Local Radio in Western Europe Conflicts Between the Cultures of Center and Periphery

PER JAUERT

European research in local radio and tele- situation of the local media, related to the vision is quite young , approx. 25 years and general rapid development of the electro- has developed parallel to the development nic media. of the media themselves, but at a rather The research focus in the field of local limited scale, one must admit, compared to radio on media policy and structural issues the extent of the mass media research in reflects the special cultural and legal con- nationwide or transnational electronic me- ditions for these new stations from their dia. A few major books and some articles start in the 1970’s and their involment in has been published in the main languages, the deregulation period of the national but most of the research literature in this public service institutions through the field has been produced in national or even 1980s. The special conditions for local ra- regional contexts and languages, i.e. in the dio in the European countries related to Nordic countries. the attempts from EU institutions to har- The main part of the internationally monize the legal framework for this area published research in local radio and tele- has been the object for several studies in vision has focused on issues within media the beginning of the 1990s (Drivjers 1992, structure – local radio as a part of the ge- Jauert & Prehn 1994, Kleinsteuber 1991, neral media pattern, their legal, economical Siune & Treutzschler 1992, Trappel 1991). status and the perspectives in the media The basic political argument for most de- and cultural policy in a period of deregula- regulation of national legislation on radio tion of the European public service media. and television has been the consumer’s An example is The People’s Voice (Jankowski, freedom of choice. But several reseachers Prehn and Stappers 1992), a book offering point to the obvious media policy paradox the until now most extensive overview of which lies in the fact that the consumer local radio & television in Europe. But oriented argument for deregulation, i.e. most of the empirical facts of the contri- greater diversity in terms of programming butions are based on the realities of the and thus more possibilities of choice for 1980s. Mass media research on media the audience, in fact has turned out to have structure – even in a general setting – re- changed into its opposite. The growing quires updating to be useful for the com- dominance of the market forces have led prehension of the actual and changeable to a larger supply, but not any diversity in

93 terms of programming. It has rather led to the local audience from time to time parti- a standardization and simplification of the cipating in phone-in programmes. But it is radio output.(Bergelman and Pauwels a well known experience that the sound of 1992) commercial local radios is more or less the The lines of conflict between the non- same whether you are in Tromsoe in Nor- commercial local radios – also called com- way or in Florence in Italy. What is really munity radios, ”free radios”, ”radio libres” local about it? is an often asked question. etc. – and the commercial local radios have The non-commercial local radio is of- also attracted the attention of mass media ten called ”community radio”, indicating a researchers who have tried to define and more close or narrow orientation of the explain the term of ”commercial” vs. ”non station, based on ’neighbourhood’ – at commercial”; ”local” vs. ”regional” and least a small, geographically defined area: a ”national” etc. (Kleinsteuber 1991:15). In town, a rural area or a well defined part of spite of a great variety of types of stations a large city. Or the community may be ’a in the Western European countries and a community of interests’, based on ethnic- blurring of the more strict or formal defi- ity, sexual preferences etc. Open access or nitions, a kind of general concensus have at least easy ways of participation in the ra- been reached on the essiential dividing dio activities is essential for this type of ra- characteristics of the two types of local ra- dio and the fundings are normally non- dio. The commercial local radio is aimed at commercial, based on contributions from the attraction of large audiences within its associations, grass-root movements, mu- area. It may by owned and run by local nicipalities or from the listeners. The staff companies or it can be a part of a larger normally is volunteers, but a few might get network, an ”affiliate” as known from the some kind of salary. North American radio market. The pro- But as an often referred fact: those defi- gramming is typically based on a special nitions are not exclusive, because you may style or ”format”, defined by the music find different kinds of combinations, be- (classic, folk, rock, European Hit Radio tween the nations as well as within the na- etc.), the target group (children, young, tions (Kleinsteuber 1992, Jankowski et.al. young adults etc.), the topics (all news, traf- 1992) and the consequence has been the fic, current affairs etc) or the form (all-talk, growth of ’grey zones’ between the three music only, DJ). The financing is based on radio sectors: the public service sector, the commercials or sponsorships and the staff commercial sector and the non-commer- is normally professionals. But the varia- cial sector. The breaking of the monopo- tions within this type are enormous, ran- lies and the deregulation consequently has ging from ”small” commercial local radios pointed out the need for the national pub- in the Scandinavian countries with audien- lic service radios to redefine their tasks ces of 50.000 – 500.000 to commercial lo- and obligations. cal radios in the great capitals of Europe To search for the more specific cultural with audiences counted in millions. The functions of the local radios (commercial notion of ”local” in connection with this and non-commercial) in Western Europe type of radio station refers mostly to its you have to leave the level of media policy, geographical position and partly to its pro- national or regional media structure and grammes: the local news, the local service try to get a closer and more focused look information (traffic, events, weather) and on specific types of local radio stations.

