Youth Radio - October 2010

Youth Radio, Jibba Jabba

A career in radio sounds like a pretty good idea to a group of kids learning to put their own community radio program to air.

Sarah found out there’s a rich history of radio broadcasting in Australia and its future is sounding solid with these DJs behind the microphone.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing you can always count on the radio to bring you news, laughs or your favourite tunes no matter what your taste.

But have you ever wondered what it would be like to work on the radio and hear your own voice coming from that speaker?

That’s something these guys are getting used to. They’re the stars of Jibba Jabba radio a show that’s by young people, for young people.

It looks easy sitting around here and talking. Is it easy?

KIDS: No, no don’t say that. Planning is so easy but once we get in here and actually start recording it’s like oh god what do we talk about now.

Jibba Jabba was started as a way of advertising events for young people. Community radio seemed perfect.

But it soon grew to a regular half hour show a way for these guys to get their voices heard while getting some valuable radio experience.

They meet weekly to plan and research their show.

REPORTER: What sorts of things do you put in the show?

KID: We do all sorts of things discussions, chat, jokes, celebrity news, etc.

Then they take it in turns to record. Today Tristan is in charge of all the dials and buttons.

TRISTAN: I control all the sound levels I make sure these lovely CD players play the music when we want to play it.

The show isn’t live so they have a chance to go through and make sure everything they’ve said is OK. Because you never know who could be listening.

DENISE, PBA FM CEO: They’re slowly building listenership and not just their friends oldies like me who want to know what young people are thinking.

There are community radio stations like this one all around the country. They’re designed to bring communities together and give them a voice. They’re also training grounds for people who want jobs in the media.

Compared with TV, radio has been around for a long time.

When radio first came to Australia in the 1920s there were only a few stations. And they were the main source of entertainment for anyone who could afford to tune in.

Instead of Neighbours or Home and Away whole families would gather round to listen to radio plays performed by actors in studios.

Sports matches were retold by commentators, complete with sound effects and the biggest news stories were heard first on the radio.

But in the 50s things changed.

“Welcome to television”

When television came along lots of people thought it would replace the radio.

But that’s not what happened.

SARAH: Radio still has a place in the world I think because when you’re on the go you can’t watch television while you’re driving so you flick on the radio you hear the news you hear what’s going on, celebrity news, the hottest songs.

Over the years radio has grown and changed. In the 70s we got FM stations with stereo sound. Then the government helped start up a whole bunch of community stations. Now there are more than 400 on the air.

Then there are the ABC’s four national and sixty local stations and there’re heaps of commercial ones too.

Now there’s digital radio which has more channels and even better sound so these guys can look forward to a future in an industry that’s proven it’s here to stay!

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/