RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

becomes the province of disaffected minorities of various Kinds which - as we have seen - in many cases use međia for purposes of intra-group communication . Thus , at times of relative social peace and stability , it seems un!iKely that a widespread or intense neeđ to gain access to , and forms of participation in , mass communication will manifest itself. Even if it diđ, however, the relatively easy availability of small and community or local~mass međia to use to this enđ will ordinarily mitigate against heavy pressure being put either on public or commerciat međia to accommodate that need, or to diversif у content to give expression to viewpoints that are usually đisregarded . Rather , the need and urge to communicate will find an outlet in the "alternative public sphere” (Downing , 1988), existing alongside the establishment media (whose role as elements of the public sphere is being undermined in Western societies today; cf. Dahlgren, 1983; Elliott, 1986). Such an "alternative public sphere" normally operates on the fringes of a society's public lif e and system of communication (as shown, for example, by the history of community radio in the US; cf . Barlow, 1988), providing a social space and a communication networK for those who have wholly or partly "dropped out" 14 ) but may also be created around a specific issue . Under normal circumstances , its impact on establishment media is limited, though its increased importance at times of strife or conflict may mfluence them to reflect reality more fully and accurately and taKe up issues , ог taKe stands which they would normally avoid - in short, to diversify and pluralyze their contents . As a result of the coexistence of establishment (public and commercial) media and alternative media , the audience тау become polarized , with the large majority sticKing with the former , and a mmority devotmg much of its listening time to the latter . If this analysis is correct, then in the foreseeable future , radio broadcasting in developed Western countries will comprise three elements : a public sector (which тау diminish in size and importance) , an aggressive and growing commercial sector , and alternative radio of variable extent and significance , depending on the social situation at апу given time . While the exact place °f each country's radio system on the uniformistic-pluralistic continuum cannot of course be predicteđ , the general model seems hKely to be one of polycentric but largely unđifferentiated communication .