Turning (and tuning in) to rural media: Exploring the role of identity,place,and participation in locating community radio

Introduction

The goal of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for analyzing the organization, operation and experience of communication media in rural contexts drawing on the example of Radio Dhimsa, a community radio (CR) broadcaster located in the Indian state of Odisha. This article, however, is not a case study. Rather, it is an attempt to expand and refine the theoretical vocabulary available for examining communication outside of centers possessing highly concentrated populations, infrastructure, and economic resources. Our argument is not that the field of Communication Studies has failed to engage with rural contexts – although this is certainly an issue – but that the field’s engagement with rural contexts remains theoretically incomplete and, at times, incoherent. Here, we advocate for a conceptual framework that considers the role played by the cultural, political, and materials aspects of communication media. Our aim is to move the concept of the rural from a fixed concept open to application across contexts toward a theoretical framework capable of grasping how the rural is constituted. Such an approach both provides a more subtle set of tools for analyzing rural communication while moving the conversation beyond a definition of rurality structured exclusively through its supposed opposition to urban contexts.

Framing the question

As a heuristic for understanding the problem with which we engage in this article, it is helpful to begin by observing that the ‘rural question’ has been posed in Communication Studies across two, inter-related registers:

To be clear, we distinguish between these two registers for heuristic reasons not because they are wholly independent of each other. Yet, despite their interrelation, we take as our starting point the observation that explicit theoretical reflections on the meaning and scope of the concept ‘rural’ are far fewer even as interest in communication and media across rural communities has been a fixture in the field for decades. Despite this, the meaning of ‘rural’ (and the contexts and examples that might be categorized as such) is often presumed to be self-evident and not to require more sustained critique. In response to this state of affairs, we propose a theoretical framework that is better able to understand how rural contexts are constituted through processes that organize the symbolic and material economies of communication.

Our focus on a critique of the concept of the rural is not entirely novel. In recent years there have been important contributions made in addressing the theoretical complexity and practical urgency of analyzing rural communication. Speaking to the representation of rural contexts in Communication Studies more broadly, Hobbis et al. (2023) observe that few have ‘heeded this call for a more dedicated rural approach to media’ (pp. 1490) while Ali brings together insights and approaches from across the social sciences to lay the foundation for what he calls ‘a critical theory of rural communication’ (Ali, 2018: 5). Hobbis and his co-authors also note that the failure to constitute ‘rural media studies’ as a subfield should not be mistaken for an absence of references to rural contexts in the literature. They write, noting the insufficient nature of evoking rural experience as metaphor or source of evidence,

It would be easy to reverse engineer the concept of rural media studies, construct a false history or make claims of conceptual prefiguration . . . It is time to go beyond representational analogies of rural otherness and start developing (social) media theories from the perspective of the rural and its diverse residents as their own actors in the parliament of ideas and practices that constitute the multidisciplinary endeavour of media studies today. (Hobbis et al., 2023: 1491)

Echoing this point, Ali (2018: 6) notes that ‘In the genealogy of media studies, the rural is often implied, but seldom confronted’. We strongly agree with these calls to give greater space to perspectives grounded in rural experience and to engage with the rural explicitly, yet there is a need to clarify what this might mean. Hobbis and his co-authors call to ‘get off the desktop and out of the armchair’ is one that we follow here, but any such turn toward the ‘real’ world of rural communication must be careful not to simply assume that conceptual critique can be replaced by a reliance on an uncritical empiricism.

Both practically and conceptually, the starting point for our analysis of the concept of the rural begins with community radio (CR). Practically, this is to acknowledge that our engagement with this theoretical critique emerged out of a research project committed to collaborative field work. Conceptually, it is to recognize that rural communities are frequently the focus of research on CR – including the research upon which this article is based – despite this identification between CR and ‘the rural’ being rarely formulated explicitly. This is not to claim that CR research is a privileged site for understanding assumptions about the idea of ‘rural’ in Communication and Media Studies; there are many other ways in which the concept might be approached. Rather our engagement with research on CR here highlights it as one of many corners of the field – we might have been equally justified in starting with an engagement with ‘local media’ or ‘telecommunications infrastructure’ to name just two – where there is a tendency to reduce the idea of the ‘rural’ to the role of passive background on which individuals, communities and institutions interact.

