Issue 22 - 17 August 2002

2BLU MEMBERS RESPOND REPORT BY SECRETARY

Last week we published a report from the newly elected Secretary of 2BLU, Francis Dutton that has evoked a considerable response from members of the beleaguered station.

Steve McMeechan writes: I read with interest the first secretarys report from recently appointed secretary Francis Dutton.

I attended the recent management committee meeting where once again the Secretary repeated his request to take charge of the keys of the 2BLU-FM post office box. At this meeting, Francis prefaced his request by mentioning that the President, Daniel Soler had previously refused to hand over the keys on an earlier occasion saying that Francis may come across some sensitive correspondence in relation to the complaint against [deleted] as the reason cited for refusing to hand over the keys.

At this management committee meeting, the President did not deny that this was the reason he was refusing to hand over the keys to Francis, but quite unequivocally refused once again to hand over the keys without any further explanation, despite Franciss repeated requests. Furthermore, Daniel declared that as President he would assume responsibility for all 2BLUs correspondence, effectively denying the Secretary the ability to carry out his role and responsibilities with integrity and rigor. A situation, which one would imagine, is unacceptable.

Francis did attempt to explain that the Presidents refusal to hand over the keys to the Secretary effectively placed the Secretary in a position which was in contempt of the Constitution in relation to the performance of his duties, and in contempt of the members who appointed him to the position in the first place. Alas, it was to no avail. At this point Ron Westbrook spat the dummy shouting, You give me the shits! at Francis.

As a first timer at a 2BLU management committee meeting I found this quite astounding, but have since been advised that this kind of behaviour is nothing out of the ordinary. Interestingly, Ron proceeded to enlighten those of us in attendance with his notion of a secretary, assuring us that his wife had worked in companies where the secretary writes letters and stuff. A comparatively less significant role than the official role of Secretary of a formal organization, which evidently he thought no on else was familiar with.

In addition to the executive management style, there are many issues, which need addressing - declining membership, the increasing prevalence of pre-recorded music (the CD stacker) during airtime, and the decreasing relevance of 2BLU-FM to the local community. I would hope that the management committee will recognise the concerns of members and respond proactively to develop workable solutions to resurrect 2BLU but I suspect Im going to be disappointed.

Steve McMeechan is a new presenter on 2BLU. His program Sunday Recovery is heard on Sundays, 10:00 am midday.

Mike Botham writes: Yet another example of the extreme contempt that the President and Treasurer hold the Membership and Constitution of 2BLU in.

Not content with verbally assaulting individual members with their vexatious view of the world they now seek to blatantly disobey laws governing the operation of a Society and media organization. And still there is an element within the Membership who prefer to bury their heads firmly in the bucket and allow these dishonest and illegal actions to occur.

If we value our Society and truly believe that community radio is a vibrant component of a wider community then we must all unite and rid 2BLU of these self-seeking, vengeful bullies who are abusing their elected offices to serve themselves.

Mike Botham is a sustaining member of 2BLU and presents the Gospel Album Show and Writers Block on Saturdays, 9.00 am midday.

Chris Parkin writes: I put a question to the management committee and anyone else who thinks that the committee has done the right thing by not giving the Secretary the key. If a secretary does not take charge of the correspondence and the keys: what do they do? Not only does denying Francis the key prevent him from doing his job, it does put him in a precarious legal position.

The committee's reason for denying Francis the key to the PO Box is that he may come across some sensitive correspondence. The fact is: as a member of the committee, he is also liable for anything the committee does and therefore has a right to full disclosure of the details. Sorry for stating the obvious, but this is all just common sense.

But we forget that if 2BLU worked on a common sense basis, it would be a much happier, safer, more sensible environment.

Chris Parkin is 15. He co-presents Alternapolooza on 2BLU Wednesdays, 5.00 7.00 pm.

