UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL MÉDIA CITOYENS: UNE ÉTUDE DE CAS DE LA RADIO COMMUNAUTAIRE À MONTEVIDEO (URUGUAY) Er À MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) MÉMOIRE PRÉSENTÉ COMME EXIGENCE PARTlELLE DE LA MAÎTRISE EN COMMUNICATION PAR EVAN L1GHT JANVIER 2007 UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL A MEDIA OF C1TIZENS : A CASE STUDY OF COMMUNITY RADIO IN MONTRÉAL (QU~:Bf:C) AND MONTEV1DEO (URUGUAY) THESIS SUBMIITED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS fOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER lN COMMUNICATION BY EVAN L1GHT JAl UARY 2007 UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL Service des bibliothèques Avertissement La diffusion de ce mémoire se fait dans le respect des droits de son auteur, qui a signé le formulaire Autorisation de reproduire et de diffuser un travail de recherche de cycles supérieurs (SDU-522 - Rév.01-2006). Cette autorisation stipule que «conformément à l'article 11 du Règlement no 8 des études de cycles supérieurs, [l'auteur] concède à l'Université du Québec à Montréal une licence non exclusive d'utilisation et de publication de la totalité ou d'une partie importante de [son] travail de recherche pour des fins pédagogiques et non commerciales. Plus précisément, [l'auteur] autorise l'Université du Québec à Montréal à reproduire, diffuser, prêter, distribuer ou vendre des copies de [son] travail de recherche à des fins non commerciales sur quelque support que ce soit, y compris l'Internet. Cette licence et cette autorisation n'entraînent pas une renonciation de [la] part [de l'auteur] à [ses] droits moraux ni à [ses] droits de propriété intellectuelle. Sauf entente contraire, [l'auteur] conserve la liberté de diffuser et de commercialiser ou non ce travail dont [il] possède un exemplaire.» AVANT-PROPOS Within the following pages, 1 examllle the l'oies, potentials and limitations of community radio. As a locally-based media which manifests itself on a global scale, it is defined within a myriad of social, communicational and media traditions as weil as varying legal frameworks. Community radio, as with other forms of citizen-focused media, has greal potential in terms of creating accessible spaces for community dialogue, social self'­ representation, and information and media democratization. The development of this media, however, is often hampered by dominant ideologies and practices of democracy. social communication, media use and media reguJation. Thus, the goal herein is nol sim ply to examine alternatives to these dominant ideologies and practices but to propose ways in which these alternatives can be integrated as functional social norms. The origins of this subject lie in a desire to measure the feasibility of a national media system based primarily on social communication and dialogue as opposed to currently dominant systems which are based primarily on commercial ideology. Inextricably linked to this inspiration is my own personal history in community radio which began in 1993 as a volunteer at WLFR (Lake Fred Radio). a college radio station in the woods of southern New Jersey. Since 1995, l have been a volunteer in various raies at CKUT Radio in Montréal, Québec, one of the many stations examined in this study. Throughout this time, r have variably observed the great potential of this media and the tremendous limitations imposed upon it and III emhodied by il. Among the hopes for the work which follows is that it serve as concrctc tool for the <ldvancement of citizen-b<lsed medi<l, if not the full realization of its vast potential. This study h<ls been conducted within the methodological rrwcro-framcwork or a "cross-border" comparative case study and aims to present a working mcthodological model that can be adapteu hy future researchers. Ir consists of two individual case studies examining community radio within the urban environs of Montréal, Québec and Montevideo, Uruguay. Within each self-contained case study, it will examine the self-perceiveu mies of comlllunity radiO. the historical development of these roles, the relationship between communications rcgulation and the identity of community radio <lnd the strengths and wcukncsscs of cach community radio system. A final analysis will compare the results of these stuclies in order to derive eommon theories on citizen-Ievel media use and examine common barriers to the c1evelopment of such media. The research eonducted for the creation of this thesis sceks to directly implicate and represent the diverse actors in the complicated soci<.l1 construct of community radio. It consists primarily of the qualitative al1alysis of interviews with community radio practitioners. the <lnalysis of past studies in this field and the analysis of telecommunications regulalory frameworks. ln arder to both broaden the representation of actors within the scopc of this thesis and to conduet research which inspires dialogue, interviews h<tvc oeen conduCled with local experts in the field of communications and community meclia