Proud Member:
Experts Group
The work of CMFE is also advised by members with in-depth expertise on European community media with the input of the CMFE Experts Group which consists of the Board of Directors plus the members listed below.
To contact any individual member of the group please send a mail to: info@cmfe.eu
01
Arne Hintz
Cardiff, United Kingdom
Lecturer at the School of Journalism, Media, and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, teaching and researching citizen media, communication policy, and technological change. Chair of the Community Communication Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). Practical background as a journalist, media activist, and communication rights advocate, and CMFE Board member from 2006-2011.
03
Ciaran Murray
Dublin, Ireland
Coordinator of the near media co-op in Dublin. Involved in community media, both radio and television, as a volunteer, producer, radio station manager, and committee member for almost 20 years. Currently chairperson of Dublin Community Television and secretary of the Craol, the Community Radio Forum of Ireland. Initiated and worked on many pieces of research including the 2003 Craol research, “Community Radio & Community Development” and the recently published, ‘Cross-National comparative analysis of Community Radio funding schemes’. 2011-2013 Secretary of the Board and from May 2013 to November 2015 President of CMFE.
04
Christer Hederström
Stockholm, Sweden
Media Advisor with a background working with the government from 1973 on radio, television, and film including the community media report to the Ministry of Culture 2003-2004. Founder of the Open Channel community television in Stockholm in 1993, and has been a member of the board of the Stockholm Community Radio Association. Also a background as a radio operator in the merchant navy. Member of the board of the Radio Academy and the Public Service Council in Sweden. Christer has been Convenor for Digital Radio, and Mapping and Ratings Working Groups and Coordinator of the CMFE Experts Group as well as board member until 2015.
06
Friederike Maier
Munich, Germany
Radio- and antenna-Engineer and trainer for the German public broadcasters media academy. Has been active in community radio for more than 15 years, creating radio shows, supporting the survival of servers and networks, and giving tec-trainings, with a special focus on bringing more women to work in radio-tec. Has been a board member of CMFE and BFR (Bundeverband Freier Radios/Association of Free Radios) with over 30 member radio stations in Germany. Mostly concerned with new transmission technology (DAB, IP, mobile broadband, 5G) and its impact on community media and spectrum policy.
08
Gergely Gosztonyi
Budapest, Hungary
Lawyer and media researcher. Graduated (Ph.D) in 2003 from the Faculty of Law, ELTE Budapest, now he is teaching at the same place since that time. He has a Ph.D. of Master of Laws Degree. He is the Head of the Rector’s Secretariat of Eötvös Loránd University. Studied sociology and political sciences for one year in Finland and media law for half a year in Denmark. Between 2000-2004 he was the office coordinator of the Hungarian Federation of Free Radios and between 2005-2006 he was the managing director of Civil Radio, a community radio in Budapest. He is a member of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) and Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE). His research field is alternative media and non-profit broadcasting, especially the legislation of the third-media sector.
10
Henry Loeser, PhD
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Henry Loeser is Lecturer in Media Entrepreneurship at Bournemouth University.
He is also a Research Fellow at Tallinn University, and Lecturer in Media Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic.
In 2008, founded the Media Innovation Center at Masaryk University, establishing radio and television stations with accompanying academic curricula.
In 2016 awarded Ph.D. for research into community broadcasting participation and policy. In the field of ICT4D,
since 2003, founder and director of the NGO RadioExpert, supporting community media with training and consultation on projects worldwide. Currently active in projects supporting the development of media literacy and professional skills for youth in Europe, including Roma Youth Media, and solutions for local news and citizens' journalism.
12
Jürgen Linke
Berlin, Germany
Director of Open Channel Berlin 1985-2008 and former chairman of BOK Bundesverband Offene Kanäle (National Association of Open Channels). Publisher of the BOK Newletter Community Media News.
