Communications and Media Research Proposal Assignment.
Length: 7 to 8 pages (not including headers and bibliography)
This assignment is a standard academic essay. Your papers are expected to make use of original
research (i.e. you MUST go beyond the readings listed in the syllabus), develop an original insight or
perspective, and put forth an original and compelling argument.
Instructions for Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography
Your proposal should provide a brief outline of the topic you intend to explore in your final. A good
proposal does three things: (1) it should identify and describe the primary research question
animating your investigation; (2) it should provide a justification for why this question is relevant
within the context of this course; and, (3) it should provide an outline of how your paper proposes
to investigate this question. The annotated bibliography should have 3 scholarly sources, none of
which are assigned as course readings (you can use course readings and/or non-scholarly as sources
for your final paper, but NOT for the proposal). Each should provide a properly formatted
bibliographic entry (APA style, preferably), a brief summary of the source, and a brief description of
how it is appropriate to your chosen research topic.
Suggested Research Topics
1) Profile an alternative media organization of your choice. Pay attention to its historical
development. What inspired its founders to create the organization? Does it cooperate with other
similar organizations? What sort of challenges has it faced over the years? What, exactly, makes it
alternative?
2) Compare similar alternative media organizations across national boundaries, history or
technologies. For example, how is community radio different in Canada and the United States? How
is pirate radio constituted differently in the UK and the US? How is alternative news podcasting
different from alternative or community radio?
3) Do an historical overview of a particular alternative media practice. What are the origins of this
particular practice? Are there related or similar practices in different media? Has there been any sort
of social, cultural, legal or economic resistance to the development and proliferation of this
practice? Be sure to provide a compelling argument as to why your chosen focus constitutes an
alternative media practice.
4) In the current era of resurgent far right-wing populism, ethnic nationalism, and autocratic leaders
like Donald Trump around the globe, the idea of “alternative media” has been co-opted by those on
the far right to cover their own media outlets. How does this application of the concept of
alternative media fundamentally clash with those presented in this course? In your answer, be sure
to directly explore and reference at least THREE definitions of alternative media in line with the
course perspective (and the scholars who provide them) and include concrete examples to illustrate
your argument.
5) How has the Internet helped transform a particular alternative media practice? How has it
changed the conditions for practitioners or audiences? Has it made things easier, or more difficult?
In what ways? Be sure to clearly identify the media practice you are talking about, as well as
describe its history and the dynamics of change you are identifying. NOTE: This is NOT a general
question about how the Internet has changed the media. Be sure to clearly define the alternative
media practice your paper will be exploring, and be sure to provide a discussion of what makes this
practice alternative in the first place.
6) Develop and propose your own topic. If you wish to do this, it is a very good idea to consult withme before either part of the assignment is due
Communications and Media Research Proposal
Name of the Student
Institutional Affiliation
Course ID
Instructor’s Name
Due Date
Communications and Media Research Proposal
Research Proposal
My research aims to define an alternative media in community radio that will develop in the internet era. The research will determine whether the internet has eventually replaced the community radio’s functions, the impact of community radio, and its relevance to the mainstream debate. It will also define the history of its development and what inspired the founders to create the organization. It will also explain the challenges and limitations of audience interaction in community radio. I will use qualitative research to conduct my research findings. I will explore the details around the history and development of Canada community radio. I will use primary and secondary sources from existing literature to assess the specific topics. These sources will be relevant to the issue of study.
Internet advancement is considered as breaking boundaries and boundaries of information dissemination. Bridging the gap between traditional broadcasting and digital radio requires considerable energy, resources, and interest. There is a need to merge communication software expertise, media organizations, and infrastructure entrepreneurs. In the public sector, policy specialists from health, education, public administration, and the environment play a part in conducting the digital reforms (King & G., 2017). Other bodies such as national non-governmental agencies, formal and informal groups are also part of the process. Governments are responsible for pursuing an action plan to incorporate communication and information technologies as a mechanism of administration and governance.
The old function of community radio reveals the role of promoting democratic movement, including revolting extreme government policies. Currently, information transmission has been widely influenced by the internet. The development of the internet has widely influenced Community radio. Incorporating the internet brings a modicum of success and some failure to evaluate and reworking community radio activities. The internet has led the community radios to operate in plenty. Information technology has merged the utopian vision of new digital technologies to remove inequalities in the broadcasting field.
Community radio has been a mutual platform through which people communicate and organize a democratic movement (Fraser et al., 2002). It includes participatory media, citizens’ media, activist and radical media. It also includes other forms of communication in which regional and local specific platforms are engaged. Community media aims to avoid the commercialization of media. The desire to eliminate sponsorship or sole ownership is motivated by the need to be free of obligation or oversight. Community radio has been an effective broadcasting tool for communication and information sharing. It is also a crucial education and entertainment means that provides solutions to community development. Alternative media differ from dominant beliefs, values, and norms.
The variance brings about the difference in distribution, production, or content. Community radio tends to focus on the non-commercial projects that champion the interest of persons excluded from mainstream media. These persons include ethnic minorities, the poor, and labor groups. They invoke information from a diverse viewpoint. I want to explore whether there are ways that created these forms and the dynamic relationship between the participants that use and develop these forms of media and the media.
Sandoval, M., & Fuchs, C. (2010). Towards a critical theory of alternative media. Telematics and informatics, 27(2), 141-150.
History and Development of Community Radio Canada
The author of the article explains the history of community radio in Canada. The article will explain the origin and the foundation of Community radio in Canada. Community stations relay information to persons of specific categories but are usually ignored by mainstream media broadcasts. It is a prosperous and solid means of communication means. It varies from the other commercial and public broadcasting categories due to its independent nature.
Community radio started its activities in Canada in 1974/1975 with four stations. These are CFRO-FM Vancouver, CINQ-FM Montreal, CKCU Ottawa, and CKWR-FM Kitchener. With financial support from Quebec provincial government, the presence of community radio increased tremendously. Consequently, there are 22 community radio stations in Quebec. Community radios are prevalent in Native communities in the Canadian north and have gradually increased over time. These radios foresaw the integration and survival of native languages and cultures under the threat of extinction. They were a significant source of information for indigenous communities across Canada. The implementation of the Northern Native Broadcast Access Program in 1983 accelerated the establishment of these Native Broadcast Access Program by the northern native communities. In the 1980s, community radio stations continued to grow in University Campuses across Canada.
Community media was established as a medium of transmission and strengthening indigenous languages, worldviews, and cultures. It plays a primary role in communication and informing various crucial issues that affect a community’s interest. Community radio was able to serve the interest of rural people from multiple backgrounds. The cost of setting up a physical radio station is relatively low hence makes it easier to establish than a physical radio. The author’s views are of great importance to my research on the community media’s history.
The inspiration towards the formation of Community Radio in Canada
The article also explains how the Canadian community activists were optimistic and believed that community broadcasting could help create a formula to make a difference in individual’s lives and livelihoods. The community radio broadcasters took inspiration from the Pacifica Network’s stories in the USA, the emergence of free radio in France and Italy, Radio Popolare of Milan. With this influence, the international community radio movement grew tremendously. Community radio provided a focal point for empowerment and voice. ...