James Kilby writes: Thank you, Francis Dutton. Thank you for not only putting your hand up to do one of the more intensive jobs at the station when no one else would, but for communicating to us the membership - even if it wasn't the nicest of news.

I have only been a member of 2BLU FM for two years now, but in that time your report is the first attempt at communication to the membership from an office bearer other than at general meetings (even then there's not much).

Francis, you are a breath of fresh air at 2BLU. What the station now needs though are other people just like you who are prepared to serve the membership on a committee. The word is that there are a few people willing but I reckon more are needed. The station needs it. Let's face it, when this committee are replaced it will be like starting from scratch. Its hard to imagine that 18 months ago, just after this committee were elected, there was a program coordinator (2BLU doesn't have a PD anymore - Al Goodie has told me he has quit) that was actually proactive about making 2BLU's output 'listenable' with block programming and local news and current affairs; there was a publicity coordinator that managed to get our program in the Gazette every couple of weeks or so (thats potentially 30,000 people) with a picture of one of our presenters and not to mention publicity for our shows; there was an unofficial production department that at one stage produced 20 sponsorship announcements in two weeks! There was creativity and encouragement for youth to enter competitions like the Noise competition which our youth presenters excelled in.

But we can turn it around but only with the help of people like Francis Dutton and others willing to put the hard work in. So, please get behind Francis so we can finally have a radio station that serves its members and the community.

James Kilby co-presents Tuesday breakfast and Everything Is Nice (Thursdays, 8.00-10.00 pm).

Ken Quinnell writes: Reading Francis Duttons Secretarys Report was like a trip back in time to the days when there was an acceptable level of transparency, accountability and communication at 2BLU. Those were days when members were not threatened for simply asking a question. The reason? Because there were no questions to be asked management committees understood the concept of governance, held themselves accountable and had nothing to hide.

It is also encouraging to see respect for the stations constitution and democratic processes from at least one member of management, especially in the face of the go-along-to-get-along crowd whose constant litany of me, my timeslot, my program, my this my that is really the key to understanding what has been going wrong with 2BLU for the past several years. Hopefully, after the next AGM we will have a committee that brings some conviction, enthusiasm, scruples, expertise and imagination to the administration of the stations affairs.

Ken Quinnell is an Hon. Life Member of 2BLU-FM and co-hosts Shake This Shack and Screamin & Cryin, Tuesdays, 9.30 pm midnight.

YOUTH PRESENTERS SNUBBED AT 2BLU

The CBAA is this year making a concerted effort to encourage the participation of young people at their Annual Conference in November. Management at 2BLU has snubbed its remaining youth presenters and gone to the local high schools with a proposal to send untrained kids who are supervised at the station by schoolteachers and never get to take responsibility for a program or even touch the equipment managements preferred model for participation of under-18s.

Unfortunately, most 16-18 year olds are involved in exams in November, or are in the first term of their HSC. But, 2BLU has a number of young presenters who would be highly creditable representatives of the station, young people who do excellent programs, shoulder their responsibilities better than many adult presenters and have stood up for themselves against managements bizarre, malicious and often demented attacks, calling them saboteurs, terrorists, graffitists and a few other things we couldnt possibly repeat in a newsletter committed to family values.

NEW AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FROM AMRAP

Three new compilation CDs have been received from AMRAP by the 2BLU music library.

2RRR of Ryde produced Unearthed, a compilation of 20 heavy metal bands from across the country. For more information go to www.underearthed.cjb.net

Local Life 2 is a 12-track compilation of contemporary Christian music produced by Life FM in Adelaide. Local Life 1 was produced in 1999. Most tracks on this new album were recorded and mixed at Life FMs new recording facility.

Reviewer Jacinta Walpole of 2FBi describes the 19-track compilation A.S.I.N.G.E.D as independent synthpop industrial noise gothic electronica darkwave music. More information at: www.blatantpropaganda.com

As well as these compilations, AMRAP sends numerous recordings of newly released Australian music to the 2BLU library as part of its national distribution.