14
Judith Purkarthofer
Essen, Germany
Judith works as a junior professor at the University Duisburg-Essen, after holding post-doctoral positions at the Department for German Studies and Linguistics at the Humboldt University Berlin and the Center for Multilingualism across the Lifespan at the University of Oslo. She has a strong focus on multilingual settings (schools, media, biographies, …). Her interest is in participatory practices, media as multilingual practice for plurilingual speakers, etc. Master thesis on language choice in community radio, research on Community Radio and multilingual producers in 2008 and in 2010 on multilingual programming in Austrian community radio. Participatory projects on women’s radio history in Europe and language learning and experience in community media. Member of different research groups and organizer of regular meetings around community radio (ARRG, 2006-2011), participation in diverse conferences on community media. President of CMFE from autumn 2015 to 2019.
16
Kate Coyer
Budapest, Hungary
Holds a PhD from Goldsmiths College, University of London and is the Director of the Center for Media and Communication Studies at the Central European University in Budapest. Teaches in the Departments of Public Policy and Political Science. Primary research interests include comparative media policy, political economy of the mass media, alternative and community-based media, radio studies, civil society and media reform movements, and media for development. Produced radio programs and organizing media campaigns for the past twenty years and helps build community radio stations with the Prometheus Radio Project (USA).
18
Marko Ala-Fossi
Tampere, Finland
Senior lecturer in Radio at the University of Tampere and the editor-in chief of Radio Moreeni, the only university radio station in Finland (2004-). Currently working as a postdoc researcher (2014 – 2016) in a research project fully funded by the Academy of Finland (http://www.uta.fi/cmt/post-broadcast).
A founding member and vice-chair of Finnish Community Radio Association (2007-). Member of a pan-European research team on digital radio, (DRACE) (2004-). Research interests include media policy, political economy, and social shaping of the new media delivery technologies. Former news journalist, producer, and market analyst at the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) (1989-2004).
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Nico Carpentier
Brussels, Belgium
Associate Professor at the Communication Studies Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB – Free University of Brussels) and Lecturer at Charles University in Prague. Also an executive board member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and was vice president of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) from 2008 to 2012.
22
Peter Lewis
London, United Kingdom
Professor of Media and Culture in the School of Computing and Digital Media at London Metropolitan University and one of the Transnational Radio Encounters team (HERA-funded 2013-2016) of which the Radio Garden (https://radio.garden) is an output. A consultant on community media training projects funded by the EU, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO, he has published widely on radio and community media.
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Steve Buckley
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Managing Director of Community Media Solutions, a not-for-profit media development agency. President of AMARC (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) from 2003 to 2010. Also served on the international council of IFEX (International Freedom of Expression Exchange). Publications include “Broadcasting Voice and Accountability: a public interest approach to policy, law and regulation” (University of Michigan Press) and “Community media: a good practice handbook” (UNESCO)
26
Salvatore Scifo
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Salvatore is a Senior Lecturer in Social Media and Communication at the School of Journalism, English, and Communication, Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, where is also a member of Centre of Media History and an associate member of the Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community. In 2011 he completed his doctoral research at the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster, on ‘The origins and development of community radio in Britain under New Labour (1997-2007)’. He was Secretary (2007-2011) and Vice President (2011-2013) of the Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE). Since August 2016 he is the Co-Chair of the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section of the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). He has previously worked in Istanbul (Marmara University, Maltepe University, and Koc University), London (the University of Westminster and London Metropolitan University), and the University of Siena, where he was Deputy Director of the first Italian university radio station ‘Facolta’ di Frequenza’. He has published on student media, British and European Community Radio, and European Community Media Policy.
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Urszula Doliwa
Olsztyn, Poland
Urszula is a Professor at the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, University of Warmia and Mazury, Poland. She is an author of the book Radio studenckie w Polsce (Student radio in Poland) and Radio społeczne – trzeci obok publicznego i komercyjnego sector radiowy (Community radio – the third sector of broadcasting along public and commercial). She also was guest editor (together with Judith Purkarthofer) of the special issue on community radio of The Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media [15:2, 2017]. Her research interests center on community media and she is involved in the promotion of community media in Poland. Urszula is a member of the Polish Communication Association, the Radio Research Section of ECREA, and the Editorial Board of the Polish journal Media-Kultura-Komunikacja Społeczna (Media-Culture-Social Communication). Urszula was the Secretary and Vice-President of CMFE from 2013 to 2019.
