Most of us are well aware of the Right wing voice on the radio but perhaps progressives shouldn't be so quick to give up the air waves as a lost cause. When talking about progressive media, we often hear references to independent news sites, blogs, youtube, or other internet-based media. I don't discount the importance of these types of media  in the progressive movement, but I'm concerned that progressives, caught up in a frenzy of instant news, RSS feeds, html and up/downloading will forget that outside of their virtual vicinity, some folks just don't have the regular access to the world wide web as they do. Sounds shocking sure, but it's true. It even has a name, the Digital Divide. So, while many progressives may be internet-savvy, we should also be looking to other sources of information as a way to communicate and educate. Inspired by Latin American activists, I think that progressives should at least consider the possibilities of community radio as a method on information dispersal. Two years ago, Sarah Posner warned that conservatives were quickly taking over the available low power, community radio stations. Should progressives do something about this? Should they even care?

One way of estimating the effectiveness of community radio as a tool for democracy and social progress is to look to how our neighbors to the south have been using it.

As in the U.S., media outlets in Latin American countries are often lumped into large conglomerates and into the hands of few. However, groups in Oaxaca, Mexico, Uruguay, Guatemala and others are utilizing community radio as a way of getting vital information out to the people who really need it and community radio stations have impacted political outcomes, the shape of social movement and many people's sense of self-empowerment.

A very strong example is Venezuela, where community stations played an important role in saving the democratically-elected government. Community-ran stations are filling an important community need by disseminating educational, political, cultural, and societal content that is not connected with (or controlled by) either the state-run or private media. Radio is being transformed from a single voice to a diverse spectrum of people who care more about educating themselves and fellow community members than making a profit. And, as the Venezuelan case shows, community radio can bring communities together in ways sufficient to make positive social change.

However, despite the growing success of and interest in community radio in Latin America, the stations are not exactly strong competition for mainstream outlets and face legal difficulties and in some cases, harsh repression. Here, we might want to ask: Whose interests are being protected when community radio stations are being shut down? What are the perceived dangers of this type of information source? Certainly, there are enormous differences in the situations here and there. Still, what can we, as North American progressives, learn from the challenges and successes of community radio from our Latin American counterparts? Can progressives find a voice in community radio here in the U.S.?