94 This intention of a more focused study, wards the periphery with its exotic folklore based on the findings from previous works or strange ways of living. (Jauert 1997: in on media policy and structural analyses, print) was the starting point of a small scale re- Kleinsteuber and Sonnenberg (1990:96) search project I started in late 1992 on distinguishes between three types of non- ”Local Radio in Western Europe – Forms commercial local radio: (1) radio stations of Cultural Resistance in Modern Media growing out of clearly commercially domi- Culture”. The project is ongoing, empiri- nated media environment; (2) radio sta- cally based on the pilot study, conducted in tions based on protest against a public mo- three areas of Europe during Autumn nopoly; and (3) radio stations that were es- 1992 and Spring 1993: in Britany in Fran- tablished in coexistence with a public mo- ce, in Eastern Jutland in Denmark and in nopoly. Again one have to take notice of Korgen in Mid-Norway and in this short the particular national experiences where presentation article I will concentrate on elements of the three types are to be introducing the general framing of the re- found mixed together. seach and present some of the central fin- But in general two main lines can be dings in my empirical studies of some of drawn of the development of local radio the radio stations, involved in the project. in Western Europe going out from this common starting point: the model of Southern Europe and the model of North- The Two Types of Local Radio ern Europe. Non commercial local radio in Western Europe was created in the early seventies as a movement of protest. Against bour- Local Radio in Southern Europe geois society in general, but specificly The first line has its centre in the south against the national public service radios, part of Europe and is called ”the model of which had developed into self-complacent Southern Europe” (Kleinsteuber and Son- mastodonts, almost inviolable in their iner- nenberg 1989:283). It includes first of all tia based on a simplistic philosophy of en- Italy and France, but also Belgium, Luxem- lightment, spreading out the unified cultu- bourg and partly Ireland, Greece and re of the nation to the people – only reluc- Spain. The second main line includes the tantly opening up for different streams of Nordic countries, except Finland and is re- culture. As an example the American pop- ferred to as ”the model of Northern Euro- music having gained a firm hold on the pe”. (Kleinsteuber and Sonnenberg op.cit.) youth from the middle of the fifties was The Dutch history is special, but in many not let in the Danmarks Radio (Danish ways similar to the Nordic countries. Add Broadcasting Company) until the begin- to this a group of countries not easy to ning of the sixties together with the em- place in either of the two categories, i.g. ployees from the commercial music pirate- Germany, Great Britain and Schwitzerland. radio Radio Mercury, closed by the authori- Bens and Petersen (1992) are working ties after a few years of existence. Regional with similar main lines, but characterises or local culture was rarely represented in the model of Southern Europe as ”the radio or television and when it happened free market model”. From this category the perspective was from the capital to- two types of local radio developed: the

95 idealistic, community type of non-com- With the increasing process of deregu- mercial local radio and the commercial lo- lation including commercials, sponsorships cal radio. and other kinds of commercial financing The non-commercial local radios grew of local radio and with the establishment from different (sub) cultures, some of of networking, ”the model of Southern them local in a geographical sense, others Europe” has favoured the market based, representing communities of interest, most commercial local radio, while the non- of them in greater cities. The flora of na- commercial local radio has faced severe mes is indicating the diversity. You could problem and for the last five to ten years find ”democratic”, ”radical”, ”militant”, has been on the retreating Southern Eu- ”green”, ”free”, ”associative”, and ”socia- rope. Due to lack of public funding, either list” community radios – not to speak of in the so-called ”Robin-Hood-funds”, as in the radios having a religious message to France, or due to the insufficiency of the spread or radios as mouthpieces for ethnic more local semi-public donations the fi- or sexual minorities. Though different in nancial problems of the non-commercial many ways they all shared the same atti- local radios have been more serious from tude: the protest against the established, the end of the eighties. At the same period bureaucratic systems within the admini- the commercial networks bought up of a stration of society, cultural life and the me- number of non-commercial local radios dia system. (Kleinsteuber and Sonnenberg and expanded across the national borders 1989, Bens and Petersen 1992, Østergaard of France with names like NRJ, Nostalgie, 1992, Lewis and Booth 1989) The justifi- Skyrock and Fun. This development has in- cation for their existence and their legality creased in the nineties. (Machill 1996: 393- had to be won ’from below’ during several 415) years until the states started the debilitating But the lack of coherence between of the public service radio and the deregu- public, proclaimed cultural policy and the lation, i.e. liberalized the broadcasting sec- financial follow-up from the states is not tor and introduced the possibility of a mar- the only and sufficient explanation of the ket based growth in the field. decline of the non-commercial local radio. The very fact of the introduction of The changes in the socio-cultural patterns market oriented elements i deregulation in the communities, especially among the produced the commercial local radios. The young audience, play a great part in these pioneers took even the slightest possibili- alterations. The expanding supply of me- ties to develop a profitable business, inspi- dia commodities in general, its differentia- red by the North American local radio tion and its sophistication has created new type. For a number of years they shared relations between sound and picture, be- the conditions of the idealistic community tween radio, television and video, making a radios – illegality, failing income and an striking appeal to new generations of post- uncertain future, but not so often in the modernism. The visions from the early se- searchlight of the authorities as their ideal- venties, the symbols and the desires which istic colleagues. Apparently ’commercial- involved strong demands for cultural acti- ism’ was not considered as big a threat to vities to be rooted in the local areas has establishment as ’idealism’. (Bens and been pushed in the background and repla- Petersen 1992) ced by a wider international outlook, based

