UNESCO New Delhi Office played host to the book launch of “Community Radio in India” co-authored by Dr Sreedher Ramamurthy and Ms Pooja O Murada, published by Aakar Books and supported by UNESCO New Delhi Office.
The book aims to provide students of journalism and communication and media practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of community radio in India.
The United Nations Agenda 2030 calls for concerted efforts to build a peaceful, inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and the planet. The UN Member States have pledged to put into place mechanisms ensuring that no one is left behind, and to reach the furthest behind first. Community radio as the third tier of the broadcast media is closest to the ‘furthest’ citizens at the last mile. This is one of the many compelling reasons for the need for community radio and for this publication.
The book fills the gap of a long overdue publication in the sector and encapsulates the recent policy changes and schemes floated by the ministry to support the growth of the community radio sector. Besides talking about the journey of community radio in India, the book reflects on the several challenges that face the sector and shares some of the many best practices in community radio.
The publication is unique in a way that it effectively blends the strength that both the coauthors bring with their experience. Dr Sreedhar is a veteran community radio expert and academician, whereas Pooja shares perspectives from the practitioners’ side. According to Pooja O Murada, “The need of the book comes from the fact that community radio does not feature in detail in the syllabus of journalism courses. We hope that this book will be a ready reckoner for students to comprehensively understand radio.”
The book was released by K G Suresh, Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication and Al-Amin Yusuph, Communication Advisor, South Asia. Also present at the launch event were radio practitioners and enthusiasts from different parts of the country.
The authors spoke about their journey in writing the book and thanked UNESCO for supporting the book. The book available under Creative Commons will soon be on the stands, distributed by Aakar Publishers.