CORRECTION

In Issue 20 we referred to AMRAP instead of APRA (Australian Performing Rights Association) as the copyright collection agency. We apologise for this error: AMRAP has nothing to do with copyright collections.

APRA EXPLAINS

We have been following the controversy amongst musicians about APRA licences for music downloaded from websites (see Issue 20). Here is what APRA (Australian Performing Rights Association) say:

Where a site carries preview clips of the songs/albums, the Quarterly fees applicable are: Up to 100 soundbites: $55 per quarter 101 to 500 soundbites: $137.50 per quarter Over 500 soundbites $275 per quarter APRA says that for emerging bands and musicians who are APRA members and the music recorded is unpublished and it is their own website then, on a case-by-case basis, they may issue a complimentary licence provided all the musicians involved are in agreement. More details on the APRA website: www.apra.com.au/

Meanwhile, in the USA, no one is happy with a recent decision by the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress on the rates webcasters are to be charged per song. Both sides of the dispute, Internet music broadcasters and the Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA), which represents the major music labels, have appealed the decision. http://pcworld.idg.com.au/idg2.nsf/p/00075F3A?OpenDocument&n=e&c=PD

AND ALSO

• The current season of the WYSIWYG open mic and jam nights at the Family Hotel has ended. Watch for a new series in summer, possibly at a different venue.
• In some of its publications, including its newsletter, 2BLU has printed its e-mail address incorrectly. The correct e-mail address is blu_89.1fm@bigpond.com

PERSPECTIVE

An essential principle of community broadcasting is to serve groups whose voices would otherwise go unheard. 8KIN run by Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) provides just this opportunity for the Indigenous communities of central Australia.

As well as broadcasting in English, 8 KIN FM plays an active role in preserving indigenous languages - at the moment they have programming in Arrentre, Warlpiri, and Pitjanjatjara languages closely reflecting the stations present audience.

The station uses the Imparja Television satellite, giving it a huge footprint that is heard in the Northern Territory and South Australia, parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and as far as the Torres Strait and Western Australia. Imparja is from the Arrentre word meaning 'footprint'.

8KIN attracts a diverse audience across Australia, including many non-indigenous listeners - such as personnel at the US Base at Pine Gap and non-indigenous stations that rebroadcast 8KIN programmes. The station is embracing new technology and fresh ideas to take Aboriginal voices and programs to the world by streaming over the Internet. Last New Years Eve, they did a joint worldwide broadcast with the BBC resulting in enthusiastic e-mails from every corner of the globe asking for information about Aboriginal music and culture.

CAAMA has a great website at: www.caama.com

Issue 21 - 12 August 2002

SPECIAL ISSUE

2BLU SECRETARY REPORTS TO MEMBERSHIP 

11 August 2002

Hi, my name's Francis Dutton. Since June, I've been the Secretary of 2BLU FM 89.1. At least, that's my official position, having been made Assistant Secretary by unanimous consent at the last General Meeting on the 25 May, and Secretary pending confirmation of the resignation of the incumbent, Paul Grigg. This was confirmed at a subsequent meeting of the Management Committee, of which I am now a part.

So, anyway, after a couple of attempts, I finally managed to arrange a meeting with the Treasurer, Chilla Miller, to pick up the key to the PO box, take over any correspondence (keys and correspondence being the Secretary's primary responsibilities, along with keeping minutes of meetings) and get any other advice and help with taking up my new duties. Chilla Miller had been performing the Secretary's job since Paul Grigg became ill. What followed amounts to another sorry chapter in the troubled history of 2BLU over the last 12-18 months.

Arriving half an hour late for our meeting, Chilla, when asked for the key, said to me, "No, you'll have to talk to Daniel about that." Daniel, the President, was in the foyer doing some carpentry.

"Daniel, Chilla says I have to ask you about the keys to the PO box."

"Yes," said Daniel, "well, Chilla has been doing a wonderful job as Secretary for the last two years [!], so he can keep the key until the next AGM."

