CBAA President Deborah Welch

As the Federal election approaches, the Community Broadcasting sector is ramping up its lobbying effort for increased funding and recognition. The Community Broadcasting Association (CBAA) has now released its latest forward planning strategy, looking ahead to 2015. The document sets out the path the sector wants to follow in the next few years to “renew Australia’s Community Broadcasting sector and create the world’s most innovative, accessible community media,” and secure funding.

Community Broadcasting is “an important third sector, one based on community participation and control and world renowned for its innovation and reach,” according to the document, which stakes the claims of real community media against pretenders:

“Whilst global corporations now claim to be ‘community media’ as a branding exercise, not-for-profit Community Broadcasting allows people to genuinely shape and determine their media through active participation, ownership and control.”

The five‐year plan aims to create “the world’s most innovative, accessible community media sector.”

In Year 1 of the plan, community broadcasting seeks new annual funding of $25 million to develop community broadcasting as a key resource within the emerging Digital Economy. It highlights that 77% of content on community radio stations is locally produced and says community radio is the most cost‐effective means of meeting specialist content needs.

In Year 2, additional community media funding of $35 million is requested. In Year 3, $45 million is needed, in Year 4 another $45 is requested, and in Year 5 the sector wants another $45 million, as summarised in the chart at the bottom of this page.

The plan says Community Broadcasting can provide “the essential social inclusion strategies to enable all parts of our community to learn, work, engage, connect, access services and have a voice.” The proposal “supports the future strength and cohesion of local Australian communities.”

“Leveraging from the 30 year investment in our sector to date, we have the baseline infrastructure, specific training skills and expertise, community involvement, audiences, local connections and a commitment to social inclusion to produce strong outcomes. Our five‐year plan will see our stations transition to community digital hubs, offering a wide range of facilities, and opportunities to participate to all Australians.”

As part of the campaign to bring the community sector’s funding needs to prominence, CBAA President Deborah Welch wrote an opinion piece in Fairfax online publication The National Times, saying:

“In response to community needs and people’s desire to be involved, there are now 526 services around Australia. Notably, 80% of long-term licensed community radio services are now located in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. We are Australia’s largest media sector and we are not-for-profit.

“Every month an audience of 9.5 million Australians, 57% of the population, tunes in to community radio. Between 2004 and 2008 our audience grew by 20 per cent. . . Our programming is as Australian and as local as content gets. It is created by community members, for their communities and it’s much-needed.

“At a time when commercial radio is seeking exemptions from Australian music quotas for digital broadcasts, community radio genuinely supports local talent, exceeding our 25% quota by broadcasting 36% Australian music.”

Lobbying efforts are also being conducted on a local level, with many community stations giving the same message to their state and local federal government representatives. Edge Radio in Tasmania has so far been successful in this area.

Source: http://www.radioinfo.com.au