As the Community Radio Sector approaches its annual conference tomorrow, radioinfo looks at technology issues facing the community sector in two conference topic previews. In this (edited) article, which will be presented at the conference, former SYN FM General Manager, CBAA Board Member and now ABC digital content specialist, Bryce Ives, looks at how Web 2.0 developments will affect community stations.
Community Media 2.0
As a sector we have a lot of learning to do or we face a long and painful death.
The media landscape that we have existed and thrived within is drastically changing. The internet, Wi-Fi, podcasts and, most importantly, mobile phones, are changing the traditional media structure that community broadcasting has been a vital part of …
In Web 2.0, media spaces are no longer static silos of one-way communication. They are interactive spaces for users to create, distribute, share and re-use content and communicate from many to many. And they just don’t happen online at your computer. They happen wiwwiwwiw (pronounced: wee-wee-wee, an acronym for “What I Want, When I Want, Where I Want”). Web 2.0 transforms all of us – from grandparents to early primary-school students – into digital writers, music artists, movie makers and journalists…
I can hear the sceptics in the sector right now. They’re saying, “Sure, that’s great. But how are these websites going to truly threaten us? We have valuable spectrum space. We have a broadcast licence. We exist under Australian legislation to serve our local communities.” It is time for everyone in the sector to wake up and start taking this issue seriously.
Audiences will always have a need for audio content. But will the content be as we currently know it? Radio is not dead; it is being reborn in a new distribution environment. We are now facing a digitally empowered global community. And we must respond to this movement to remain relevant and viable in the future.
It seems that the vast majority of Australian community radio stations are so concerned with the old model, that they are barely involved in the new model. As organisations, we are not yet Web 2.0.
In a world of free wireless broadband communication, where users can select audio, video and text content from around the world instantly – the current model of community broadcasting is looking slightly quaint. Community broadcasting in Australia has not, to this point, effectively engaged itself with the world of Web 2.0…
The old rhetoric-based argument that there will always be a place for radio because it is “portable and affordable” is no longer relevant. The next generation of wireless connectivity to mobile phones is already allowing regular mobile phones, smart phones, BlackBerries and other devices to connect to the internet via a high-speed network. Even iPods are becoming smarter and wireless. The NSW Government is rolling out a free wireless broadband network across the Sydney CBD and other major centres. The NSW Government’s plan, if successful, would allow people to roam freely around the city while maintaining their connection to the internet…
As community-media makers, we need to change our practices to adapt, but not our values. Our values are our greatest asset. However, we must accept that distribution is going to vastly change and be multi-channel, multi-media, multi-receptor. The differences between TV, radio and print media will blur and morph. If we don’t accept these fundamental ideas we will survive for a time, but will slowly fade away and be replaced by smarter, stronger organisations.
I think every Australian community media organisation has the ability to become a creative content hub. We should be doing webcasts, podcasts, blogs and providing user-generated solutions for our local communities.
Australian communities, both metropolitan and regional, need UGC spaces where they can access and contribute to local information such as sporting results, weather, local events, music and much more. My dream is for a media future that actively includes not-for-profit organisations providing independent, well-structured media. The community broadcasting sector has done this passionately and brilliantly in Australia for the past thirty years, and I hope that in the media landscape of the future we continue to provide a framework for not-for-profit and independent media to thrive and prosper.
The CBAA Conference begins in Melbourne this Friday. Conference details at the link below.