What would it mean to provide a more complex account of the rural contexts within which CR broadcasters operate? We begin by distinguishing between three ways of mobilizing the concept of ‘rural’ found in analyses of community radio: the cultural, the administrative, and the material. The first two of these approaches are most frequently the focus of research on CR. They are, as we outline below, identified with approaches that locate the practice and study of CR within a paradigm that foregrounds the strategic and instrumental role of communication. We add to these two approaches a third, focusing on the material aspects of radio in rural contexts, which are less consistently brought into focus in research on CR. We then review the case of Radio Dhimsa – a CR broadcaster operating in the Koraput region located in Eastern India – to draw attention to how paying greater attention to the locations within which community radio operate can contribute to a framework better attuned to the dynamics that structure communication and its social impact in rural contexts. The conclusion of the paper outlines some of the ways adopting such an approach might contribute to greater exchange between the field communication studies and the interdisciplinary projects of rural studies (Cloke, 1985; Smith, 2007).

Constituting the rural in communication studies

The study of communication and media studies in rural contexts has historically been associated with research examining the relationship between communication and development. A topic of research in the field originating in the decades following the Second World War, this work has prioritized theoretical and methodological frameworks that focus on the strategic and instrumental use of communication (for an overview see Huesca, 2003). Historically, this has been analyzed through the opposition between ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ societies (Lerner, 1958). Huesca (2003) provides more context explaining the dual role played by communication in modernization projects, explaining that,

On the most brute level, mass media were conceptualized as both an index and agent of modernization. Media were considered not only markers of development, but also the ‘great multipliers’ of ideas and information that were necessary to shift beliefs and attitudes from traditional levels to modern plateaus. (pp. 8)

Grounded in a model of communication that prioritizes transmitting information and innovations outward from sources located in the centers of political and economic power, this work focuses on the efficiency and effectiveness of message delivery. It is an approach to communication that aligns well with modernization theories of development, where communication is positioned as a vital mechanism for promoting social and economic progress in rural areas.

This is a perspective that views rural populations as being at a disadvantage because of their isolation from information flows originating in urban centers. While the focus on information access is well-intentioned, it risks oversimplifying the multifaceted realities of communication in rural settings by overlooking the nuanced ways in which rural communities participate in communication processes. Also, in rural contexts, the imposition of homogenization of education policies and mainstream media exemplifies a broader pattern of external frameworks erasing local knowledge systems and cultural identities, an issue also central to the challenges faced by rural community radio in navigating the dynamics between imposed developmental agendas and grassroots participation (Debnath, 2020). As Pavarala and Malik (2021: 192) explain:

People were considered as passive beneficiaries who could be manipulated through information and inducement using mass media such as radio, and their participation was limited to listening to what was being planned for them by the policymakers, politicians and bureaucrats. This approach failed either in garnering a sustained buy-in from the communities or in alleviating poverty in the Third World countries as the gains never trickled down to reach the poor owing to prevailing societal hierarchies.

By positioning communication as a means to deliver externally legitimated knowledge, these approaches marginalize indigenous forms of communication and local knowledge systems that have evolved organically within these communities. The existing, often sophisticated systems of knowledge exchange that are already in place are overlooked or seen as obstacles to social and economic growth. Such an approach minimizes the agency of rural communities overlooking how selective engagement, adaptation, or even resistance to external information are indications of efforts to realize local needs and priorities, or to preserve local cultural practices.

The rejection of traditional approaches to development, and the strategic and instrumental approaches to communication associated with them, contributed to a greater focus on the contributions of CR to creating and maintaining identity. This perspective shifts the focus from communication as a tool for information transfer to understanding it as a process deeply embedded in the social and cultural fabric of rural life. In this view, communication is not only about the transmission of messages but also about the expression and reinforcement of communal identities, values, and traditions. For instance, the role of community media, such as local radio stations, extends beyond the dissemination of information; it becomes a platform through which communities articulate their collective identities, share their narratives, and engage in a dialogue about what it means to belong to a particular place.

