Today, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of community broadcasting in Australia!
On 23 September 1974, the Whitlam Labor Government made a Cabinet decision to create community broadcasting sector for:
- “those who represent organisations that think they have something to say and want some better means of saying it”
- “those who are associated with communities cut off from their rights and entitlements”
~1974 Cabinet Papers
This landmark policy paved the way for this third broadcasting sector to flourish in Australia, alongside the national broadcaster (ABC) and commercial broadcasters.
It was a landmark moment for the Australian media. Then Minister for Media, Senator the Hon Douglas McClelland reported the decision to Parliament heralding “a new era in the advancement of radio development in Australia.” (Hansard, 25 September 1974)
Fifty years on, the community broadcasting sector today delivers over 500 AM/FM/DAB+ services and two dedicated television services, C44 Adelaide and C31 Melbourne and Geelong, that reach over 5.19 million people across Australia each week – almost one quarter (24%) of Australians.
The sector’s social and economic impact is driven by 941 employees and 18,100 volunteers.
Community broadcasters continue to play a vital role in connecting Australian communities that are underserved by media. They are important to serving diverse communities and local geographies including sub-metropolitan areas, regional and remote communities. They often specialise in local, or specific genres of music and produce an eclectic range of programs catering to niche tastes and community interests.
C44 Adelaide continues to put the interests of our community first with unique and diverse programming like Mob Talks, Couch 44, Be Curious, The Bush Bee Man, BTS with Jess and many more.
Broadcast Radio Australia
How did community broadcasting begin in Australia?
On 23 September 1974, at a Cabinet meeting in Canberra, Recommendation 2 of the Cabinet Minute (Decision No, 2729) was adopted.
“The Government endorse the principle of the establishment of a public broadcasting service within Australia to complement the existing national and commercial services and to ensure the satisfaction of currently unsatisfied community needs.”
The term community broadcasting was interchangeable with public broadcasting at this time, with the ABC known as the “national broadcaster”.
The Cabinet Minute paper Report on Radio, August 1974 (P.29) suggests:
Developing a Community Service
We suggest the following broad characteristics for a Community Service established under a revised Broadcasting and Television Act:
- Proposals for the Establishment of stations should flow from the community and not be imposed by a government or commercial planning
- A community station should be so legally constituted that the community it purports to serve is entitled to participation in programming, and a share of ownership and control.
- Stations might have financial or other support from Government, but not be under government control.
- Stations might be permitted to have commercial sponsorship but should be excluded from profit-making
This new broadcasting sector was envisaged to generate proposal from groups interested in “fine music”, “those who represent organisations that think they have something to say and want some better means of saying it”, those associated with communities “cut off from their rights”, “Eg. Speakers of languages other than English; the socially and economically deprived”, churches, universities, local governments, sporting groups, the 16-25 age group, welfare groups, ethnic groups, or other community groups, ‘Aborigines in Redfern’, pensioners and the disabled.
On 25 September 1974, then Minister for Media, Senator the Hon Douglas McClelland reported the decision to Parliament heralding “a new era in the advancement of radio development in Australia.”
“In the past 50 years we have developed in this country a dual system of broadcasting involving the national service on the one hand and the commercial system on the other. The Australian Government has adopted the view that the major inadequacy of broadcasting in Australia is the absence of public stations for the broadcasting of information and entertainment for minority audiences who would not otherwise be catered for by either the Australian Broadcasting Commission or the commercial services.”
The nature of the ABC, however, is such that it just cannot be expected to provide all the information and entertainment that many communities and groups in Australian society feel they need. The ABC is essentially a professional broadcasting body with a national responsibility. In the new public broadcasting area we seek to develop, the emphasis is to be less on ‘professionalism’ and more on participation at a local or specialised level.”
The reform was based on a report that investigated means of allowing community groups and ordinary members of the public greater access to the use of radio and television.
Cabinet also approved licenses for the three oldest community radio stations, Radio Adelaide (then 5UV), 2MBS and 3MBS. Cabinet approved the invitation to Music Broadcasting Society of NSW (2MBS), Music Broadcasting Society of Victoria (3MBS) to set up experimental FM broadcasting stations. The University of Adelaide (5UV/ Radio Adelaide) was invited to extend its broadcast.
In 1975, the subsequent Labor Minister for the Media Dr Moss Cass, announced the expansion of community broadcasting licences (then known as experimental licences) to an additional 12 organisations:
- University of New England (2ARM-FM)
- University of Newcastle (2NUR-FM)
- University of Queensland Union (4ZZZ-FM)
- Australian National University Student Union (2XX)
- Mitchell College of Advanced Education (2MCE-FM)
- Western Australian Institute of Technology (6NR)
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (3RMT-FM)
- Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (4DDB-FM)
- Tasmanian College of Advanced Education (7CAE-FM)
- Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education (2NCR-FM)
- The University of Western Australia (6UWA-FM)
- Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education (3GCR-FM)
Importantly, there was bipartisan support in this period, and the Liberal Minister for Post and Telecommunications from 1977-1980, the Hon Tony Staley MP continued work to grow community broadcasting by putting in place the legislative framework to support the expansion of licences in an ongoing manner.
What does community broadcasting look like today?
50 years on, community broadcasting continues to play an important role in connecting Australian communities that are underserved by media. Community broadcasters enrich and strengthen the social and cultural fabric of Australian society and amplify the voices of diverse Australian communities.
Regional and remote Australia:
- 74% of licensees are based in regional and remote areas.
- 62% of regional listeners say their main reason to tune in is for local information and news.
First Nations Australians:
- 51 organisations provide 158 services, the great majority in regional and remote areas.
- Australians from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background are 44% more likely than the general population to listen to community radio.
Multicultural Australia:
- 1.5 million Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) people listen to community radio (29% of total audience) for an average of 16.9 hours per week.
- Community radio broadcasts over 110 different languages.
People with disability:
- The Radio Reading Network provides 19 AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio services nationally with 668,000 listeners each month.
- The sector increases the representation of disability in media, improve how disability is portrayed and improve community attitudes towards people with disability.
Faith-based communities:
- Includes 32 Christian radio stations and 1 Muslim station.
- 95% of Christian community radio listeners say their station has a positive impact in their lives and helps them grow spiritually (88%) and relationally (74%)
Community broadcasting continues to serve community needs through an immense diversity of programming:
- providing more Australians access to trusted, independent, diverse, local news and information
- playing a unique, hyperlocal role communicating emergency information and providing more support to build community resilience in times of disaster
- supporting self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and helping to close the gap in social and economic outcomes
- promoting Australian music: on average, community radio stations broadcast 38% Australian music each week exceeding the 25% quota. 31% of community radio listeners say hearing Australian music is the main reason they tune in
- strengthening social and economic inclusion and cohesion, supporting settlement of new migrant groups, and strengthen ing multiculturalism, and
- providing more skilled career pathways into the media and communications industry for all communities.
