Winter 2015 CRAM 2015 3CR STAFF 2015 MANAGEMENT
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855AM | DIGITAL | 3CR.ORG.AU winter 2015 CRAM 2015 3CR STAFF 2015 MANAGEMENT The CRAM guide is made Station Manager COMMITTEE with the generous contribution Marian McKeown of volunteer writers, photographers and 3CR Programme Coordinator programmers. Directors Gabrielle Reade James McKenzie (Chairperson) CRAM Editors Office and Finance Coordinator Terry Costello (Vice-Chairperson) Jarrod Marrinon, Rachel Kirby Annie McLoughlin (Vice-Chairperson) and Marian McKeown Loretta O’Brien Michael Smith (Secretary) Current Affairs Coordinator Design and Layout Perambalam Senthooran (Treasurer) Ronny Kareni Rachel Kirby Helen Gwilliam Contributors Projects Coordinator Marisol Salinas Juliet Fox Marian McKeown Therese Virtue James McKenzie Promotions Coordinator Pat Khor Corey Green Jarrod Marrinon Liz Wright Areej Nur Meg Butler - maternity leave Teishan Aherne Training Coordinator Elena McMaster Leanne McLean Riah Williams Volunteer Coordinator Fiona Dean Rachel Kirby Jarrod Marrinon Namila Benson Community Language Support Workers Par Tha Hluan Mang Cin Namila Benson Ben Rinaudo Par Tha Hluan Mang Cin Lynn Beaton Kevin Healy Technical Coordinator Greg Segal Denis Evans Chloe Beaton Technical Assistant Greg Segal Riah Williams Helen Gwilliam I.T Worker Farzana Shariffie Luke Neeson Jessie Boylan Accountant 3CR’s Book Working Group Denis West Pilar Aguilera, Nancy Atkin, Lucy de Kretser, Denis Evans, Juliet Fox, Libby Jamieson, Rachel Kirby, Clare Land and Sam Sowerwine Cover: Radiothon 2015 poster by Sam Wallman ACTIVATE THE AIRWAVES Marian McKeown, Station Manager Our Radiothon theme for 2015 is Activate The Airwaves. our common purpose is. There is a keen sense of history We see it as a call to action at a time in our political and and an awareness of how that history propels us forward. social history when governments and corporations act Indeed, there is an enormous sense of pride in the fact with unprecedented disregard for the interests of the that we have stayed true to our values especially as the people and an outright contempt for principles previously forces of neoliberalism have radically altered our social held sacred, such as the ‘rule of law’. Think of the forced and political fabric over the past four decades. closure of Indigenous communities (a transparent and One thing the station has been resolute in over the despicable land grab in anyone’s books), think of climate years is that 3CR exists not only as a counterpoint to the change denial, the indefinite detention of asylum seekers interests of big business or as an alternative to the mass and the blatant spying made possible by data retention media, but as a direct rallying point for social change. laws. We exist as a place where activists from many and varied For almost 40 years, 3CR Community Radio has staked campaigns can come together and share ideas. out a vital place on the airwaves, allowing us to bring A truly inspirational example of this can be found in our news, analysis, music and the voices of literally hundreds G20 broadcasts from the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign of community groups to the people of Melbourne 24 Embassy in 2014. As Elena McMaster, Teishan Ahearne hours a day, seven days a week. and Riah Williams tell us, it was classic 3CR. It took But it’s not just any old news and current affairs. In a months of preparation, tireless fundraising, a miraculous media landscape where two companies, News Limited intervention to secure a bus and some genius tech and Fairfax Media, hold about 88% of the print media innovation to make it happen. Of course it’s hard to point assets in the country and our national broadcaster, purely to a successful outside broadcast as the lasting the ABC, has been gutted by an ideologically driven legacy of such an event. The connections made in terms government, it’s crucial that people in our community of Indigenous solidarity and struggle are also an intricate have access to the information and knowledge that make part of the fabric of 3CR. our world tick. And in a media landscape where media 3CR also exists as a place where people come to have barons have been known to make or break governments, their voices heard. We’re thrilled to welcome Tak Radio it’s crucial that we get information that’s unfiltered by to our programming grid, a program pitched directly corporate interests. at Australia’s 20,000 strong Hazara community. In the In the pages that follow we hope to paint a picture of pages that follow we’ll also introduce you to Tha Tha what a progressive, independent and community-owned and Namila our fabulous Community Language Support media outlet looks like. That media outlet is, of course, Workers who are with us for 12-months working on 3CR. a project to better support our community language We’ll explore some of the work being undertaken to programmers. prepare for our 40th year in 2016, with a peek inside We hope these pages inspire you to Activate The a book being written to document and celebrate key Airwaves and make a donation to 3CR this June. moments in the history of the station. And Greg Segal As Chloe Beaton says in her article about 3CR will take us on a fascinating journey through 3CR’s use Reception, with all these amazing people and activists of technology over the past 40 years. coming together and pushing for a fair and equal society, There is currently a great deal of reflection about what we can’t go wrong! 