Diversity in Action: Minority Group Media and Social Change (Text-Only
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This publication was researched and written by Melissa Giles as part of a Master of Arts (Research) degree in Journalism, Media and Communication at the Queensland University of Technology. © Melissa Giles 2010 Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 RADIO 4RPH: SHARING THE WORD ....................................................................................................... 7 Working for the community ....................................................................................................................... 8 Workplace inclusion ................................................................................................................................... 9 The retired life ..........................................................................................................................................10 » Who volunteers at 4RPH? .................................................................................................................11 Access All Areas ......................................................................................................................................12 Focus on disability ....................................................................................................................................13 » Alison Banks: From the Book Jacket ................................................................................................14 Broadcast network ....................................................................................................................................14 » Satisfying the audience ......................................................................................................................15 Adapting to change ...................................................................................................................................16 QUEENSLAND PRIDE: OUT IN THE STREET ....................................................................................... 19 The advocate .............................................................................................................................................20 » Fighting prejudice ..............................................................................................................................21 Reflecting diversity ...................................................................................................................................22 » Letters to the editor ............................................................................................................................23 The accidental journalist ...........................................................................................................................24 » The freelancers ..................................................................................................................................26 Delivering the message .............................................................................................................................26 Contents (continued) 98.9FM: BREAKING THE MOULD ........................................................................................................... 29 Community radio pioneer .........................................................................................................................30 » 98.9FM: striving for excellence .........................................................................................................31 Let‘s Talk ..................................................................................................................................................32 » Let‘s Talk: responding to the audience ..............................................................................................34 On the learning curve ...............................................................................................................................35 » Tiga Bayles: Triple A Training .........................................................................................................37 Creating a network ....................................................................................................................................38 Upsetting the ‗rednecks‘ ...........................................................................................................................39 » Chris Graham: feeling grey ...............................................................................................................40 The challenges: 2010 + beyond ....................................................................................................................42 Links to media outlets + connected organisations ........................................................................................43 Diversity in action: minority group media and social change Acknowledgements I would like to thank the 13 interviewees who participated in this project, and acknowledge the valuable guidance of my supervisors, Dr Angela Romano and Dr Christina Spurgeon, in the production of this work. Melissa Giles - May 2010 5 Diversity in action: minority group media and social change Introduction This project was motivated by a conviction that diversity in the media and in society is valuable and necessary. In particular, my research highlights some of the important roles played by media organisations that serve disadvantaged and stigmatised minority groups. This case study research, presented as a collection of feature articles in text and audio formats, focuses on three Brisbane-based alternative media organisations. Radio 4RPH serves people with a print disability, Queensland Pride serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and 98.9FM serves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The case studies represent a snapshot of these organisations at a time of significant technological change. Although much contemporary research investigates new media, my research examines media organisations that were established and predominantly remain as traditional radio and print media. Radio 4RPH, Queensland Pride and 98.9FM use newer technology in their work. For example, each has a website, but the websites vary in sophistication because of each media outlet‘s target audience, available resources, market demands, and capacity to respond. To produce this research, I conducted interviews during late 2009 with eight people across the three media outlets, and a further five people from connected organisations. The personal stories of the interviewees provide insights into some of the ways these media outlets and their networks strive to improve the lives of those in the minority groups they serve, and illustrate how this work can affect the people who do it. My research emphasises several connected roles for alternative media organisations, both as media and as part of society, drawn from research by Olga Guedes Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier. For example, alternative media organisations may serve a particular community by providing opportunities for its members to communicate about topics of interest, and act as an alternative source of information by including voices and stories from the target community usually absent in the mainstream media. In addition, they may promote democratisation by encouraging broader participation in public debate, and function as a crossroads by fostering collaboration between groups with shared goals. The case studies that follow demonstrate some of the many ways that alternative media organisations can fulfil these roles, and in doing so, promote positive social change. 6 Diversity in action: minority group media and social change RADIO 4RPH: SHARING THE WORD If you are in the majority of Australians who can read a book or newspaper with ease, have you