96 on the experiences and the leisure time In Denmark and Norway the deregula- lifestyles from the metropols. (Lewis and tion of the public service institutions cau- Booth 1989:163) sed severe political confrontations, espe- cially about the creation of the second na- tional TV-channel and the way of financ- Local Radio in Northern Europe ing it – by commercials or by license fees? The other main line is represented by the That meant that local radio and television Scandinavian countries. In Southern Euro- originally planned as strictly local instru- pe the non-commercial local radios had to ments for local cultural purposes were fight ’from below’ to achieve a position in used by the professional parts of the media the legal media pattern. In Northern Eu- system to present themselves to the con- rope the deregulation of radio and televi- tending politicians in order to show that in sion was set through ’from above’, by the fact they were even competitors to Dan- governments, as part of a proclaimed pub- marks Radio and NRK, the Norwegian lic media policy with determined cultural Broadcasting Company – and were able to intentions. take the responsibility of creating an effec- The non-commercial local radio was tive commercial alternative to public serv- planned as a supplement to the public ice radio and television. The public media service radio, which had expanded in the policy in a few years turned out to be more local areas through the seventies as mini- and more defensive, regulating afterward atures of the nationwide radio, if we look the media legislation to the ”current condi- upon programme policy, formats etc. In tions of the market”. Add to this the con- the eighties the non-commercial local radio sequent denying of subsidies, the non-rec- was set up as a tool for the communities to ognition of non-commercial local radio as speak about themselves, addressing them- a cultural activity and you have the central selves on their own conditions. Open ac- background for the expanding commercial cess in order to bring messages of any local radio sector after the approval of ad- kind to the public – a radical extension of vertisements in 1988. But recent new the freedom of speech. But just as in Sou- legislations (1996) in Norway and Den- thern Europe this idealistic start was sup- mark have resulted in a more strict two- plemented by established investors and layer system of commercial and non-com- companies from the media system, domi- mercial radio. In Denmark an annual pub- nated by the local and regional printed me- lic subsidy of approx. 8 mil. US$ has been dia. At least that was happening in Den- established, aimed at the subvention of mark and Norway, while the Swedish non- producing non-commercial local radio and commercial local radio exclusively was re- television programmes. Maybe this initaiti- served for different associations. It was ve will turn the decline of the non com- strictly observed by the authorities not al- mercial stations. lowing commercial excesses of any kind. In the general picture drawn here it This exclusion of the commercial local ra- must not be forgotten that the Scandina- dio came to end in Sweden in 1993 when a vian countries to a certain extent have real- new law was passed, giving access for com- ized the original cultural intentions of the mercials in private, especially authorized non-commercial local radio. But local ra- private radio station – and for commercials dios of all types are still dominated by in the non-commercial local radios as well.1 commercial ”middle of the road”-music

