Championing the underdog and giving a voice to those not normally heard on the airwaves are common themes for community radio stations.
In India, which only authorized community radio services this year, local, community-oriented stations are going further than just giving the local community a voice — they are acting as investigators and advocates, according to a report in The Times of India.
Savita Rathod, 26, walked into a PDS shop in Barkhandiya, a non-descript village of Dangs district. She behaved like any other “poor villager” pitiably requesting for a favour. Little did the PDS shop owner know this was to be the end of his career in black-marketing of subsidised food products. … Later, she played it on “Pardafaash” (Expose), an investigative reportage to unearth social and political scams – irregularities and corruption in rehabilitation work, culpability of government, vested interests and people on community radio.