The dilemma of building campus radio stations on a business model: the case of ATL FM in Ghana

ABSTRACT

The quest for competitiveness and popularity of a campus radio station needs to be balanced with the epistemological frames of community radio, which include participation, community ownership, and opposition to hegemonic discourse in the mainstream media as well as independence from political and market influences. I contribute to these reflections by highlighting how within this frame ATL FM is facing dilemmas and challenges that have not occupied community media theorists so far. Through content analysis and in-depth interviews, I investigate whether a community radio can serve and encourage the participation of the local community when professional rather than community members exclusively manage it. I propose a conscious incorporation of stakeholders in the community radio business model as a possible solution to this dilemma.

KEYWORDS:

• Community radio
• campus radio
• programming
• sustainability
• participation
• strategic plan

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all interviewees who participated in this research. This article draws on data from my master thesis: “The challenges posed by broadcasting policy to the sustainability of campus radio in Ghana: The case of ATL FM”.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Yao Wodui Serwornoo

Michael Yao Wodui Serwornoo is an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana but currently on study leave in Germany at the School of International and Intercultural Communications (SIIC), Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany.