Community media emerged as an important alternative to mainstream media in the MENA region following the Arab Spring. Unlike more mainstream media, community-based media are strongly anchored in their local communities, and they have a deeper and more nuanced understanding of their interests, habits, and demands.
“Community media produce content that directly documents people’s stories and needs, adding a democratic dimension to the media landscape. They provide tools for individuals to defend their rights and participate in public debate,” say team members of Campji, a community media platform led by a well-established local NGO giving a voice to refugees in Lebanon.
One of EED’s partners is a radio station in a rural region in North Africa. “Our added value is our ability to produce content that is directly relevant to the inhabitants of our region. We focus on local challenges, from agriculture to the environment, and local economic conditions. We are more reactive to citizens’ needs, reinforcing their sense of belonging to the community,” they say.
Community media actively encourage their public to interact with them, and this in turn helps strengthen their bond with the local community. “People can call the radio station, take part in our shows, and express their worries. They can submit content, ask questions, interact with presenters and journalists” explains a member of the radio station’s team. They relate that they invite their audience to propose topics of discussion, and they make all the station’s projects available to the public on their web portal.
In Campji, citizen journalists come from the community that they report on, and this proximity is key to fostering a close connection between their audience and their content creators. “This allows us to produce content that genuinely reflects the culture and daily life of our target community,” they say. By hiring local journalists, they are also creating job opportunities for youth refugees, who are typically economically disadvantaged.
Community media often work closely with civil society organisations and local authorities to better serve their communities. “We regularly invite local authorities to our shows and public debates. This partnership allows us to be an intermediary between citizens and authorities, facilitating dialogue and encouraging a transparent approach to local problems,” say representatives from the North African radio station.
The radio station also conducts cultural and social activities with local NGOs, which the team considers, “essential to reach common objectives and amplify the impact of civil society actions.” The team works closely with a network of like-minded community media, which allows them to exchange ideas and jointly train young journalists.
Campji works in the fields of culture, education and development. “This connection provides the Campji media community with a supportive environment and a solid foundation to build its engagement,” they say.
In some contexts, where information gaps are due to a very restrictive media landscape, community media are often the only credible alternative to pro-government media. This is also the case for one of EED’s Syrian partners.
“We noticed that there were no independent media outlets conveying the truth to citizens in our province. Even alternative sources, such as Facebook pages, were controlled by the intelligence services and were spreading the same propaganda as state-controlled media,” say EED’s Syrian partner.
Over the years, community media platforms have provided valuable reporting for their communities. This has included reporting on security challenges faced, helping them to gain local audiences’ trust and allowing them to influence local affairs.
This proximity to locals enables community media to be more than just a platform for sharing information. They can amplify local voices, including those of youth, women, and marginalised groups. They can promote inclusivity and representation of these voices.
Campji, for example, is committed to changing the narrative about refugees in Lebanon. “We strive to showcase their unique contributions and initiatives, helping to break the prevailing stereotypes,” explain team members. The organisation has direct access to refugee camps that often cannot be reached by more traditional media. This ability to fill information gaps is a powerful tool for many community media outlets.
Community media face many of the same challenges as other independent media in the region, including fear of censorship, legal harassment, and shadow-banning on social media. Those operating in restrictive and/or politically sensitive environments, and there are few legal mechanisms to protect journalists.
Economic sustainability is a particular concern. Limited financial resources make it difficult to access proper equipment, affect their ability to regularly produce content, and mean they are overly reliant on volunteers. According to Campji, this “limits the media’s ability to seek legal and technical support and institutionalise their work.”
EED core support has provided a much-needed source of stability to community media in highly volatile contexts, which allows for higher-quality journalistic output. It has empowered marginalised groups, including refugees, to fully own and operate their own outlets, allowing them to amplify their voices and narratives beyond stereotypes and superficial news coverage.
“EED gave us the ability to remunerate our staff, who were then able to fully focus on their reporting job,” says EED’s Syrian partner. “Without this support, we would have had to stop working.”
For security reasons, some partners are not named in this article.
This article reflects the views of the grantees featured and does not necessarily represent the official opinion of the EED.