97 stations with a minimum of local program- music in combination with ultra-short ming (music, news, features, interviews, news and service announcements, perhaps drama etc.) but a maximum of audience at- supplemented by quizzes and phone/fax- traction. ins is the dominating format. In the coun- Outside the two main lines you can find tries with the most advanced networking several countries where it is quite difficult the weighting between local spots and na- to summarize their media policy concerning tionwide programme flow normally de- radio. Exceptions are Germany, Schwit- pends on the potential for commercials in zerland, Great Britain and Finland, where the area. (Bens and Petersen 1992, Klein- the establishing of local radio has not cau- steuber 1991, Kleinsteuber 1992, Miller sed political turbulence as in other parts of 1992) Europe. The common political factor is a less centralized and monopolistic media Center and Periphery – Conflicts policy. Between Tradition and Innovation To make research in the cultural functions The Link Up of the European non-commercial local ra- Despite the fact that ”the model of South- dio has to consider the development just ern Europe” was established after pressure described – we are not dealing with culture from below and despite the fact that ”the in a unambiguous sense, but with conflict- model of Northern Europe” was installed ing phenomena in quite different social from above, there has been a remarkable contexts and practices. The research pro- approach between the two main lines at the ject is trying to explore – in specific con- beginning of the nineties: the non-com- texts of nationality and locality- the activi- mercial local radios all over Western Euro- ties of non-commercial local radio broad- pe are facing similar problems. casting: Those activities is not exclusively First of all the original aims of cultural regarded as connected to the radio pro- policy has been reduced or abandoned. In- grammes themselves, but we want to focus stead you find a growing commercial local on the radio when used as a cultural tool radio sector, operating in the border area with explicite aims to pursue. Local radios between local/regional and national levels in this sense are supposed to serve basic – some stations even with transnational as- needs of a socio-cultural character in the pirations. The ideas of public access, ad- local communities: the daily life experien- ded freedom of speech and information in ced sense of belonging to a certain place, a the local communities etc. are surviving in group of people, a certain way of living even smaller niches. (Jauert & Prehn 1995: etc. Those daily experiences can be charac- 179, Kuhn 1995:106, Machill 1996:399). terized as experiences of integrity – of be- Secondly the diversity of programming longing to a tradition, related to a multi- has narrowed. Unfortunately media re- tude of private and social activities in eve- search has not yet developed comprehen- ryday life. In the modern society mediated sive analyses of programme policy and activities or media activities form a greater programming of local radios both within part of leisure time (and work time, too). the nation states and comparatively – in Therefore it is essential for the project to Europe, for instance. Several of the sour- find out in which ways local radio activities ces to this presentation claim that chart are related to everyday life in the commu-

98 nities as peripheral, cultural activities, op- the present (modern) material conditions positionally related to the cultures of the for production and socio-cultural interac- centres. It is the assumption of the project tion – and both mental horizons are point- that modern culture is dominated by these ing to the ”beyond simultaneous”, the pos- tensions between dominated local or pe- sibilities of the future, embedded in the ripheral cultures on retreat and in opposi- conditions of present society. It is essential tion the dominating, expanding cultures of to stress that all three mental horizons, all the centres. The project will try to investi- three kinds of ”simultaneousness” can ex- gate the basis of the cultural pessimism ex- ist in communities at the same time – as pressed through the concept of peripheral kinds of archeological strata in the specific culture as a kind of cultural reservation, a cultural context of the community, giving place for folklore more than of living or nourishment to social practices and defin- ’authentic’ culture. Is the non commercial ing the limits of adequate social behaviour. local radio a instrument in the movement of preservation? Or can signs be found of creative and innovative uses of the tools of The Pilot Project information society where the radios are The empirical part of the project was de- trying to bridge the gap between past and fined as a pilot study in the three above present, between tradition and innovation. mentioned localities, chosen from their The theoretical inspiration for the ability to illustrate the concepts of the project has first of all been the German framing – the non commercial local radios social philosopher Jürgen Habermas and as reflections of the cultural paradigm of especially his Strukturwandel der Öffentlich- center vs. periphery. This kind of proce- keit. Untersuchungen zu einer Kategorie der bür- dure was in other words totally intended. gerlichen Gesellschaft (Neuwied-Berlin 1962) The aim of the project is not at the macro and his Theorie des kommunikativen Handels I- level to present a general or quantitatively II. (Frankfurt a.M. 1981) and the related based comparative study, but to point out discussions in European sociology and the more specific cultural functions of non media studies about the conditions for es- commercial local radio, based on a small- tablishing citizenship in modern societies.2 scale qualitatively organized, micro-level Another central source of theoretical in- study of the stations. spiration for the project is the German The pilot study was conducted over two philosopher Ernst Bloch and the socalled months in Fall 1992 and Spring 1993, Tübingen school of ”Volkskunde” where I spent two weeks in Britany on or”Kulturwissenschaft”, represented main- three local stations, three weeks in Norway ly by Herman Bausinger.3 Within this tradi- on several local stations in Oslo, Trond- tion periphery is considered to be a com- heim and Korgen near Mo i Rana. Finally I plex mental construction of conceptions conducted research in my own home area, about what is called the ”non-simultanous” in Eastern Jutland, in the cities of Viborg and the ”simultaneous.” The ”non-simulta- and Aarhus. I prepared the visits during ex- neous” are mental horizons and cultural change of letters and written material practices related to historically distanced about the station and the visits consisted ways of living and producing, but – still ac- of observations and interviewing. Obser- tive as concepts and guidelines for every- vations mainly at the stations themselves day life. The ”simultaneous” is related to but occasionally at cultural events in the

