Perhaps the most ubiquitous of all the mass media, radio is also one of
the longest established, dating back to the beginning of the last
century. Yet it is one of the least theorized. This book examines the
development of local radio broadcasting and the trend in the UK and
abroad for locally owned, locally originated and locally accountable
commercial radio stations to fall into the hands of national and even
international media groups. They in turn disadvantage the communities
from which they seek to profit, by removing from them a means of
cultural expression and democratic participation. In essence, localness
in local radio is an endangered species, despite being a relatively
recent phenomenon. By tracing the early development of local radio
through ideologically charged debates around public service broadcasting
and the fitness of the private sector to exploit scarce resources, to
present-day digital environments in which traditional rationales for
regulation on ownership and content have become increasingly challenged,
the book provides a manifesto for informed speculation around future
developments in local radio. Guy Starkey, a former radio producer and
presenter, identifies and rationalises current trends in local radio
within wider globalizing influences in a range of international
contexts. A principal focus on the United Kingdom is complemented by
comparisons with different contexts in North America, the Commonwealth
and the European Union.