and with regulatory actors themselves. It is hopecl that dialogue that h<.ls been brought about during this stuuy ancl lhal which will develop as u result of it will help close the gap between those in the privilegccl positions of regulating, observing und analysing society and those who <.lre more orten reguluted, observed and unalysed. As a work which will foeus. in part, upon regulatory transparcncy and purticipatory democracy, it aims to contribule actively and concretely to the é1dvancement of such ideals. REMERCIEMENTS Thank you lo my parents, Jeffrey and Adria Light, for their incredible understanding and support and for steering my mind and ear to southern New Jersey's single collegc radio slation so many years aga. And to the innumerable friends who kepl me sa ne ancl fed lhroughoul the preparation and completion of this thesis, especially my French-language edilors Geneviève, Marylise, Daniella, Virginie, Julie, Judith and Isabelle. M,JI1y thanks to my thesis advisor Carmen Rico de Sotelo, professoral the Départemenl de commullication sociale et publique at l'Université du Québec à Montréal. She has supportec! me n.:lcnllessly since the beginning of I11Y time. at UQAM and convinced Ille [hat language acquisition can, indeed, be a by-product of scholarly work. Thank you loI' your guidance. your energy and your office wilhout which this wouJd have been written in much less coml()I"table environs. A special thanks to everybody in Uruguay who made this work possible: Rosina, Alilio y fumila loI' their incredible kindness, support and Spanish lessons; Bruce Girard and AillY Mahan for their guidance, friendship, and ceaseJess support of every sort; Monica Maronna and Rosario Sanchez, professors in the Departamento de comunicaci6n al Universidad Catôlica ciel Uruguay for their generosity during my months of research in Montevideo; Maria Vigo, Fernando Tetes, Juan Carbajal Varsi and Carolina for their friendship and life lessons. Thank you tü the large network of community radio folk in Uruguay who enthusiastically agrecd to be a major parl of this research projecl: Gustavo Gomez and AMARC- Le. E OS, v AMARC-Uruguay, Alternativa FM, La Barriada, Carlos Casares and Comcosur, Radio ContonÎa FM, El Puente, Radio Espîka, Radio FEUU, La Klassista, La Esquina FM, La Villa, La Voz, La Angostura FM, Radio dei Prado, Radio Timb6, Testimonios, Elena Fonseca and Cotidiano Mujer, Mauricio de los Santos and Radiomundoreal, Gabriel Kaplllll and Oscar Orcajo, professors of communications at Universidad de la Republica deI Uruguay. Intïnitc thanks to Luis Stolovich who provided me with his unpublished study on media concentration in Uruguay shortly before his untimely death in July 2006. Thank you to those in Argentina who broadened my horizons: Fernando, Guillermo, and Jorge in ./u.iuy, Ernesto Lamas at AMARC-ALC, La Tribu FM, Guillermo Mastrini and Damian Loreti al Universidad de Buenos Aires. Thank to ail in Montréal community radio who agreed ta take parI in lhis study : CKUT, CIRL, Radio Centre-Ville, CrSM, CHAA (even if r excluded you in the end), CJLO. And lo l'Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada (ARC), l'Association des radiodiffuseurs du Québec (ARCQ), the National Campus-Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC), the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTe) for their unique honcsty and lhoroughness and Marc Raboy for his insight. And of course thank you ta the Ministère de l''F--ducation du Quéhec, l'Office Québec­ Amériques pour la jeunesse and Le Département de communication sociale et publique à l'Université du Québec à Montréal for funding my research. Montréal, 24 septembre 2006 TABLE DES MATIÈRES AVANT-PROPOS 11 ABRÉVIATIONS ET ACRONyMES xv TABLEAUX xviii RÉSUMÉ (ENGLlSH) XIV RÉSUMÉ (FRANÇAIS) xx INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPITRE l CONTEXTE ET PROBLÉMATIQUE 6 1.1 Mapping the Media: Resources, Property and Control. 7 1.2 Community Radio in the Written Public Sphere 11 1.2.1 Monopolized Media 11 1.2.2 Case Studies : Theil' Practical Applications and Practical Limitations I} 1.2.l Canadian Rroadcasting : System-focused Studies 15 1.3 Alternative Approaches to Broadcast System Analysis in Latin America I) 1.3.1 Combining Research Traditions 17 lA übject of Research 18 CHAPITRE II CADRE THÉORIQUE 19 2.1 Theorizing Non-commercial Media 20 2.1.1 Alternative Media / Autonomous Media 20 2.1.2 Community Media / Citizens' Media 22 2.1.3 Citizenship in North America 23 VII 2.1.4 Citizenship in Latin America 25 2.2 Democratizing Communication: More Than Just Speaking Louder 27 2.2.1 Alternate Models of Communication and Media Use 29 2.2.2 Preconditions for Open Systems of Social Communication Through Media Use :\3 2.3 Conclusion 36 CHAPITRE III DÉMARCHE MÉTHODOLOGIQUE 37 3.1.1 Selection of Subjects 37 3.1.2 Selection of Geographic Locations 38 3.1.3 Delimitation ol'Scope y) 3.1.4 Past Studies 39 3.1.5 Personal Experience .41 J.2 Methodological Approach .42 J.2.1 Regulatory Frameworks .43 3.2.2 The Researcher as Catalyst..