establish democratic communication public policies in different spheres, and to strengthen a social network made by people, groups and organizations. Actors in these networks come from many thematic particularities but share an understanding of communication as a tool for mobilization and empowerment. Ironically, this shared understanding has also become a considerable limitation to the affirmation of movement demands. On the basis of bibliographical and document research, as well as interviews with advocates and activists, this article focuses on contributions for social development by community communication initiatives. Many examples discussed are from the Brazilian context, but with reference to parallels and differences to cases in other countries. The article discusses cases of effective social appropriation of ICTs by community radio stations and community TV and other projects that increase the participation of many sectors to promote decentralized policy-making processes in the communication field. Special attention is given to the challenges and contributions of community communication in times of radio and TV digitalization. Community media are legitimized by their contribution to development, their own local situation and their relevance to society at large. These relationships are dynamic and ever changing. The perspective developed in this article aims to support community media against governments and corporate media attacks.

In Japan, civil society uses of online technology have a long history: non-profit computer networks preceded the Internet and webcasting was pioneered by civic groups wanting to overcome rigid broadcasting laws. However, online civil society media face great challenges, with government, market and un-civil society trying to marginalize them against an even more damaging background of general neglect and disregard. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has proposed a new policy framework for the convergence of telecommunication and broadcasting, the basis for a new law planned for 2010. Varying levels of regulation are foreseen for all content. Online variants of mainstream media such as newspapers and television broadcasting will remain largely self-regulated. Civil society media (CSM) remain unrecognized, facing potentially heavy regulation as user-generated content. The authors focus on Japanese online civil society media (online CSM), using case studies to illustrate its successes and challenges in the current environment. In Japan, the Internet is considered the natural domain of business, while civil society, individual, citizens' and personal media, often termed shimin media, are presented as latecomers. The authors will show this to be historically inaccurate and politically dubious. Identifying patterns of enclosure and colonization, the authors argue that despite increases in technological opportunity, the space for civil society media is shrinking, bringing the Japanese media system to a critical juncture. The authors conclude by outlining suggestions for improving the Japanese communication environment to enhance online civil society media.

This article starts with basic information about historical developments and circumstances concerning Serbia as a country still in the process of transition. Media restructuring is explained from the point of view of an activist who has been fighting for civil society media both in research and practice. The process of transition that is taking place in Serbia is a good opportunity for an attempt to establish a third media sector. However, this endeavour has been unsuccessful so far because most media organizations restructuring from government monopoly have chosen the commercial privatization option, even though civil society media are a legally sanctioned and recognized option. This article presents results that are far from optimistic. The main part of the article is dedicated to reasons that explain how a specific type of broadcasting media has been prevented from growing in Serbia. The civil society media model was, and still is, a blind spot of media transition. It is ignored in the political sphere, and the public is not properly informed about it. Journalists are not keen to try media restructuring in the direction of civil society media either, as a survey of their opinions and attitudes shows. The survey indicates that professional journalists also have poor knowledge about civil society media as an alternative to privatization. Consequently, they did not attempt to make use of civil society media legislation in the restructuring of their own media organizations. An encouraging finding of the survey was that working journalists are aware, in principle, of the liberating and participatory potential of people's media. It seems that only the rise of civil society in Serbia can create the societal conditions in which civil society media can graduate from hope to reality.

A major limitation in the development and protection of people's media in Thailand is the unstable and highly polarized political environment in which governments are short-lived and the constitution is not taken seriously as the fundamental law of the land. As a result, media have become tools in larger political struggles. This analysis demonstrates that while several foundational elements necessary to promote people's media are emerging in Thailand, others are still lacking. A clear understanding of people's media as distinguished from both state and commercial media has recently gained strength. Yet, constitutional protections for people's communication rights are nevertheless undermined by politicized media laws that in practice carry more weight than the constitution and prevent people from acting on their communication rights with confidence. This article explores these issues, and discusses two forms in which people's media have found a space to operate community radio and Internet-based people's media. The analysis finds that while these media still find themselves struggling to survive a complex and constantly shifting policy environment, the basic concept of communication rights has taken hold, in the process providing lessons for people's media elsewhere.

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Communication for Social Change Anthology: Historical and Contemporary Readings, Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron and Thomas Tufte (eds.) (2006) South Orange, NJ: CFSC Consortium, 1067 pp., ISBN 0977035794 (pbk), $120

From Public Service Broadcasting to Public Service Media, Gregory Ferrell Lowe, Jo Bardoel (eds.) (2007) Kunglv: Nordicom, 259 pp., ISBN 978-91-89471-53-5 (pbk), SEK 280, 30

Community Media. A Global Introduction, Ellie Rennie (2006) Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 224 pp., ISBN 0742539245 (hbk), $83.00, ISBN 0742539253 (pbk), $27.95