VOD Looks at 11 Years of Broadcasting

VOD LOOKS AT 11 YEARS OF BROADCASTING

January 2003 – January 2014

In 2014, VOD (Voice of Democracy Radio) celebrated 11 years of broadcasting. When it first opened on January 16^th,2003, the radio was operatingunder the umbrella ofthe Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) to promote itsactivities, educate the public about human rights and advocate for freedom of expression in Cambodia.But media was then driven by fear and almost none was producing political sensitive programs and until 2004, VOD’s only client was Mr. Mam Sonando, the owner of Beehive Radio in Phnom Penh, who agreed to sell airtime to VOD. Soon, the fear began to fade and other radio stations also started selling airtime to VOD. In 2005 the radiostarted to produce its own independent news reports withjournalists trained bythe Indonesia-based radio news agency KBR 68H. In 2007, VOD started activities under its own banner and became the first local Khmer independent broadcasting radio news program. The same year, itregistered its Cambodian NGO status at the Ministry of Interior as the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM), aimingat promoting democratic governance and human rights enforcement in Cambodia through the development of a pluralistic and independent media environment.

By the end of 2009 CCIM began to operate two radio stations named Sarika, in Phnom Penh (106.5FM) and in Siem Reap (95.5FM), providing the first hourly breaking news in Cambodia. As a result, the organisation started to generate income. During this period of time traditional media outlets like radio, TV and printed newspapers dominated the media landscape in Cambodia. CCIM focused on enhancing the standard of reporting by hosting annual journalistic conferences and training sessions conducted by media professionals from the Philippines and Thailand.In 2009 CCIM also created aCode of Ethics for Cambodian Journalists, a text written by 12 Cambodian media professionals to ensure the quality and sustainability of reporting.

The media landscape in Cambodia is moving towards including more multimedia and online news, and accordingly in order to match this trendCCIM launched its website www.vodhotnews.com in 2011. The website quickly became popular and itreached the landmark of 85,000 unique visitors in the month of September 2013. Overall the website has attracted over 1 million visitors. In 2012 it was estimated that Sarika had a potential listenership of 8.5 million in 14 provinces. In order to reach as many listeners as possible, CCIM is now starting to implement the use of SMS and a hotline for Cambodians in remote areas to stay informed. In 2012 CCIM launched the Media Promotion Alliance (MePro) to help various local & community media organizations to improve their sustainability and independence. Currently MePro has 22 radio stations as members from 15 different provinces, from which 5 of the radio stations are broadcasting politically sensitive news.

In addition to this CCIM also trained 78 citizen journalists in 2013, including some ethnic minorities, to report on local issues. Currently 40 of the citizen journalists are providing news stories to CCIM from 12 different provinces. In the future, CCIM hopes to open the first Journalism Professional Academy (JPA) of Cambodia. In 2013 CCIM also educated24 citizen journalists on information and communications technology (ICT) and provided them with smartphones, enabling them to gather evidence on human rights abuses and to provide live news reports. All of these initiatives are inline with CCIM’s mission and vision, “everybody informed, everybody empowered”.

As of today, CCIM has a total of 50 staff members including 28 journalists, and Sarika FM is considered to be one of only two independent radio stations in Cambodia[1].

External support from donors, NGO partners, and other stakeholders has been extremely important in sustaining VOD and allowing it to grow. Most of all however, these past ten years also proved that VOD could not exist without its committed staff to keep it alive and ensure its development.

Thank you for your support and commitment!

For more information on how to support CCIM or how to broadcast through Sarika FM radio, please contact:

Mr. Pa NoungTeang, Executive Director of CCIM

Tel: 060 409 999

Email : pnteang@vodhotnews.com

Mrs. Chan Somaly, Media Network Coordinator of CCIM

Tel : 060 419 888

Email : somaly.ng@vodhotnews.com