Community Media Association UK Government Consultation on Civic Engagement

The civic engagement model is embedded in the ethos of the community media movement, but the role of community media tends not to be recognised within government-led community development policies and practices, at a local, regional or national level. The mass-communications model of social engagement predominates in policy development, service planning and service delivery, often leaving participatory forms of community media as an adjunct to marketing-defined engagement, rather than as a primary component of community development practice. Incorporating commu-nity media at the planning and service development stage of civic engagement projects will add a further strategic in-strument that will enhance civic and social engagement.