Community radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting material that is popular to a local audience but is overlooked by more powerful broadcast groups. The term has somewhat different meanings in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia. In the UK, it originated in the many illegal pirate radio stations that came about from the influx of Afro-Caribbean migrants in cities such as London, Birmingham, Bristol, and Manchester in the 1970s. Therefore, "community radio" remains synonymous with "pirate radio" for many people there. In America, community radio is more commonly non-profit and non-commercial, often using licenced class DFM band transmitters, although pirate radio outlets have been operated in many places. Canadian and Australian community stations operate somewhat similarly to their American counterparts.
Vision, philosophy, and status
Modern-day community radio stations often serve their listeners by offering a variety of music selections that are not necessarily catered for by larger corporate radio stations. Community radio outlets may also carry news and information programming geared toward the local area, particularly immigrant or minority groups that are poorly served by other media outlets. Unfortunately, when these broadcasters are illegal pirate radio outlets, they sometimes refuse to respect other legal radio stations and other entities, such as emergency services, and interfere with their transmissions. This can give community stations and conscientious pirate stations an unwarranted disreputable image. Pirate radio stations can apply for a broadcasting licence but they will usually need to go off air for a time to present a legal case. Community stations and pirate stations (where they are tolerated) can be valuable assets for a region. Community radio stations are aligned with communities rather than corporations.