02
Birgitte Jallov
Denmark
Founder of EMPOWERHOUSE and a life-long advocate of people’s right to found, define, manage, own, and fill their own media, Birgitte has since the early 80s been active in and around community media as a broadcaster, a manager, a midwife, a trainer, a donor, an advocate, an evaluator and an activist in many countries in especially Europe, North America, and Africa. Birgitte co-founded Denmark’s first women’s radio in Denmark’s first community radio kickstarting a 3-year period of experiments with community radio and local TV back in 1983 – inspiring debate while challenging those traditionally setting the agenda. A long-time member of AMARC’s Women’s International Network (WIN), Birgitte never misses a chance to work to secure women’s engagement on all levels and in all areas of the media and was until recently among others on the board of the International Association of Women in the Media (IAWRT). Birgitte operates within a vast international network and was among others the manager of UNESCO’s to date biggest national media development program for a 6-year period in Mozambique. Birgitte’s community media book: “EMPOWERMENT RADIO – Voices Building a community” is now available as a free e-reader. Reviews highlight the book’s focus: “If you want to read only one book on the sustainability of community radio, this is the one to read!”
05
Francesco Diasio
Brussels, Belgium
One of the founder members of the Community Media Forum Europe. Also Secretary General of AMARC – Europe. In 2010 ed the emergency team of AMARC after the earthquake in Haiti. In 2010 and 2011 consultant for IMS – International Media Support for the development of the independent radio sector in Pakistan, and for the technical setup of the Somali refugee radio station in the Daabab camp, Kenya. AMARC is currently responsible for the technical reinforcement of Tunisian community radios and the implementation of Community Media Centres in the country.
07
Gabriella Velics
Szombathely, Hungary
Gabriella Velics, Ph.D. in Language Sciences, is an associate professor at Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute of Education and Psychology – based in Szombathely. She managed the University’s community radio station – Berzsenyi Radio –, and led several award-winning student radio projects during its seven years of operation. She continues her activity and serves the community radio movement as a member of Community Media Forum Europe since 2010. She teaches sociology, media pedagogy, social communication and theories of publicity, PR and media relations, and radio broadcasting. Her research interests include the community radio system and its function in social communication; but also the education of journalism, the professional relation of PR and journalism. She has a background as a sociologist, journalist, and radio presenter.
09
Helmut Peissl
Austria
Helmut is involved in community media since the 80ies and is actually managing director of COMMIT, a community media organization which develops and offers trainings and realizes research projects for the community media sector in Austria. He was responsible for several studies for the Austrian media authorities and the ministry of education on community media policy, public value of community media and on the contribution of community media to lifelong learning. He also worked as an expert for the Council of Europe’s report on “Regional Media and transfrontier co-operation” and has specific research interest on media in multilingual societies. He is a founding member of the CMFE and was member of the board 2004-2011, before being elected treasurer in 2015.
11
J.Paul GAMBIER
Entered the world of community radio in 1983 in the team of Radio CLAPAS (Montpellier, France), he founded in 1990 the Federation of Non-Commercial Community Radios in Languedoc-Roussillon (FRANC-LR / www.franclr.fr ) which includes more than thirty local radio in southern France. Between 1992 and 2007, he represents local radios at the Commission of the Support Fund to the Local Radiophonic Expression (FSER) which allocates state aid to the 650 French community radios (29 M€).
Co-founder in 1991 of the National Confederation of Community Radios (CNRA / www.cnra.fr), an organization that brings together 13 French federations of community radio stations and over 250 radio stations renewing their mandate each year.
He holds the presidency from 1996 to 1999 and is currently a member of the Executive Board, Delegate for International Relations. As such, he develops cooperation activities of CNRA with the French-speaking radio stations in West Africa since 2001 and was elected to the Board of AMARC Europe in 2011.
