Community Radio - What is it?

Community Broadcasting in Australia is one of the largest volunteer organisations in the country, with over 20,000 volunteers giving time for the many talks needed to keep a radio station on air including:

• Announcing
• Management
• Program Preparation
• Administrative tasks

Community Radio is about communities: The communities that you live and work with are both the audience and the makers of community radio. The station itself is a mini-community made up of representatives from those communities.

Community radio also strives not only to represent, but to provide opportunities for growth in a community: to question and encourage debate, to promote healthy attitudes, to foster links, to communicate new ideas and information. It all starts with you

 

2Max FM History

2Max FM is a community radio staffed by volunteers who give their time freely to entertain people of the Narrabri Shire and beyond, who rely on sponsor and membership fees to stay on air. 2Max FM started in 1993 with two public meetings and had our first broadcast on 3rd September, 1993 for one week.

 

On 21st January 1995, the ABA granted us an extra three days to report on the flood reports in our area the same in 1996 and the bushfires in 1997. In 1999 the ABA rejected our application for a full time license due to the second application for a broadcast licence in the Shire, which means we had to share air time with the other applicant, one month on one month off, but in November 2000 we finally got our full time broadcast licence granted with great jubuilation from the crew and listeners.

 

We now have an outside broadcast van to broadcast from different venues we are also broadcasting on the net via our website. 2Max FM has come a long way since its humble beginnings thanks to the loyalty of our staff and supporters

 

Guiding Principles

Community broadcasting will continue to develop as it reflects a changing Australian society. In doing so it is guided by adherence to a few simple but powerful principles:

ACCESS: Community broadcasting promotes active volunteer participation in media production rather than passive consumption of media. The sector provides skills and training that ensures access to the media for all parts of the community.

DIVERSITY: Community broadcasting fosters innovation, creativity and diversity of content. In both structure and output community media reflects Australia 's immense cultural diversity and by doing so supports greater tolerance, understanding, and social cohesion.

LOCALISM: Community media has an expanding local role. While commercial media and the ABC are reducing local content and increasing networking, community stations have become the voice of local communities.

INDEPENDENCE : Community broadcasting stations are owned and operated by individual not-for-profit groups. Each licensed group has open membership and democratic decision-making practices. All stations must adhere to a sector code of practice that embodies the sector's philosophy and secures their independence.

 

Click here to read about the Codes of Practice