Programming community radio within a fractured suburbia: an action research study of access and programming participation of urban sub-cultures

Encouraging grassroots access to community media is one the fundamental tenets of any responsible community media organisation, and is imperative to the survival of the community media sector as a whole. Access and participation have supported the growth and development of community media as a citizen-owned medium. This paper will present three models for identifying new and emerging cultural and sub-cultural groups within sub-urban communities and determine modes and motivations of participation within broadcasting. It will also discuss mechanisms needed to ensure that suburban communities, which exist within a wider, perhaps more dominant suburbia have the necessary skills, access and resources to create their own media. The theoretical aspect will be supported by case studies of each model as tested at2RRR, a community radio station located in the suburbs of Sydney, which has been active in encouraging innovative forms of grassroots participation over the past five years.