Community Radio That Solves Problems

The big city paradox: the denser the population, the more isolated you feel. This was the case even in hospitality-renowned Thailand’s big city, Bangkok. Then RDCK (Ruam Duay Chuay Kan or “Come Together to Help Each Other”), a community FM station, went on the air and brought everyone a little bit closer together.

In its latest issue, Monocle describes in detail how RDCK has empowered citizens with problems (e.g. snake attacks, missing people) to call in and get help. The station has also shown the city that many of its everyday heroes are driving buses and taxi cabs:

Around 40 per cent of the daily audience - typically between 80,000 and 100,000 - is found among the drivers of Bangkok’s fleet of 70,000 taxis who are frequently glued to the frequency. Up to two-thirds of calls to the station’s 1677 hotline are from people reporting items left in a taxi.

“If you dial 1677 you can expect to have a 50 per cent chance of resolving your problem. You don’t have to feel lonely in the big city; you call 1677,” says Boonchai Bencharongkul, 51, the station’s chairman and biggest patron. “Even the government calls to get help,” he laughs.

RDCK is officially not profitable but it does get a lot of advertising from corporations looking for some social luster and it has proven to be indispensable. A riot broke out in the streets when the station went off the air for three days in 2003.

[via Monocle]