Challenges of campus radio sustainability at Malaysian and Indonesian universities in new media era

Abstract EN

Campus radio or college radio is a non-commercial community-based radio, used as a training platform for university students.

however, some campus radio were perceived as unproductive and managed unsystematically.

thus, leading to the campus community’s low interest in tuning in to the campus radio channel.

this article addresses the challenges and measures taken in sustaining the broadcast of campus radio programmes.

what kind of constraints does campus radio in Malaysia and Indonesia universities faced and the form of approaches they adopted to ensure the continuation of operation? in-depth interviews with ten members of production team across four campus radio stations in Malaysia and Indonesia were gathered.

one of the key result highlights that financial constraints are central to the management of campus radio.

the sense of belonging to their “alma mater‟, enticed participation among university alumni, which subsequently, contribute to the sustainability of campus radio in Malaysia and Indonesia.

programmes are mainly for generating knowledge and educational purposes.

programme content was reformed to suit funding and station promotion strategies to elevate radio listenership.