This identity-affirming function of communication is particularly significant in rural contexts, where geographic isolation and socio-economic marginalization can threaten the continuity of cultural practices and community cohesion. By facilitating the circulation of local knowledge, stories, and cultural expressions, communication serves as a vital means of sustaining a shared sense of identity and belonging, thus countering the homogenizing forces of globalization and external influence. In this light, communication is seen not just as a functional process but as a vital component of the social life of rural communities, integral to the preservation of their cultural heritage and the negotiation of their place in the broader societal landscape. In response to these issues, there is a growing call within the field to move beyond purely instrumental views of communication and to embrace more participatory and culturally sensitive approaches. Such approaches would recognize the agency of rural communities in co-creating communication strategies that resonate with their unique social and cultural contexts, thereby fostering a more inclusive and effective communication process that goes beyond mere information transfer to facilitate genuine dialogue and empowerment.

The common approaches to the analysis of CR fit within the above debates about rural communication as viewed through, and in relation to, developmental discourse and its critique. Despite the fragmentation of the mid-twentieth century consensus around the modernization paradigm and the rise of more part participatory models such as those outlined by Servaes (2023), communication in rural contexts is still frequently framed as an issue of information access and transfer. Even with the explicit rejection of the modernization paradigm, the discursive and institutional forms that circulate in discussions about CR in rural contexts drift toward technocratic understandings of the sector where the primary goal is to overcome barriers to information flow – whether those barriers are infrastructural or socio-cultural. Backhaus (2020) observes that this modernization discourse remains common in the sector in India and references its prevalence in other national contexts as well in a study of discourses about development circulating among those involved in CR in India.

Finally, there also exists a body of work that has focused on the material aspects of communication. This approach is most commonly described as focusing on telecommunications. As a subfield within Communication and Media Studies, telecommunications research has focused primarily on the capabilities and implementation of the technical infrastructure on which mediated communication relies. It is, however, given comparatively spare treatment in discussions of community radio focusing on the social and cultural impact of the sector. This speaks to how practitioners and scholars inhabit a contradiction, succinctly summed up by Babu, that:

The proponents and practitioners of community radio have always treated technology as an external factor in the entire political process of its conception and implementation. Technology has been treated as a necessary evil. There has been a complete disconnect between the messenger and the medium . . . Judging by the attitude and approach towards technology, one gets a feeling that the proponents of community radio would have preferred to run the station without a transmitter or sound equipment if it was possible. (Babu, 2020: 133)

The absence of the technical means of communication from the literature is an example of ‘infrastructural concealment’ (Parks, 2012), which describes the attempt to obscure or erase infrastructure in support of structuring and controlling how media systems operate. It is, however, appropriate to extend Babu’s observation beyond reluctance to engage with technology among practitioners. Taking the contradiction, he brings into focus as an invitation to reflect on the material aspects of media practice more broadly, Babu’s discussion of the erasure of technological conditions enabling community radio in the practice and study of CR points toward a larger failure to engage with material circumstances.

While the need to operate and maintain technical equipment should not be overlooked, there equally a need to attend to the physics of broadcasting technologies themselves. Giving the material aspects of media such attention requires a recognition of factors that often seem too obvious to discuss. The physical geography of a place and its climate are both contributing factors to the operation and impact of CR within a community. Approaches to CR that are primarily focused on policy and the practice of administration often overlook this aspect of media entirely since, following Henri Lefebvre, the state ‘pulverizes’ space in order to impose a new spatial logic that flattens out differences (Lefebvre et al., 2010). This is not to say that such matters are wholly ignored, but that they are rarely given much attention. For scholars of telecommunications, these issues are often implicitly present in discussions of complications related to the implementation of technologies in a location. For researchers more attuned to the practices and statements of participants in CR, we find comments and observations about physical locations throughout ethnographically derived studies as they describe places or personal experience of traversing communities with participants involved in producing CR.

