A Media Ecology Study of Community Radio in Yogyakarta

Indonesia’s media sector has undergone rapid evolution amid social, economic, political, and technological changes. Community radio expanded after the enactment of Broadcasting Law No. 32/2002, but declined sharply as 2020 approached, threatening the citizen-run alternative public sphere. Despite Yogyakarta’s historical centrality, adaptation within its community-radio ecology remains underexplored. This study examines transformations in Yogyakarta from the post-Reformasi period through 2024, analyzing how regulation and technology have influenced them. Using a qualitative design, we examine Angkringan FM, Saka FM, Swaka FM, and BBM FM through in-depth interviews with managers, presenters, and local stakeholders; participant observation of on-air practice, content production, and community relations; and analysis of policy documents and organizational archives. Guided by media-ecology theory, we map interactions among actors, technologies, regulations, and social environments across three phases: pre-2002, post-2002, and the internet/social-media era. Findings indicate that the 2002 law reconfigured organizational structures and practices; however, its implementation constrained innovation in funding, licensing, and reach, resulting in a relatively stagnant ecosystem. Concurrently, the rise of the internet and social media expanded capacities for production and distribution, shifted audiences to digital platforms, and demanded multimodal formats. To persist, many stations interpret regulatory limits flexibly, generating tensions between legal compliance and sustainability. We propose revisiting definitions, licensing regimes, and success indicators so that community radio aligns with today’s digital ecology while supporting citizen-based information democracy. The study advances Indonesian media-ecology scholarship and provides policy foundations for the inclusive and sustainable revitalization of Yogyakarta’s community radio.