A future for community radio in Australia: Funding, licensing and legislative issues.

Abstract

The community radio sector is an important cultural resource for the Australian community. It is experiencing rapid growth with an increase in the number of licensed radio stations, however, government funding has not proportionally increased and this is threatening the financial viability of many stations. The key

issue addressed in this research is the need to find ways to enhance community radio's sources of funding without imperilling its status as a not-for-profit sector.

This study argues that there is no inherent conflict between entrepreneurial principles and not-for-profit principles, and as long as all revenue is invested back into the station, then there should be no limit on income generation for

community radio. Overseas community radio experience supports this argument.