Photo: Christina Goodman

Eight Sydney community radio stations have launched their digital transmission service, improving audio quality and doubling their broadcast capacity..

The newly launched digital radio stations 2RPH Digital, 2SER Digital, FBi Radio, Inspire Digital, Koori RadiOO, 2MBS Fine Music, 2MFM Muslim DR, 2000Languages are part of a nation-wide rollout of digital transmission services for all community radio stations. Phase one of the rollout is nearly complete with 33 capital city stations already transmitting digitally. Regional areas will follow.

Melanie Withnall, manager of Sydney’s 2SER said feedback has been good from listeners so far.

“The feedback that we have had is that people are listening to us on digital. We sound really nice and clear,” she said.

“The music sounds better and it does have that CD quality sound.”

Quality improvements for stations that broadcast in AM should be particularly noticeable.

Ms Withnall said going digital will give listeners more choice.

“One of the beauties of digital radio is that we do have that option now to say we’re still 2SER with the same great content, with the same interesting programs and music, but you can listen to us either on our website, FM radio, or on digital radio, or podcast us.”

According to Adrian Basso, head of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, transmitting in digital will double broadcast capacity for community stations. One of the benefits will be greater access to broadcast for multicultural stations that service niche communities.

“Often there wasn’t enough space, or if there was space it was late at night,” Mr Basso said.

“So this gives new avenues for those emerging communities.”

Most stations will start by ‘simulcasting’ – broadcasting in both mediums at the same time – and slowly introducing a wider variety based on listener feedback.

Ms Withnall is excited by 2SER’s ability to offer special features on the digital service, having already transmitted one special feature program on digital that was not available on FM.

“With special features it is quite hard to give over your whole station. WomAdelaide was something that we could put an extended version on our digital service and say to people “if you want more, here it is”.”

Stations can also choose to time-shift, offering similar content at different times.

Many community radio stations will also use the same transmission multiplex, allowing stations across Australia to share content, for example broadcasting the same show in different capital cities.

Mr Basso said: “We’ve built a backbone, where one radio station could do an outside broadcast and feed it through the chain, and all stations can pick it up and broadcast it.

“I know there are a few stations that will share and do some networking,” he said.

According to Basso, the audience for community radio is larger than many people realise.

“We reach 26% of Australian listeners every week. That’s pretty significant.”

On the future of community digital radio, Mr Basso said: “It’s not meant to replace AM or FM, it’s a supplementary service. This whole technology is so young that I think there are a lot of things that people haven’t thought of yet that will become a reality in the future.

“I think whatever happens community radio will be there pushing for the grassroots stuff and work out ways to really promote that with new technology.”

Source: Christina Goodman, Alternative Media

Community station 2ser 107.3, is switching to an all female format for International Women’s Day on Monday.

2ser 107.3 will celebrate the day by going all female from 6am to 9pm.

The special broadcast continues a 2ser tradition which has been underway for more than a decade.

The 15 hour special will cover a wide range of womenʼs issues and concerns, from international affairs to local arts and music.

The Broadcast will also feature a live interview with comedian Judith Lucy as well as a special edition of the prisoners program Jailbreak and a one hour special featuring women’s jazz and poetry.

There will also be a Radio Atticus feature on women and the law, several music programs with all female independent artists and local band Miss Little performing live in the 2ser studio.

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

The station – known throughout this time as a crucial hub for exposing diverse and new music, widescreen culture and independent reporting – is throwing more than 20 parties around Sydney between October 1 and November 1, 2009. With the help of music acts from home and beyond, these parties represent the breadth of the station’s broadcasting, as well as its impact and influence on the cultural fabric of Sydney.

Over 70 artists are performing for 2ser 107.3 with a big birthday cheer including Astronomy Class, Front End Loader, Smudge, Tiny Vipers (USA), Jack Ladder, Meem, Belles Will Ring, Luluc, Naked On The Vague, pimmon, Peabody, The Maple Trail, The Paper Scissors, Deep Sea Arcade, The Middle East, The Laurels, Talons and many more.

Cutting edge monthly club nights Void, Headroom and Space is the Place are teaming up for a 2ser birthday bash on October 16, and iconic club night Frigid returns for one massive party over 3 floors of The Hopetoun Hotel on November 1, with special guest Mark Pritchard (Warp Records) and a live performance by Pivot’s Laurenz Pike.

Full event details can be found at www.2ser.com/30. Come join them in the celebrations!

Fbi

(L to R: Jason Allen (SYN TV Executive Producer), Jack Post, Alex Ford and Adrian McMahon (SYN FM Programming Manager and former Producer of the Jack & Fordy Show)

Radio is undergoing a seismic shift, similar to that of the late 1970’s.   Then, change was precipitated by youth disenchantment with the dominant Rock-FM format and the emergence of Punk music.  There was an explosion of independent new stations, including 3RRR in Melbourne, 2JJ (which became JJJ) in Sydney and 4ZZZ in Brisbane.   Together with 3D (Adelaide), 2SER (Sydney) and 6RTRFM (Perth), these strong stations have evolved from wild child to icon, in their 20+ years of existence.

The cycle is repeating now, driven partly by the worldwide dance music phenomenon, and partly by the desire of younger audiences to take charge of the airwaves one again.  To create original content and to write the playlist.

Community radio is the ideal home for young, would-be-broadcasters.  Like the internet – another young medium – community radio encourages personal access, independence and communities of interest.  Unlike the internet, these new stations have powerful FM transmitters offering broadcast coverage of the entire metropolitan area.  In the case of Sydney’s Fbi, the signal is clearly heard from the Blue Mountains to Wollongong.

While relatively new, these stations are by no means rough.  Professional production standards, excellent programming, fully interactive websites, talkback/chat, outside broadcasts and events are all vital ways in which the stations interact with audiences and the broader community.

Hobart’s newcomer Edge Radio took out Radio Station Of The Year award at the Community Broadcasting Association’s national conference in December 2003.

In Melbourne, Jack Post and Alex Ford (Jack and Fordy) are the famously young hosts of the Friday show for SYN TV.  The pair recently won Community TVs Antenna Award for best male presenters. SYN TV’s innovative show is broadcast 4-5pm daily in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, and simulcast on SYN FM in Melbourne.  The cross-platform broadcast on TV and Radio is the only one of its kind in Australia and Jack Post and Alex Ford (Jack and Fordy) seem certain to follow Channel 31s most famous son – Rove McManus, to success.

The talent and innovation coming from the new wave of community youth broadcasters will be a major influence on the radio industry in the next few years.