13
Jacob Schulze
Stockholm, Sweden
Jacob’s working life in media started with TV-journalism, with the national broadcasting company SVT and many years as a freelance journalist. During one year Jacob was assisting lecturer in journalism at the University of Stockholm. He was a stringer for Nordic media in Brussels 1992-1995. This led to become audiovisual adviser to the European Commission, working with press and media affairs related to Sweden. In that capacity Jacob met Christer Hederström. Further on he initiated several EU-funded projects for enhancing diversity in media, especially public service. Several projects have included participants from other Member States of the EU. Jacob is presently working as an education and communication consultant with his own company. Member of the board of CMS, Community Media Sweden, the umbrella organization for RÖK and NRO, the TV and Radio community media associations.
15
Josef Seethaler
Vienna, Austria
Josef Seethaler holds a doctoral degree from the University of Vienna and is the deputy director of the Vienna-based Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC), which is hosted by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Klagenfurt. He also works as a lecturer at the Universities of Vienna and Klagenfurt and participates in several international projects, e.g., ‘Worlds of Journalism’ and ‘Media Pluralism Monitor’ (on behalf of the European Commission). He is a member of several scientific advisory boards and works as a reviewer for highly-ranked journals and various scientific associations. He has mainly published on political communication, political journalism, and the development of media systems.
17
Larry Fergeson
An international project manager, communications strategist, and media consultant with a special passion for communications for development engagement. One of the founding members and former general manager of the Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC). Secretary of the CMFE board from May 2013 – October 2014.
19
Nadia Bellardi
Zürich, Switzerland
Public relations and intercultural communication consultant for non-profit, corporate, and governmental organizations. Project work and research on media diversity, intercultural integration, migration, and gender issues.
Vice President of CMFE from 2008 to 2015 and following the work of the Steering Committee on the Media and Information Society (CDMSI) of the Council of Europe as an observer. She is also responsible for the collective program management of Radio LoRa, a community radio station in Zurich, Switzerland, and Board member of the Swiss radio school klipp+klang.
Nadia holds a MA Degree in Political Science and International Relations from Università Cattolica, Milan, and a post-graduate MA Degree in Cultural Mediation from Venice University.
21
Núria Reguero Jiménez
Barcelona, Spain
Journalist and researcher at the Communication Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (InCom-UAB, ). Coordinates the UNESCO Chair in Communication InCom-UAB and is a member of an R&D team studying the impact of the DTT in media pluralism. Teaching communication theories at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). Master of Advanced Studies in 2010 with a thesis focusing on the evolution of Community Media in France, Spain, and the UK (activity, claims, and public policies). Member of CMFE Board 2008-2011
23
Pieter de Wit
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
President of CMFE from December 2007, re-elected for a second term in 2011 to 2013. From May 2013 to 2015 treasurer of the board. Until the end of 2008 director of OLON, the Dutch Federation of local public broadcasters. For more than 26 years contributed to the development of this sector, which now covers more than 90% of the Dutch households. Active on an international level since around 1990, contributing to topics like media legislation, digitalization, and media pluralism.
25
Rui Monteiro
Aarhus, Denmark
One of the founder members of the Community Media Forum Europe. Board member of SAML, Danish Association of community radio and TV. Board member of the Danish Journalist Union in East Jutland. Chairman of NORDSAM – Nordic Multiethnic Media Association. Member of the European network “Tuning in to Diversity” and of the European network Youth4Media. Founded Indvandrer TV, the first multicultural community TV in Denmark. Rui worked in the community media field for over 16 years.Has special expertise on ethnic minority media at the nordic and european level. Founder and CEO of Aarhus Global Media – European Community Media Centre for Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue.
27
Stefan Tenner
Neumünster, Germany
A journalist who worked as a correspondent in South-Eastern Europe and as a research associate at the Berlin University of the Arts, coordinator for several European radio projects, and media trainer. Engaged in community station Radio CORAX and the Association of Community Radios in Germany (BFR). The MARS [CoE’s/EU “Media Against Racism in Sport” program] coordinator for CMFE (2011/2012) and will now continue the task within the subsequence program: ” MEDIANE – Media Exchanges for Diversity Inclusiveness, Anti-racism and Non-discrimination in Europe” (2013/2014).
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