This blog aims to highlight the centrality of the role of community media to questions of participation, democracy, and social change. It is thus important, as an introductory step, to provide a basic definition of concepts such as community, civil society, and community media as they figure in Ellie Rennie’s book Community Media: A Global Introduction.

According to Rennie, community is not a static, uniform entity, but rather an ongoing process shaped by interaction and communication. It is a relation that is frequently negotiated. Community does not only denote a geographical location, but also figures in “terms of interest, language, cultural or ethnic groupings”. Although it is thought to be “pre-political”, unplanned, and dependent on a sense of belonging, community can be a type of governance through furthering political aspirations.  Continue reading Community Media – Key Words →