99 community and interviews among staff at state. Two full-time employees and around the stations, key-persons in the communi- ten-fifteen volunteers are working at the ties: Mayors, civil servants from the muni- station from eight in the morning to six in cipalities, representatives of different asso- the evening. ciations in the area and people or ’common During evening and night hours prere- citizens’ using the radio – as producers as corded band music is played – not rockn- well as listeners, both individually and in roll or pop, but music from the region, groups. The focus points of the interviews french traditional music and classic music. were to get the interviw persons to de- Four hours in the middle of the day scribe their kind of actual relationship to around noon and to hours in the late after- the station, their concepts of its function – noon are central for the programpolicy of especially in relation to the supply of na- the station. The title of the programme is: tionwide and transnational radio and tel- ”How we live in Britany” and it consists of evision. direct or prerecorded programmes from After the pilot study the theoretical and ongoing events in the region: from mar- methodological framing of the project was kets, schools, exhibitions and most of all: elaborated and the intention is to revisit from the festivals or ”fez noz” as they are the stations and interview the same per- called. All in the Breton language, of sons (or groups) after 5 years to observe course. Or rather – in one of the four the changes in the aiming and the func- Breton dialects. Features and portraits of tions of the radio stations. How may the people from the area, cooking and baking rapid development of the media systems programmes with guests, playing and sing- and especially the electronic media have ing their own music or telling stories and influenced the practices of the local radio anecdotes are other central elements of stations and how may the concepts of pe- the programme. And then lots of music – ripheral culture vs. central culture have 50% of the program time during the day is changed is this period? local music from Britany. Each week you have 3 or 4 new CD’s on the market in Britany with local music or music from The Essence of Three Case Studies Gaelic area, from Wales and Ireland first Local Radios in Britany of all. This programme – ”How we live in Britany” - expresses the aim of the radio: In the middle of Britany (Bretagne in to reflect, challenge and be a party of the French Breizh in the Breton language) in living popular and everyday culture in Western France far out in the country in Britany, threathened by the centralism in the village of St. Nicodeme you will find a French culture and politics and threa- local radio station in the old school build- thened as well by a mono cultural wawe of ing. The radio is called Radio Kreiz Breizh commercial radio networks with exotic na- which means – ”the radio in the middle of mes, such as NRJ or FUN-radio with affili- Britany.” It has been on the air for 24 ates in the area. In a very heroic way Radio hours a day since 1984 on a totally non- Kreiz Breizh insists of being part of the commercial basis, subventioned by around breton culture, still alive. As the director of 50 municipalities in the area (the radio cov- the station, Hervé ar Begh, expresses it: ers around 3-400 sq.miles), the regional, ”Britany is not a province of France, it is a departmental authorities and the French nation.” Interviewing people in the area

100 gave a clear impression of a radio, close Another 100 km at east – now even connected to its listeners, especially the ’closer to France’ – you will come across middle-aged generation still using the Rennes, the capital of Britany. Here – Breton language as their first language. among quite a few local radios, most of The pride of the local culture represented them commercial and affiliates of the na- in the programmes was incostestable. In tionwide private radio networks – you will the research interviews several of the lis- find Radio Rennes, a radio based on the re- teners added personal experiences to the gional cultures of France. Breton culture examples in the Radio Kreiz Breizh pro- being a part of the cultures represented, grammes of the French suppression of the but not the only one. The main interest ex- regional culture and language – and of the pressed in the programme schedule is mu- self repression of the local culture as a sic, art, theater and literature. Mostly mu- lifelong result of the earlier ban of the sic, though and the main profile of the ra- Breton language in the public school and dio is Breton culture, but looked upon with in public life in general. The Breton lan- an intellectual perspective, reflecting the guage being the language of peasants and dominant attitude in the audience: young, social underdogs. urban citizens, some of them maybe from If you travel 100 km east – towards the cities from the west, from St. France – you will arrive in Pontivy, a small Nicodeme, Pontivy and other provincial ar- town with around 8.000 inhabitants and eas in Bretany. The main interest is Breton here you will find another Breton local ra- as art – not as everyday life. The language dio, Radio Bro-Gwened, which is the name in is French – just a few persons in Rennes Breton of the area around Pontivy. The speak the language – or understand it. In language in this radio is also Breton – most daily life in Rennes the medium for the of the time, but some of the service pro- Breton culture has in fact disappeared. grammes and the news are in French as As you quite easily can understand this well. The structure and financing is similar little journey through the non commercial to Radio Kreiz Breizh, but the programming local radio landscape of Britany reflects is different. You will find more old, retired three different stages of the decline of liv- people – and a lot of children. The genera- ing, authentic Breton culture: from the he- tion in between is not familiar with the lan- roic insisting on the living everyday culture guage, but quite a lot of the families in this in the Radio Kreiz Breizh area where you generation are sending their children to clearly distinguishes between a ”we” in special private schools where part of the Britany and a ”they” in France. Next stage: teaching is in the Breton tongue and some the caring and concerned involvement in parts of the curriculum about the culture Pontivy where you try to protect and revi- of the region – a double faced cultural up- talize the Breton culture – and being bringing you may call it. The difference to French at the same time. And finally the the area round Radio Kreiz Breizh seems ob- third stage in Rennes, where the interest is vious: the programming is not dealing with about culture in its artistic forms. ”the ways we are living in the Breton way.” Or – is it not that simple? Is it just a But they are dealing with what is done and question of a hopeless defence – struggle what we can do to support and protect the against anglo-franco-american culture, sprea- fragile cultural heritage of Britany. ding along the lines of the commercial ra-

