Community Media, Sustainability and Female-Oriented NGOs: The Case in Izmir

Introduction– Community media was created as an alternative to the ever-globalising and rapidly monopolised media industry. This media is a unity that does not seek profit, voices the demands and problems of the community it serves, seeks the benefit of the public, and its creators are members of the community. It is seen as a tool for the development of democracy and pluralism, and to increase social impact. The sustainability of this tool has emerged as a debated topic in recent years. Community media can both serve as a tool for sustainable development and can be defined as a part of sustainable communication. The sustainability of community media is all about making the presence of the communicative tools of the community permanent and sustainable, or to insure the continuation of the community’s channels of communication as a part of a specific strategy. Purpose– In this chapter, the author will discuss the concepts of community media, sustainability and female-oriented non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and then attempt to explain the media usage habits and the factors that affect the sustainability of the preferred channels of the female-oriented NGOs in İzmir. Methodology– The study has been designed using a case study design based on qualitative research methods. Data have been collected via document analysis and in-depth face-to-face interviews. The data acquired were analysed descriptively. Findings– Findings from the study show that the financial, content production-related, technical, and legal factors affect the sustainability of community media.