We turn to the physical aspects of CR not to establish it as the determining factor in any analysis but propose it as a necessary addition to any analysis of CR that moves beyond the horizon of the instrumentalization of communication in the service of a developmentalist agenda. The production of the rural as it shapes experience cannot be fully understood without adopting an approach that considers the interplay between history, geography, and the internal dynamics that shape these spaces. With this in mind, we turn to the case study of Radio Dhimsa to explore how engaging with these three aspects of the rural might inform an analysis of CR.

Context

Koraput is over 500 kilometers from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, and its geographic isolation often results in limited access to resources, infrastructure, and even communication. Amid these constraints, mainstream media − broadcast from distant urban centers and predominantly in Odia − fails to resonate with the Desia people’s lived experiences, often ignoring their dialect, customs, and concerns. Here, Radio Dhimsa steps in, offering an invaluable space for the Desia people to reclaim their cultural identity through the airwaves. It serves as an essential platform for preserving and promoting the indigenous knowledge systems that define life in Koraput.

What makes Radio Dhimsa unique is its ability to adapt to the material realities of rural life. Its broadcasts, in Desia dialect, reach communities across 60 villages, but due to signal limitations caused by the region’s hilly terrain, the station has adopted narrowcasting to ensure no one is left behind. Volunteers and community reporters bring pre-recorded content directly to villages, making sure even those in the farthest reaches can participate in the shared cultural narratives. This hands-on, deeply participatory method reflects the material and experiential realities of living in Koraput. The station’s presence helps mitigate the feeling of isolation, providing not only information but also a sense of belonging, reminding the Desia people that their voices are heard and their culture remain vibrant despite external pressures.

In Koraput, Radio Dhimsa is more than just a media outlet; it’s a cultural lifeline. The community’s stories, traditional knowledge, and indigenous practices find a home in its broadcasts. Whether it’s through songs, folklore, or discussions on sustainable agriculture, Radio Dhimsa amplifies the voices of the Desia people, preserving their heritage while helping them navigate the challenges posed by modernization, cultural mainstreaming, and development-driven displacement. The station exemplifies how rural media can thrive when it reflects the material conditions and cultural needs of the community it serves, creating a bridge between past traditions and the future of indigenous identities in an ever-changing world.

Radio Dhimsa, established in 2012 with support from UNICEF-India, emerged as a crucial response to the unique information and communication challenges faced by the Desia community in Koraput. The origins of Radio Dhimsa are deeply intertwined with the socio-political and cultural realities of the region. The station was conceived as a solution to the communication gaps left by mainstream media, which largely ignored the specific needs and voices of indigenous populations in remote areas. Licensed to South Orissa Voluntary Action (SOVA), an NGO dedicated to improving the lives of marginalized communities in the region, Radio Dhimsa was born out of the realization that traditional media channels like All India Radio (AIR) Jeypore were insufficient in addressing the local issues and cultural nuances of the Desia people.

Radio Dhimsa’s programming is intended to speak to the everyday lives and challenges of the Desia community. Unlike mainstream media, which often imposes external narratives, Radio Dhimsa is committed to creating content that is both relevant and empowering. By engaging directly with community members in the creation and dissemination of content, the station ensures that its broadcasts are not only informative but also reflective of the community’s voice. This participatory approach fosters a sense of ownership and agency among the Desia people, empowering them to articulate their own narratives and address the issues that matter most to them, from health and education to cultural preservation and identity. The station’s locally adaptive approach has proven crucial in addressing the erosion of cultural practices and the threats posed by external influences. Whether through educational programs that promote traditional agricultural practices or cultural broadcasts that celebrate Desia festivals and rituals, Radio Dhimsa’s content is designed to meet the specific needs of its audience. This commitment to local relevance ensures that the station remains a vital platform for the Desia community, enabling them to resist cultural assimilation and assert their identity in the face of external pressures.

