Media Viability in the CORAPE Network

"Working toward viability, community media need to create good operational and management models."

This handbook offers guidelines and examples of best practices for community media viability, highlighting the experiences of eight community media outlets in Ecuador with varied structures and financing sources. These media outlets helped define the processes and develop the tools outlined in this publication so that they, as well as community media elsewhere, can use them to become more viable.

The handbook is based on a collaborative project that took place between 2016 and 2019 with the Ecuadorian media network - The Coordinadora de Medios Comunitarios, Populares y Educativos de Ecuador (CORAPE) - and Deutsche Welle (DW) Akademie. CORAPE works to strengthen the network of community, popular, and educational radio stations in Ecuador in their efforts to provide access to information to vulnerable populations, especially in indigenous languages. One central line of this project was the financial sustainability or viability of community media, which has historically been one of the greatest problems for this sector.

DW Akademie's approach to viability, which is discussed in the first section of the handbook, places emphasis on a multifaceted definition that not only prioritises financial income but that includes other aspects that guarantee financial resilience, foments trust among audiences, stays up to date with technological developments, and maintains quality content (see Related Summaries below for more information). During the project, CORAPE developed its own media viability approach - one that is adapted to the specific needs of community media in Ecuador.

To develop the handbook, a selection of eight community radio stations - which varied in their nature, organisation, and sources of financing - participated in a process of self-analysis, external consultation, and peer exchanges. The eight were chosen for this process because of their activities, alliances, and experience accumulated over a number of years in the field of media viability, enabling them to increase their revenues. Such activities include the sale of advertising and communication products, organisation and execution of music and sports festivals, generation and commercialisation of agricultural products, and creation of technical and financial alliances.

Working with the eight community media outlets, the project defined four focus areas of media viability: advertising; projects and entrepreneurship; partnerships and alliances; production and programming. These focus areas are reflected in the best practices, learning outcomes, and tools shared in the handbook.

The handbook is divided into three sections:

1. Background, justification and methodology - presents background information, reasons for the project, and the methodology used.
2. Media viability examples - points to the training procedures and best practices of four of the participating community outlets.
3. Guide for community media viability - offers the project's learning outcomes and recommends eight steps and tools for helping community media achieve viability. These steps include: establishing needs; conducting analysis and evaluations of their legal situation, technical infrastructure, and financial situation; creating strategic cooperation alliances and restructuring work procedures; creating a Production and Commercialization Plan for products and services; and constructing a Product Promotion and Diversification Plan.