Diseño de cuestionarios

Low-Power FM radios (LPFM) are a strong feature in New Zealand’s community media landscape. They operate on very low power (maximum 300 milliwatts) to a range of just a few kilometers (NZLPFM network Website, n.d) and are found on the radio spectrum’s ‘guard band’. This band is a small width of frequency that is kept empty in-between the

different frequencies in order to keep a ‘distance’ between the frequencies so that the signal from one frequency would not ‘bleed’ into the other. ‘Guard band’ radio operates in the frequencies 88.0-88.8 MHZ and at 106.63-108 MHZ (Ministry of Culture and Heritage, 2003).

‘Guard Band’ radio is a useful medium for individuals and special interest groups who may want to do broadcasting for a community but cannot do so due to either lack of funds or the unavailability of a licence (Mediascape Website, n.d). It is also useful for anyone who wishes to launch their own broadcasting service to get hands-on experience and self-help training on one’s own. In the New Zealand broadcast environment, the LPFMs are filling a void created by mainstream commercial radio stations such as Newstalk ZB which, in Christchurch, has axed its local programming. As observed by Jim Tully, University of Canterbury journalism lecturer and media commentator, the proliferation of LPFM radios in New Zealand has great resemblance to what happened to the country’s newspaper industry in the 1970s. In an interview given to a reporter of the Christchurch newspaper, The Press, Jim Tully remarked:

…larger dailies decided to leave ‘parish pump’ news to the emerging giveaway community papers. In retrospect, it was a bad call. It could be that radio networks which eliminated local content, such as Newstalk ZB has in Christchurch, are going down a similar path (Steere, 2010).

Although LPFM’s are doing a great community service by filling a “void” created by the departure of the bigger radio stations (Steere, 2010), they do not qualify for NZOA funding. NZOA funds institutionalised radio stations which means the NZOA-funded radio stations should have to be managed by a community trust and have a properly licensed frequency. This deprives the LPFM stations as they do not qualify or require a radio licence. As not all small communities have access to a radio frequency or to a radio station that can qualify for NZOA funding, many small communities in New Zealand urban centres or in small towns such as Hokitika, Greymouth and Westport or islands such as Waiheke, get the joy of listening to a community radio only through LPFM. Unfortunately, as Brent Simpson, trustee and founding member of Radio Waiheke notes, given the current NZOA’s current

position, despite their great community service, no LPFM broadcaster can get financial help to increase the quality of their radio productions (B. Simpson, personal communication, October 17, 2009).

Then Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey said “LPFM spectrum provides a valuable supplement to high power broadcasting services, providing for minority interests and increased choice” (Ministry of Culture and Heritage, 2003). Although the Broadcasting Act does not specify how the minority interests should be supported by media, the NZOA has identified that this should be done by funding only access community radios. Hence, the minorities on LPFM, though they can gain access to broadcasting through a General User Licence (GUL), they remain in the eyes of NZOA, a marginalised media group for having no proper broadcasting licence, ironically, the very type of people NZOA is supposed to protect under the Broadcasting Act of 1988.

The ‘guard band’ radios are only given a GUL by the Ministry of Economic Development which came into effect in July 2003 (Press Release, 2003). The detail of this licence is posted on the Ministry of Economic Development website. According to the Ministry, although the primary purpose of LPFM is to protect the services in adjacent frequency bands, it also facilitates a low-budget entry into local broadcasting. Under Low-Power FM, broadcasters are able to begin broadcasting free on any available frequency “without the need to obtain an individual licence or any other permission from the government. The general licence will be designed to ensure that the band is essentially self-regulating, minimising administrative cost to government and ultimately consumers,” (Ministry of Culture and Heritage, 2003).

According to the Economic Development Ministry, LPFM users are not easy to identify and hence, it is not easy to set a justifiable price and charge them. The general understanding is they should adhere to GUL and exercise self-regulation in using the spectrum (Ministry of Economic Development, 2005). However, I believe there is a need to have some sort of regulatory mechanism to ensure that LPFM stations are made accountable if they violate the self-regulatory mechanism and become a menace to other LPFM users. For example, there

are many stations that breach their contracts by using more power than allowed. The result of some not adhering to the self-regulatory mechanism means many other LFPMs operating within their transmission power limits in the same area are unable to operate due to other stations in the same vicinity using high power signals. An LPFM radio, Radio Chomsky which operates in Grey Lynn, has stated on the LPFM Network website its signal has been “drowned out in their backyard” by interference from another station using high power transmission (NZLPFM Network Website, n.d).

There is also a further need to have some sort of regulatory mechanism to ensure that LPFM stations operate as single community radios and not as LPFM networks that use several radio

stations as ‘repeater stations’ broadcasting their programme content over a whole region or even to the whole country. They may thus look more like a national radio network instead of having the characteristics of a local LPFM beamed at a small community of interest. Theoretically, and for all the practical purposes as well, this further allows LPFM broadcasters to enter into a national network of their own and without having the need to pay any user fees. For reasons such as these, revision of the GUL is necessary to fine-tune the LPFM usage so that it remains as a small community broadcaster reaching a small community of interest.

Due to its free availability, congestion of LPFM frequencies is an issue in some major centres. At present, there are over 200 stations in the country representing about 67 locations- about 20 are in South Island and more than 40 are in the North Island. The greatest concentrations are found in Auckland with 43 stations and Wellington with 30. LPFM stations in all the other centres were less than 10 for each centre (NZLPFM Network website, n.d). In order to minimise congestion issues, user-groups have been formed in a number of areas to coordinate the use of the LPFM spectrum (Ministry of Economic Development, 2005).

I have also come to know that many LPFM radios get their news from Independent Network News, which is an independent news agency based in Lawrence in Otago and broadcasts on

88.2 FM. The network specialises in providing an audio news service to all LPFM and independent radio stations nationwide (NZLPFM network Website, n.d).