However, operating in the remote and rural regions of Koraput, Radio Dhimsa faces significant challenges that stem from its geographical location, socio-political marginalization, and the ‘wild’ nature of its operating environment. The Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput (KBK) region, where Koraput is located, is characterized by its difficult terrain, limited infrastructure, and a history of socio-economic underdevelopment (Patra, 2011). These factors contribute to the region’s relative isolation, making it challenging for traditional media outlets to reach and serve these communities effectively. In this context, the ‘wild’ aspects of Koraput − its dense forests, rugged mountains, and remote villages − are not just physical barriers but also symbolic of the cultural and socio-political marginalization experienced by the Desia people. The region’s inaccessibility has historically contributed to the neglect of its communities by both the state and mainstream media, leading to a lack of representation and voice for the indigenous populations (Rath, 2019). In the case study that follows, we analyze the operations of Radio Dhimsa from an administrative, cultural and material perspective in order to highlight the extent to which each of these perspectives contributes to an account of the broadcaster’s operation and relationship to the local community.

An administrative approach to Radio Dhimsa

The administrative and policy framework governing community radio stations like Radio Dhimsa reflects a broader narrative of how rural spaces are defined and managed by the state. The station is licensed to South Odisha Voluntary Action (SOVA), a local NGO dedicated to improving the lives of marginalized communities in the region. Community radio in India is regulated under policies that emphasize its role in development, positioning it as a tool to bridge information gaps in underserved areas (Pavarala and Malik, 2007; Raghunath, 2020). However, this instrumental framing often overlooks the deeper, community-driven motivations behind these stations.

The governance and management of Radio Dhimsa are inherently linked to its rural context. Operating in a region characterized by limited infrastructure, poverty, and difficult terrain, the station relies heavily on local community members for its operation. Volunteers from surrounding villages contribute to the day-to-day running of the station, from gathering content to recording and broadcasting. This decentralized model of governance reflects the station’s commitment to local ownership, a principle that is central to the concept of community radio. Unlike commercial or state-run media, Radio Dhimsa functions as a grassroots initiative, ensuring that the voices of marginalized groups, especially indigenous populations, are amplified.

However, the administrative challenges faced by the station cannot be ignored. Funding is often a significant hurdle, as community radio stations in India are largely excluded from the advertising revenue streams that sustain commercial broadcasters (Pavarala, 2015). While organizations like UNICEF and local NGOs provide initial support, long-term sustainability requires careful navigation of both policy frameworks and local economic realities. The relationship between the station and state bodies is also crucial; government policies that promote community media as part of rural development initiatives are often at odds with the realities of operating a media outlet in a remote, rural area (Pavarala and Jena, 2020).

On the role of SOVA and the administrative and policy related challenges of running a community radio station, Respondent 1, Secretary of SOVA, remarked:

After spending so many years with these Desia (local indigenous) communities here in this region, we have realized that being an NGO, we need to be cautious of the issues and concerns of the community we are addressing. In that regard, SOVA since its establishment has been focused and committed to developing and supporting the Desia people to speak for themselves and, importantly, make informed choices. It’s a challenge to ensure that the community is actively involved not just as listeners but as contributors and creators. Radio Dhimsa has always had the community at the heart of its operations. The real work is to integrate their voices in the organization, production, and consumption of the programmes, making it truly participatory and reflective of their cultural identity. (Personal interview, 2023)

Radio Dhimsa’s governance model reflects the broader discourse surrounding community media and rurality, where policy frameworks provide the foundation for operations but are frequently adapted to meet the specific needs of local communities.

Radio Dhimsa’s cultural mission

The station navigates these administrative complexities while staying true to its mission of cultural preservation and local empowerment is a testament to the resilience of community-driven initiatives in rural India. The everyday life of the Desia community in Koraput is intricately woven into the fabric of its cultural traditions, local practices, and indigenous knowledge. Community radio stations like Radio Dhimsa are critical to preserving and promoting these aspects of rural life, functioning as much more than mere transmitters of information. They act as conduits for the articulation of local identity, reinforcing communal ties through shared narratives, music, and language. In rural areas such as Koraput, where geographic isolation often leads to marginalization, community radio becomes a lifeline for cultural expression. By broadcasting in the Desia dialect and highlighting local traditions, festivals, and rituals, the station helps sustain a sense of cultural continuity amid the pressures of external influences. On the mission and vision of Radio Dhimsa, Respondent 2, the station manager, shared:

