On November 2^nd and 3^rd MFOS conducted a workshop in Darkhan for journalists who work at local radio stations or want to start a station. Most of these journalists from the northern region had not known each other. It became clear that this was a historic meeting because the group was trying to define a new category of radio that doesn’t exist in Mongolia. The qualities that define these stations are that they are:

There is presently the no category recognized by the Department of Infrastructure that is appropriate for these stations. Many regard themselves more like a NGO. They want to be more than just a music station, as are the private commercial stations in Ulaanbaatar. They recognize the important information needs they can meet for farmers, herders and residents in Darkhan and Erdenet. However, producing information programming is more expensive than playing CDs.

Since the new media law prohibits government from directly supporting media, some local stations have been closed, resulting in a lack of local information programming. A new structure that could receive government money has not been established.

The local radio we described in Darkhan has characteristics of public service radio and also of what is called "community radio" in other countries. However, there is no Mongolian word that means the same as "community". Therefore it is necessary to create a new kind of radio that incorporates some of these qualities and meets the unique needs of Mongolia.

The MFOS supports the development of rural radio through training workshops and is supporting two new stations through equipment grants: Radio Urgun in Sukhbaatar, Selenge aimag and Radio Darkhan that will also serve four neighboring rural soums. These stations plan an initial staff of three and estimate their monthly operating costs to be between $1,200 and $2,000. It may be difficult to support stations doing development programming from local advertising alone because the businesses:

• Are small with little income
• Have never advertised before and see little need to start now
• Make not receive enough added business to pay for advertising.

With the proper legal framework, these stations can be supported from several sources: advertising, donations (dedications), grants from large corporations, donors, local governments, and institutions such as an agricultural school.

Therefore, to establish effective local radio stations that will provide significant information service, I suggest the following for your consideration:

1. Provide a legal framework by establishing a new category of a local, independent, non-profit radio station that is recognized by the licensing authority. Criteria need to be established to receive this license.
2. Establish an independent structure that will allow local government support of these stations. A board of directors or committee could be appointed by the Citizens Council that would establish policies to ensure the independence of the programming and account for the use of the funds to the Hural and Governor. The members of the board would represent the interests of the area and could be health professionals, lawyers, teachers, journalists etc.; they would not be politicians.
3. Encourage the formation of an association of these stations to coordinate training, programming and professional standards. They could represent their interests to the government.
4. Explore the feasibility of forming a radio network using the Internet that could provide news and share programming, thereby increasing the service and reducing the cost of filling an entire day. This programming would further establish the identity of this new type of radio station.

The information needs in the countryside are large. Radio is well designed to meet these needs. A growing number of stations are committed to providing news and information programming that meet local needs. Now, the proper legal structures are needed to make this possible.