101 dios networks and not to forget – televi- and conversations about events in the local sion? Is the movement of the Radios Li- area: what happened today when the sheep bres or Radio Locales not of gloomy pros- were taken down from to hills to be in the pects where you try to build fences around village during wintertime? How is their a culture, developing into folklore or simi- condition, any tracks of hostile bears com- lar forms to be kept in museums? Looking ing from Sweden? Topics of relevance for upon the figures you might be confirmed the inhabitants of the area and specific for in that assumption: during the last decade the circular way of living in rural areas several hundreds of non commercial sta- where the turns of the season and the ac- tions in France have closed or have chan- tivities connected to the work are having a ged to commercial stations, most of them key position in the local culture – even for affiliates to the nationwide networks, people not working as farmers. These broadcasting live from the local area to a actvivities of the local working culture very limited extent, maybe one or two connects the ”non-simultanous” and the hours a day, some of them even without ”simultaneous” for the local population. manning at all.(Machill 1996:397) Another example from the same evening Taken from the interviews it seemed programme was a prerecorded report from that living in a mixed media culture was the newly established refugee camp in the not experienced as a real problem in any village where a group of refugees from of the three places. Being related to the Bosnia had arrived a few weeks earlier. The Breton culture meant different things for reportage dealt with the conditions in the the people interviewed, depending mostly refugee camp, the activities, the children – it seemed from the considerations when preparing for the local school etc. and the asked about it- of the practices and routi- host of the programme then told what was nes of everyday life. planned for at the get together party in the village hall on the next Saturday night? How was the local culture going to deal Rural Radio in Norway with the ’intrusion’, resulting from events Twenty km out of Mo i Rana in Mid Nor- far away. Was Korgen going to face the way you are in Korgen, a small village with problems of multiculturalism, known from 500 inhabitants in a municipality of around the cities or should this event be dealt with 5000 people. Korgen has one one the in other ways, related to customs from the more famous local radios in the Nordic general accepted and prospected friendly countries. Why this position? I can give rural attitude towards newcomers to the three main reasons. First of all the radio is area? This was the unexplicite but quite owned by the inhabitants, having bought clear theme of this part of the programme. shares of a hundred NOK each. Secondly The music profile of the station was not the radio programmes are produced by the quite clear, but the personal taste of the local people themselves and of all kinds: head of the station, the local haulage con- from the local truck-driver to the director tractor, was dominating through the pro- of the municipality office. And thirdly: the grammes: American – and a bit Norwegian programmes – a few hours every evening – country & music was played over and and a few more hours in the weekend you again. On my question about the listeners can hear different kinds of news, reports reaction to this the answer was simple: you