Radio Dhimsa is always committed to work with the marginalized Desia community here in Koraput. We, as an institution, are aware of the necessities and essentials of this area. Radio Dhimsa allows the disadvantaged Desia community of Koraput to raise their voices and to strengthen their own cultural identity and knowledge systems. Even though Koraput is more than 500KM away from the state capital i.e. Bhubaneswar, the marginalized indigenous groups of Koraput have found their voice through Radio Dhimsa, and they are happy that at least they have a medium to strengthen and restore their Desia values, principles, identities, and knowledge systems which are under threat because of a variety of reasons like cultural mainstreaming, modernization, development-induced displacement, the conventional educational policies and approaches promoted by the state. Radio Dhimsa is truly of, for, by, and about the Desia community. Using democratic and participatory values and principles, it reposes the Desia community’s lost faith in its own knowledge systems by reinforcing indigenous epistemological values and traits through radio programming. (Personal interview, 2023)

Programming at Radio Dhimsa is tailored to resonate with the everyday lives of its listeners. The station not only broadcasts agricultural advice but also incorporates traditional agricultural knowledge, ensuring that Desia farmers are not disconnected from their own cultural history. Educational programs often integrate local stories, folklore, and Desia songs, enabling younger generations to stay connected with their heritage, even as formal education systems increasingly adopt standardized curricula that overlook local histories.

On this context, Respondent 7, a Radio Dhimsa contributor and working journalist in Koraput for the last two decades, asserted:

I see Koraput as a land of rich cultural heritage, tribal lifestyle, and natural resources. Koraput is a feeling and mindset. It is not just a geographical space, but it is something more than that. Koraput is a way of life. But unfortunately, Koraput has seen a lot of changes over the years. Koraput the feeling/the way of life originally hints at nature, hills, streams, and tribal culture and life. The original residents of Koraput and the ones deployed by the government and the ones who migrated to Koraput from other parts of Odisha have changed the overall demography and dynamics of the cultural fabric of the land Koraput. Koraput has always given to nature and society. Be it the first kind of paddy from Jeypore, which was founded by the Gadaba community or coffee from Koraput. So the idea of being Desia or Koraputia doesn’t belong to the ones who came here for work/job purposes. To me, Koraput belongs to the ones who have inhabited here for ages and the ones who have fallen in love with this land. Koraput is a feeling of acceptance. (Personal interview, 2023)

The participatory nature of community radio further empowers the community by giving them a voice in content creation. Programs such as Lenka Master (Lenka Teacher), Chaiti Parab (Agriculture Festival), Lenka Master (Educational programme), Kan Halchal (What’s Up!), Aama Gaon Ra Katha (Our Villages, Our Tales) those centered on agriculture, health, education, and women’s empowerment are often developed through conversations with local leaders, volunteers, and community members, ensuring they reflect the concerns of the people. In this way, Radio Dhimsa serves as both a medium for communication and a means of preserving the cultural lifeworld of the Desia people. The station’s efforts to engage the community in programming foster a shared sense of ownership over the media, reinforcing its role in the preservation of local culture and identity. In this regard, Respondent 4, one of the Radio Dhimsa volunteers and prominent faces in the Desia community while stressing on the importance of culture in his community expressed that:

I would say that the culture of this region can neither be omitted nor entirely forgotten − it’s impossible, in my mind. Culture is so integral to our lives and livelihoods. You find culture in everything here, and we live with it happily. However, the younger generations are not as active in promoting and practicing local traditions. While they haven’t completely forgotten these cultures, they have redefined them in a modern way that suits their lifestyle. The older generation is not so pleased about this, as they feel that the modified or diluted versions are not in harmony with the original and authentic cultural values. This is leading us into a cultural tussle, where it will soon be difficult to situate and identify our traditions. In this context, Radio Dhimsa is very important. There should be more such platforms to help us engage with our culture in more productive ways, to enrich it and live with it. Moreover, Radio Dhimsa’s role is crucial for many reasons: it is a medium created by the Desia people, for the Desia people. It has provided the Desia community with a platform to engage with their culture, identities, and knowledge systems, which are often sidelined by mainstream media. (Personal interview, 2023)