3CR stands for, what events have shaped us, and what 3CR, POLITICAL AND PROUD James McKenzie, Chairperson 3CR is an activist hub and continues to be a launching Surely the Coalition had the benefits to mining pad and a conduit for community campaigns. companies as its priority when the closures were We were the broadcast conduit for the voices and decided. (As if the Coalition hasn’t done enough to perspectives of activists and residents opposed to the satisfy the mining companies when it repealed the Napthine Government’s East-West Tunnel - a project Carbon Tax!) that threatened to rip up chunks of the inner-city and turn 3CR is resolute in its defence of the remote communities. it into a construction zone. On air, we name the land grab for what it is. The campaign was a successful one and the Napthine Meanwhile, on Invasion Day, when Tony Abbott was Government was turfed out at last year’s state election. handing out a knighthood to the Queen’s husband, we We report and analyse a political culture and climate in were highlighting the voices of those dispossessed by Australia where state politics has moved to the left, while injustices. federally the country is mired in the confused policies of a And we were the only community radio station in the dysfunctional, right-wing administration. country to broadcast the views of Indigenous people on Two issues essential to 3CR’s heart – unions and a daily basis when we sent a broadcast team to Brisbane Indigenous Australians – are caught in this right-wing to cover the G20. Dispossession and injustice and their malaise. trickle down effects were consistent themes during our broadcasts. The 2014 state election became a platform for the Liberals shirtfront of choice – union bashing. How can Australia achieve reconciliation when the nation has governments that still remove Aboriginal communities We continue to proudly broadcast programs presented from their lands? How can the land be a place of stability by unions, such as the Concrete Gang. and spiritual connection for Indigenous people when it is On the federal front, the Abbott Government threw taken away from them? in the towel on Indigenous communities by giving the 3CR is political and proud of it. Our listeners know conservative WA Government power over that state’s that our perspectives and coverage of issues will be 274 remote Aboriginal communities. presented from left-wing, progressive angles. We do not The WA Government promptly kicked Aboriginal pretend to be unbiased. Unlike the mainstream media, Australians in the teeth by announcing it would close half we don’t have to dress up our biases and spin them to of those communities and move Aboriginal people from hoodwink listeners into thinking that we aren’t subjective. their homes, their lands. The Feds and the Barnett Government cite economic savings as the reason for the closures but really it is a land grab. Those remote communities are on ancient lands enriched with minerals deep in their soils. BRAINWAVES TAK RADIO Ben Rinaudo, Brainwaves programmer Farzana Shariffie, Tak Radio programmer Every Wednesday, the team of volunteer radio presenters Tak Radio is a new Hazaragi radio program broadcast on Brainwaves – all of whom have lived experience of live by a group of young Melbourne university students mental illness – bring us local and international guests from Afghanistan. The program is the first Hazaragi radio speaking on a wide range of topics pertinent to mental in Australia, and focuses on news, current affairs, sports, health. Since starting in 2011, the programming team youth issues, music and issues that concern the newly has developed the skills and confidence to tackle a broad emerged community from Afghanistan, as new citizens in range of confronting subjects like human rights of people Australia. with mental illness in Indonesia to the often heartbreaking Currently, there are more than 20,000 Hazaras living in realities of parenting with mental illness. Australia and the numbers are increasing day by day. As Interviews on the mental health concerns of refugees and the community grows, so does the need for information, asylum seekers in Australia highlights the growth and community support and representation. development of presenters and contributes greatly to Each week the show includes guest speakers and vital community understanding and engagement with this features interviews on different issues and topics that difficult issue at a very personal level.