After the barnraising: Community radio and the reconstruction of the public sphere

This dissertation examines the relationship between community radio and the public sphere. American mass media have contributed to the demise of the public sphere, distorting its capacities for public communication and diverse cultural representation. I suggest the revival of community radio in America, most recently represented in the reemergence of Low Power FM (LPFM) broadcasting, strengthens civil society's communicative capacity and contributes to a reconstruction of public spheres. LPFM has enabled hundreds of communities to access their local airwaves. However, quantitative improvements in access do not ensure the viability or vitality of public spheres. Conceptualizing the reconstruction of public spheres requires attention to their internal structural and cultural dynamics. I take up this question through an ethnographic study of one of the nation's first LPFM stations, Grand Ridge Radio in California. Observations and interviews were conducted with 23 KGRR volunteers.; Predicated on providing access to diverse and underserved local populations, community stations like KGRR provide ideal cases for examining the myriad classic functions of the public sphere concept. My research suggests that even when public spheres are protected from administrative or economic logics distorting communication, cultural logics can do the same. Furthermore, context matters; Grand Ridge is a poor and conservative community, a somewhat atypical context for progressive community radio. The progressive community forged by KGRR employs two approaches to programming in this context, informed by competing conceptions of "alternative community."; On the one hand, "consciousness-raisers" seek social change through progressive news and public affairs programming intended to "wake-up" their listeners. To them, alternative radio should favor underrepresented progressive voices over "mainstream" ones in order to build progressive community. On the other hand, "inclusivists" seek open access to diverse local viewpoints, according to a vision for alternative radio that resists mainstream media's tendency to segment into distinct markets. They reason that reducing the station's listenership to any one group reinforces an ineffective media strategy that closes off possibilities for dialogue and debate. The tension between these groups, heightened by low organizational resources and a conservative climate, suggests the importance of organizational-level communicative competence to the sustainability of alternative public spheres.