Technical and material aspects of Radio Dhimsa

The technical challenges of operating a community radio station in a region like Koraput are significant and reflect the broader issues of media infrastructure in rural India. The geographic isolation of the region, characterized by its mountainous terrain and dense forests, limit the reach of Radio Dhimsa’s FM signal, which covers an approximate radius of 12 kilometers. In such a remote setting, where the nearest urban centers are far removed from the community’s daily life, the physical landscape itself becomes a barrier to communication. The technical limitations of broadcasting in this environment highlight the contributions of geography to rural communication. Transmission quality is often affected by weather conditions, with monsoons and storms disrupting broadcasts and limiting the station’s reach. Furthermore, the lack of reliable electricity in many villages within the coverage area compounds these challenges, as villagers may not always have the means to access radio broadcasts even when the station is operational.

Radio Dhimsa has sought innovative ways to overcome these limitations. Narrowcasting, where community reporters and volunteers record and distribute content to remote villages on physical media, helps extend the reach of the station beyond the FM signal. This method enables community members in even the most isolated villages to access information and engage with the broader cultural conversations facilitated by the station. By employing low-cost, locally adapted solutions, Radio Dhimsa underscores the importance of mediated communication in overcoming the barriers of rurality. In discussing the resilience of Radio Dhimsa in overcoming these locational hurdles, Respondent 5, one of the key contributors to Radio Dhimsa and proponents of Desia culture, remarked:

Even with the challenges posed by our terrain − where the mountains often block signals and the weather is unpredictable − Radio Dhimsa has become our voice. When it was established, we were given the chance to understand why it was needed here. Despite the technical difficulties, we all saw it as our own platform, where we could speak in our dialect, for our people. This station has defied the odds. It reaches us in places where, under normal circumstances, it would be hard to stay connected. We use it as a cultural platform to share our concerns, and it has successfully brought us together. People now associate our voices with Radio Dhimsa. It has strengthened and revived our culture through programming that reflects who we are. Even though we face many challenges, including technical ones, Radio Dhimsa is a symbol of our community’s resilience. (Personal interview, 2023)

Climate change further exacerbates these technical challenges. Unpredictable weather patterns have become a recurring issue, with floods and landslides occasionally cutting off entire villages from the station’s signal. In such instances, the station’s reliance on community networks becomes even more critical. Local volunteers, equipped with basic recording and playback devices, travel to affected areas to disseminate important information, ensuring that even during periods of isolation, the community remains connected.

In this context, the materiality of communication infrastructure becomes a central concern. The technological limitations faced by Radio Dhimsa are not just technical issues but are intertwined with the social, political, and environmental dynamics of rural life. The ability of community radio to mediate rural experiences is thus contingent not only on the availability of technology but also on the adaptability of the station and its community to the challenges posed by their environment.

Bringing it all together

The material and experiential dimensions of Radio Dhimsa’s operations in Koraput are critical to understanding how community radio functions in rural, geographically challenging environments. Koraput, with its rugged terrain, dense forests, and remote villages, creates significant physical barriers to broadcasting. Radio Dhimsa’s FM signal covers an approximate radius of 12 kilometers, but this limited range is frequently disrupted by natural elements such as storms and monsoons, which affect transmission quality. The mountainous geography often blocks the signal, leaving certain villages beyond reach. Compounding these natural barriers is the lack of reliable infrastructure in Koraput, where many villages experience inconsistent electricity supply, further reducing access to broadcasts. These material constraints highlight the importance of understanding rural media not only as a social and cultural force but also in terms of the physical and technical limitations that define its reach and impact. Yet, despite these challenges, Radio Dhimsa has adapted by employing innovative strategies like narrowcasting, where pre-recorded content is distributed on physical media to remote areas, enabling community members to access broadcasts even when they cannot tune in directly.

