The Emergence,Transformation,and Disintegration of Alternative Radio in Taiwan: From Underground Radio to Community Radio

Abstract

This article draws on the various perspectives of alternative radio and provides an example of how an alternative radio section emerges from a society (in this case, Taiwan) and the impact it has. This article uses four underground community radio stations as a case study to explore the emergence of alternative radio and to examine the processes of its transformation and disintegration. The original empirical research reported in this article is mainly based on the fieldwork data collected by a variety of methods between June and August 1998. It examines the aims, organization, financing and the outputs of radio stations; eventually, the case is made that the factors that cause the transformation of alternative radio are the intervention of the state, the invasion of economic market from outside, and the lack of community identity from within.