Three Case Studies of Thai Community Radio Stations
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PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MEDIA: THREE CASE STUDIES OF THAI COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Chalisa Magpanthong August 2007 This dissertation titled PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MEDIA: THREE CASE STUDIES OF THAI COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS by CHALISA MAGPANTHONG has been approved for the School of Telecommunications and the Scripps College of Communication by Drew McDaniel Professor of Telecommunications Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication MAGPANTHONG, CHALISA, Ph.D., August 2007. Telecommunications. PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MEDIA: THREE CASE STUDIES OF THAI COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS (287 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Drew McDaniel This dissertation explored practices of participatory communication in three case studies of Thailand’s community radio stations (CRS) and investigated the dynamic relationships between CRSs and their communities. It articulated the theoretical framework of participatory community media developed from the concepts of community media and participatory communication. In Thailand, community radio was categorized differently from mainstream radio because of two features—community ownership and participatory communication practices. Essentially, community ownership made these stations responsive to community demands that differed from station to station due to their varied social contexts and cultural boundaries. Based on ethnographic methods, which included sixty-four qualitative interviews and participant observation during eight weeks of fieldwork, this study analyzed three Thai CRSs—Doilangtham CRS in the north, Khon Thaiso CRS in the northeast, and Pattani CRS in the south. This study found public access to CRSs is most assured when local languages are used, physical location is convenient, content is appropriate, and feedback mechanisms are in place. Of particular importance, cell phones played a key role in connecting audiences to the station and vice versa. CRSs used personal relationships to recruit volunteers. However, using personal contacts for recruitment also caused problems such as contests for power control, factionalism, and disagreements about compensation. Finally, self-management became an issue in each CRS. Transparency and a shortage of volunteers were common problems. These CRSs were operated by amateurs and because they were amateur broadcasters, the stations suffered from many problems that conventional radio stations would not have. CRSs might have wonderful prospects for community involvement but there was no a certainty that they could be realized unless station operators have skills necessary to carry out broadcasting in a professional manner. Approved: Drew McDaniel Professor of Telecommunications To my family ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is no way to thank all the people who have helped me along the way to this point. First, I would like to thank Phatcharee Jumpa and all the people at Prince of Songkla University where I began my teaching. I must also show my gratitude to the media scholars and activists in Thailand, who advised me and pioneered the country’s community radio stations. And, I would like to acknowledge the wonderful people at the Doilangtham Community Radio Station, the Khon Thaiso Community Radio Station, and especially the Pattani Community Radio Station, who put the idea of community radio into action. I would like to express my appreciation to Karla Schneider, Assistant Director of the Ohio University Center for International Studies, and the Southeast Asian Studies Program for awarding me a graduate studies grant to help me begin my doctoral studies at Ohio University and for a research grant that helped me carry out my preliminary study. I also would like to thank the Ohio University School of Telecommunications for awarding me a graduate studies grant that allowed me to finish my doctoral studies and for awarding me a research grant to carry out my major fieldwork in Thailand. High on the list of those I would like to thank are my close friends who supported and cared for me as I carried out my work here—thank you Fernando and Erica. And Micah and Jennifer at the Ohio University’s Student Writing Center, for carefully reading my Thai accented writing. Prof. David Mould, Prof. Robert Stewart, and Prof. Judith Millesen, for shaping the most basic elements of my dissertation, deserve my gratitude. Prof. Drew McDaniel, my advisor, helped me from the moment I began my studies in the Ohio University’s School of Telecommunications. His patience, persistence, kindness, and wisdom have sustained me as I struggled toward my goal. Words cannot express the appreciation I feel for all he has done for me and continues to do for other students in his care. He is truly a mentor and a teacher. Of course my family gave me my start. Their love and support has sustained me through the challenging and rewarding times of my studies here. Telecommunications has been the theme in my many phone calls during which they reassured and comforted me. All that I have accomplished, I have accomplished with them. And they must feel my gratefulness. 8 Table of Contents Page ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................3 DEDICATION...............................................................................................................................................5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................6 LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................12 HISTORY OF THAILAND’S COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS.........................................................................15 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...........................................................................................................................27 The community in community radio stations ......................................................................................27 The concept of community..............................................................................................................27 Community radio stations around the world. ..................................................................................29 An exploratory study on community radio. ....................................................................................30 PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MEDIA .......................................................................................................32 The concept of community media........................................................................................................32 Participatory communication...............................................................................................................33 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM AND QUESTIONS .............................................................................40 DISSERTATION OUTLINE ...........................................................................................................................41 CHAPTER 2 THE PRELIMINARY STUDY: AN AUDIENCE SURVEY ..........................................44 INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................................44 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS FOR THE PRELIMINARY RESEARCH ..............................44 UNITS OF STUDY .......................................................................................................................................46 SELECTING THE SITES................................................................................................................................47 METHODOLOGY.........................................................................................................................................48 FIELDWORK...............................................................................................................................................49 Fieldwork at Khon Thaiso Community Radio Station.........................................................................49 Fieldwork at Khlong Toey Community Radio Station ........................................................................53 Fieldwork at Doilangtham Community Radio Station.........................................................................56 Fieldwork at Pattani Community Radio Station ..................................................................................58 Fieldwork at Baanjumrung Community Radio Station........................................................................60 THE FINDINGS ...........................................................................................................................................61 The respondent profiles .......................................................................................................................63 Satisfaction with a community radio station........................................................................................63 Functions of a community radio station...............................................................................................65