State Council overturns regulator on community radio

Michael Hedges September 1, 2008

Tiny community radio stations, always very local, sometimes quite original, dot FM dials. Their financing is often flimsy with programming bordering on the indescribable. With the FM ‘shelf-space’ ever more valuable regulators feel pressure to maximize every channel slot. But the health of the medium depends on reaching real people, no matter how small the audience.

Community radio station Radio Gazelle could return to its Marseilles frequency after the French Conseil d’Etat overturned a decision by media regulator Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisual (CSA).  The CSA ordered Radio Gazelle off the FM band last November, awarding the frequency to another broadcaster, France Maghreb 2. The reasoning behind the decision is hazy.

Community broadcasters took up the cause, even if it attracted little notice elsewhere. Their part of the FM ‘shelf-space’ seemed, once again, threatened.  The station presented the Conseil d’Etat with 70,000 signatures on a petition to save the station. Community organizers suggest the CSA decision was politically motivated.

Three weeks ago (August 7) the CSA asked France Maghreb 2 to cease broadcasting “as soon as possible.”

Apparently, the CSA did not consider renewing a license for Radio Gazelle when reviewing applicants for the FM frequency. Every five years all French radio broadcasters submit piles of paper to support their license renewals. Media observers in Marseilles suggested that Radio Gazelle’s license had been in jeopardy because increasing religious programming.

The CSA confirmed its decision to deny Radio Gazelle’s license renewal (April 10), following a request by the Conseil d’Etat in March for it to “reconsider.” The Conseil d’Etat also asked the CSA to increase the number of frequencies available in Marseilles to community stations. Currently, five community radio stations operate in the Marseilles area.

The Conseil d’Etat ordered the CSA to review of all rejected applicants, including Radio Gazelle, and report back by mid-October. The CSA was ordered to pay Radio Gazelle €8,000.

“We have no certainty, “ said program director Toumi Hamadi, “but the Conseil d’Etat said that only applications filed last year may be considered.”  He indicated a willingness to augment the station’s news programming, one reason given by the CSA for denying the license renewal. At the time Radio Gazelle ceased broadcasting it had seven employees and about 60 volunteers.

Radio Gazelle had operated as a community radio station (radio associative or category A) in Marseilles for 27 years, first as a pirate station operated by a group of students then licensed by the CSA when the 1981 law establishing community radio took effect. The stations France and Arabic programming has been largely aimed at the large North African community. Under the CSA order it ceased broadcasting February 7th. France Maghreb 2, targeting the same audience, was awarded a commercial radio license (national thematic network or category D), thus changing the frequencies class status. France Maghreb 2 is a Paris-based national commercial radio network, broadcasting in several cities. Local origination had not begun in Marseilles, nor had construction of local studios.

Community radio stations in France are largely supported by donations, advertising must not exceed 20% of total income. Commercial broadcasters contribute to a support fund for these broadcasters  - the Fond de soutien à l’expression radiophonique (Support Fund for Radio Expression – FSER) – a tax on advertising revenue. The available FSER funds are provided as matching grants and consider quality and effectiveness of service. In 2003 there were 683 community radio stations (category A) in France.

Audiences for community radio stations are miniscule by comparison with the big national networks. Taken as a whole the community radio scene in France is a major source of media diversity. Local radio, perhaps more than any other medium, plays a significant role in giving voice – shelf-space – at the fringes. It is worthy of support, as the French Conseil d’Etat has shown.