102 may not understand all the lyrics but coun- vided local radios – the commercial and try & music reflects ”the feeling” of living the non-commercial stations. out in the rural areas of Norway. During daytime (6 a.m. - 7 p.m.) Radio Through this pilot study Radio Korgen Viborg is a professional, commercial for- turned out to be an example of a success- mat radio, based on flow intervals of three full mixture of foreign, american culture hours. The programmes are based on chart and local everyday culture from a ’bygde- music and the elements are: news (local, radio’ in Mid Norway? No obvious traces nationwide and international); service of cultural conflicts between center and (weather, traffic, events); sports (including periphery. The regional policy of the gov- live reports) and phone-ins (quiz, contests ernment during decades, trying to keep up etc.). After 7 p.m. Radio Viborg changes its production, social security and cultural di- identity – or at least its functions- and be- versity in the rural areas may be one of the comes a block-organized open channel, gi- main factor to explain this lack of obvious ving access to a wide range of associations, oppositional cultural attitudes towards the grass-root movements and small communi- centre. Another reason may of course be ties of the area. From midnight to 6 a.m. found in the short period in which this music is played. study was conducted.4 The idea of this construction is quite clear: as a ’fully equipped’ station the local listener is not supposed to switch to other Radio Viborg – More Radios in One radios: i.e.one of the three channels of Viborg (40.000 inhabitants) is a city i East- Danmarks Radio. Radio Viborg is the alter- ern part of Jutland, about 60 km from the native to Danmarks Radio. Why come, be- coast. In 1984, during the experimental pe- cause it is quite a unique position of a riod (1983-1986) with local radio and tele- small local radio with a reach of only vision Radio Viborg was established as a 180.000 persons? The founding of the ra- ’modern’ all-round local radio with a clear dio was quite clear as an opposition to ambition of becoming the most popular Danmark Radio and the paternalistic, cen- radio station in the area, including the na- tralistic culture of Copenhagen, domina- tionwide channels of Danmarks Radio. In ting the programmes in the monopolistic just a year the station fullfilled this ambi- era. The format of Radio Viborg from the tion and after the experimental period the beginning signalized at the same time root- station went professional and commercial, ing in local culture and innovation, moder- when ads were permitted in local radio and nization. The core of this phenomen is the television in fall 1988. modes of address, combined with the is- Radio Viborg is an independant com- sues dealt with in the radio. In opposition pany, based on an association consisting of to Danmarks Radio the programmes of Ra- individual members and a lot of private dio Viborg is in the local tongue – the dia- companies in the areas. It is fully suppor- lect of Eastern Jutland. The horizon of in- ted by the municipial authorities in Viborg terests and the way the conversation be- and the surrounding smaller cities meaning tween station and listeners is conducted is that no other radio stations are allowed to closely related to the everyday routines, operate in the area. As a result Radio Viborg imitating almost the phatic modes of per- is a quite special radio, because it is com- sonal communication: talks about the bining the functions of the traditionally di- weather, the work, the activities of the lei-

103 sure time, especially the weekends in not some parts of the region. Some of the ra- very dramatic ways, but rather as a kind of dios consider themselves as important acknowledgement of the ’pleasant way of tools in the fight for cultural survival living’ in Viborg. connnecting to suppressed, gaelic cultures The shift from flow-organized radio in in others regions of Europe. But at the daytime to bloc-organized radio in the eve- same time looking eastwards and confron- ning brings along others modes of address. ted with the reality of the Breton culture, The audience is now more clearly adressed still more assimilated in the modernized in their capacity as citizens. They are in- you find an awareness among the radio ac- formed about political, culturel or religious tivists in St. Nicodeme and Pontivy of the issues from the communities and are from cultural resistance as important and not time to time able to listen to or to partici- hopeless at all. The children and young pate in discussions about conflicts and people going to schools and learning the problems in the community. Similar to the Breton language may be regarded as one way is has been done in the monopoly pe- of the more promising signs of on which riod of Danmarks Radio for decades, but to base an optimistic view of the possibili- with an important difference: the possibil- ties for the survival of the Breton culture. ity of access, of getting in dialoque Not as artifacts in a folkloristic museum, through the radio. but as experienced social realities in daily In this – and in many other ways – the life. different uses of Radio Viborg reflects the The local radio stations in Northern interaction of different cultural practices Europe have been founded on a similar along the lines of conflicts between centre self-conscousness of belonging to the pe- and periphery. riphery, but the opposition to the centre is not an opposition primarily related to dif- ferent notions of culture, but more to spe- Perspectives cific practices in the nationwide media in- The pilot study of the cultural functions stitutions: experiences of neglectance and of local radio in different national contexts a real peripheral position in the media rep- have shown that the stations can be consid- resentation seems to bee the essence of ered as points of crystallization of the cul- the subjective conceptions of the local ra- tural changes in different regions of Eu- dio functions in Norway as well as in Den- rope. Apart from the specific differences, mark. The assimilation of modern media depending on history, political traditions culture in the non-commercial local radio and social conditions we have found a vari- in Northern Europe is striking and differs ety of functions of the radios, expressing in a very obvious way from the stations, resistance to the consequences of ’deve- studied in Britany. American music and ar- lopment’, ’innovation’ or ’modernity’. tifacts from ’global’ cultural industry, i.e. Most conflictual among the stations music styles, programme formats, modes represented in the study seems the radios of addressing the audience is not seen as in Britany,where the regional culture for contrast to or intrusion in local culture, but centuries have been marked by the central as an ’accepted’ or ’natural’ way of making state of France in repressive ways, still re- local radio in the interest of the local audi- membered and still a living part of the ence. The local station is a local voice – common cultural heritage – at least in still one voice among other voices in the

104 media choir – but with possibilities of con- expressed in the subjective experiences of necting the specific local ’feeling’ of cultu- cultural functions in local radio. Further ral heritage and identity with the globaliz- research has to go deaper into the analyses ing media culture of the relations between the daily life in The pilot study has just located the sur- the communities, the subjective notions face of the specific cultural oppositions amongst the population of ’local culture’ between the periphery and the centre as and the representation of these notions in the local radio stations.