The experiential aspect of Radio Dhimsa’s operation is equally vital in understanding how the station connects with the Desia community. The radio station functions as a cultural and communicative platform that not only broadcasts information but also reflects and reinforces the everyday experiences and identities of the people it serves. This participatory engagement is evident in the way community members actively contribute to content creation. Programs on traditional agricultural practices, local festivals, and indigenous knowledge systems are crafted with input from local voices, ensuring that the broadcasts resonate with the lived experiences of the listeners. The station fosters a sense of cultural continuity and collective identity in a region that is socio-politically marginalized and physically isolated from urban centers. The Desia people see themselves in the broadcasts, which helps solidify their connection to their own heritage while also empowering them to address issues that affect their community directly. The participatory nature of Radio Dhimsa thus makes it a vital tool for cultural preservation, serving as a bridge between the community’s past and its present in a way that mainstream media often fails to do.

The researchers’ immersion into the field reveals just how intertwined these material and experiential aspects are. By traveling with station volunteers and reporters through the difficult terrain, the researcher gains insight into how the physical geography of Koraput shapes the station’s operations and the resilience of the people involved. These journeys to remote villages to gather content or engage with community members reflect the practical challenges of rural communication, where material barriers are navigated with ingenuity and resourcefulness. The experiential component is not just about transmitting information; it involves a reciprocal relationship between the community and the station, with Radio Dhimsa acting as both a platform and a participatory space where local voices are not just heard but are integral to the station’s function. The station’s capacity to adapt to its challenging environment, both technically and culturally, exemplifies how rural media operates under material constraints while fostering deep community engagement and resilience. This dynamic interaction between the material limitations of rural infrastructure and the rich cultural tapestry of the Desia community defines the unique role of Radio Dhimsa in Koraput.

Conclusion

Hobbis et al. (2023), advocate for greater interest in rural contexts and experience that they frame as a ‘rural turn’ in media studies. This gesture, made in the spirit of expanding the breadth and inclusivity of the field is to be lauded. However, before fully adopting or endorsing such a turn in the field, it is worth pausing and reflecting on what such a turn might entail. Will Straw (2017), in a short essay on turns in cultural theory, describes how ‘the turn’ functions as a discursive and institutional device that can do both conceptual work – organizing and structuring epistemologies and methods – and navigating the material relations through which a field if constituted both locally and globally. Turns open up new horizons of research which also re-framing all that has gone before. However, turns are also boundary-marking exercises. Straw points us toward the work of Pascale Casanova (1999) on the global circulation of literature to note that the circulation of cultural theory is similarly embedded in the geopolitics of knowledge, writing that turns produce the distinctive feeling, in particular parts of the world, of being perennially out of date, the sense that the value of local work has less to do with its contextual pertinence than with the possibility of its acceptance in the metropolitan centers of intellectual power. It is in this sense that proposing (or pursuing) a ‘rural turn’ for media studies must be seen to offer both promise and peril since any such turn risks centering the study and definition of rurality in the established center of global economic and cultural power.

Perhaps a different approach is required, one that does not promise the transformation of the field but seeks to transform the processes of legitimation and visibility operative in the field. To effect this change, we have outlined here how one place to begin is by noting the ways that the rural have been marginalized in the field to date. Yet, in line with Straw’s account of the ‘twists, turns and tweaks’ of cultural theory, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms through which the rural is marginalized in the field while also recognizing the terms upon which the visibility of rural contexts is made possible (Straw, 2017). Here, we have sought to show how a complex, multi-faceted understanding of the rural might provide a more nuanced understanding of CR in India. We have argued for a more thorough engagement with the material context within which CR is located and operated. In doing so, we bring forward this case study both as part of an effort to better understand the processes of fragmentation and marginalization at work in media studies marginalizing analyses of rural contexts. At the same time, however, we observe that the turn to the rural may require a more thorough going restructuring the epistemology of the field of communication studies itself.