Notes References 1. This is an exemplification of the difficulties Bens, E. d. and V.G. Petersen (1992) ’Models of in using strict terms in this field. The non- Local Media Development’. In: Siune, K. commercial local radio broadcasting com- and W. Truetzschler (eds.): Dynamics of Media mercials seems to be ” a contradictio in Politics. Broadcast and Electronic Media in West- adjecto”, pointing to the more correct term ern Europe. 154-178. London. Sage. community radio or in Swedish: ”närradio”. Bergelman, J-C. and C. Pauwels (1992) ’Audio- To a more extended discussion of this prob- visual policy and cultural identity in small lem, see Jauert & Prehn 1994:137) European states: the challenge of a unified 2. An introduction to this discussion can be market’. In: Media, Culture & Society 14, 2: found in Murdock, Graham (1993): ’Com- 169-185. London. munications and the constitutions of Mo- Drijvers, J. (1992): ’Community broadcasting: a dernity’. In: Media, Culture and Society 15,4.: manifesto for the media policy of small Eu- 521-539 and in Dahlgren, Peter & Colin ropean countries.’ Media, Culture & Society. Sparks (eds.) (1991): Communication and Citi- 14.2: 193-202. London. zenship. Journalism and the public sphere. Lon- Jankowski, Nick, Ole Prehn & Frank Stappers don. Routledge. (eds.) (1992): The People’s Voice. Local radio and 3. The main work of Ernst Bloch related to television in Europe. London: John Libbey & the concept of centre vs. periphery is ”Erb- Co. schaft dieser Zeit” (1935): Suhrkamp Verlag, Jauert, Per (1997): ’Radio i en tv-tid’ [’Radio in Frankfurt a. M. 1977 and a brilliant over- the Age of Television’] In: Klaus Bruhn view of the Tübingen tradition can be Jensen (ed.) Dansk Mediehistorie, vol. 3. [Dan- found in Elisabeth Moosmann (ed.) (1980): ish Media History, vol. 3.] Copenhagen. ”Heimat. Sehnsucht nach Identität.” Äs- Samleren. In print. tethetik und Kommunikation Verlag. Berlin. Jauert, Per & Ole Prehn (1994): ’Local Radio 4. It has to be streessed that the pilot study Policy in Europe and Scandinavia. The does not pretend to be ethnographic in its Nordicom Review, No. 1, 1994, Special Issue. methods, which would at least require a Gothenburg. longer period of living in the area, doing ob- Jauert, Per & Ole Prehn (1995): Lokalradio og servations and making more interviews. lokal-tv. Nu og i fremtiden. [Local radio and lo-

105 cal television, present and future]. Copenha- Kuhn, Raymond (1995): The Media In gen: Ministry of Culture. France.London. Routledge. Jauert, Per & Ole Prehn (1996): ’Ownership Lewis, Peter M. and Jerry Booth (1989): The In- and Concentration in Local Radio Broad- visible Medium. Public, Commercial and Commu- casting in Scandinavia.’ The Nordicom Review, nity Radio. London. Macmillan. No. 1, 1996, Special Issue. Gothenburg. Machill, Marcel (1996): ’The French Radio Kleinsteuber, H.J.(ed.) (1991): Radio – das Landscape’. European Journal of Communica- unterschätzte Medium. Berlin:Vistas. tion, 11,3. London. Kleinsteuber, H.J. (1992) ’The Global Village Miller, J. (1992) ’ From radios libres to radios Stays Local’. In: Siune, K. and W. privées: the rapid triumph of commercial net- Truetzschler (eds.): Dynamics of Media Politics. works in French local radio’. Media, Culture Broadcast and Electronic Media in Western Eu- & Society 14, 2: 261-281. London. rope.: 143-153. London: Sage. Siune, Karen & W. Treutzschler (eds.) (1992): Kleinsteuber, H.J. and U. Sonnenberg (1989): Dynamics of Media Politics. Broadcast and Elec- ’”Radio in Grenzen.” Nicht-kommerzielle tronic Media in Western Europe. London. Sage. Lokalradios in Westeuropa’. Rundfunk und Trappel, J. (1991): Medien Macht Markt. Fernsehen 2/3.: 283-294. Hamburg. Medienpolitik westeuropäischer Kleinstaten. Wien- Kleinsteuber, H.J. and U. Sonnenberg (1990) St. Johann/Pongau: Österreichischer Kunst ’Beyond Public Service and Private Profit: und Kulturverlag. International Experience with Non – com- Østergaard, B.S. (ed.) (1992) The Media in West- mercial Local Radio’. European Journal of ern Europe. The Euromedia Handbook. London. Communication 5, 1: 87-106. London. Sage.

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