Astonished at this, I replied "No, I'm the Secretary, I have to take charge of the keys."

"Well," said Daniel, "we've decided that we're not going to let you have the keys, as you might see some sensitive correspondence about [deleted] and pass it on to your so-called "Friends"!"

I immediately replied that if I were to pass any 2BLU correspondence on to an outside party, then, by default, the blame would rest entirely on my own shoulders and I stated that I had no intention of doing so anyway. Chilla and Daniel replied that, no, I would not be allowed to take charge of the keys. I then went on to say that, in my opinion, this put them not only in contempt of the Constitution and its reference to the Secretary's duties in relation to correspondence, but in contempt of the Members who made me Secretary in the first place. To no avail. After half an hour, I left.

What I didn't say, but perhaps should have, was that the other thing this put them in contempt of is me. Now, I don't claim for one minute to be the most valuable member 2BLU has. I do what I can, given that I have two young children. I have, for instance, painted all but two rooms at the station (something I've never received a word of acknowledgement for from this current Committee, incidentally). And I've always sought to act in what I see as the best interests of 2BLU, which I believe is one of our community's most valuable assets. If I have occasionally questioned the wisdom of Management Committee decisions, it is because my conscience has told me to do so, and not some sinister character lurking about in the shadows.

It is true that some people associated with the Friends group warned me "Don't worry, mate, they'll just sideline you." Well. that's exactly what's happened, isn't it? Daniel has since stated that he will take ultimate responsibility for 2BLU correspondence (for one of my concerns was that this whole thing left me in an invidious legal position). But, I am the Secretary.

I should point out that at no time have I been approached by any member of the Committee with an offer to assist me in taking up my new duties. On the contrary, there have been snide remarks along the lines of, "Oh, at last you're doing something about being Secretary!" Contrast this with the days when I served as Publicity Officer under Alison Wilson: immediately upon taking office, Alison arranged a meeting where she went through the Constitution with me, outlining the Publicity Officer's duties. Not only that, but she would call me back every three months or so to give a progress report, in addition to my regular committee meeting reports.

But, you know what exasperates me most in all this? It's simply that some people are still out there watching all this taking place, without so much as lifting a finger against it. I realize that some members are loath to disturb the status quo. To them I say: such a status quo is not acceptable. The reason Australia more or less works is that we all, more or less, agree to respect the rule of law. In a little society such as 2BLU, that law is the Constitution. And, over the last twelve months or so, our Constitution has on many occasions been flagrantly disregarded.

And then there are others among us who consider themselves to be on the left side of politics. And I'm sorry to be so blunt, but to those of them who have conspired to support the current incumbents in their actions, I say: I don't know how you can live with yourselves. Because being a leftie is not just about striking for higher wages and keeping the other faction at bay, but in my humble opinion, is essentially about respect and human decency. And if seeing young female presenters locked outside the station in the rain at 7.00 am, attempting to expel members having first slyly removed the mediation clause from the Constitution, ignoring correspondence, using the internal magazine for "party political" purposes to make implied allegations against members, refusing presenters access to Studio B to record segments for their show (as happened on the 10th of this month), and generally carrying on the affairs of the Station in a secretive and unfriendly manner can be considered a decent way to behave, well ... I'm sorry, but I don't see it.

During our discussion about the PO box key, I again heard Chilla utter his constant refrain: "These people are out to destroy 2BLU!" By "these people" I assume he meant the well over 50% of presenters at the station who have expressed on many occasions to me a deep concern about what's going on. But questioning the "authorities", or at most, making a negative comment does not equal a revolution. And it certainly doesn't equal the kind of behavior I've just listed above. It is the presenters at 2BLU, not the Committee, who are under attack.

I'm told there is going to be another Management Committee meeting in the next week or so, at which a date will be set for not only the next AGM, but a Special General Meeting to consider a censure motion against the Committee as put forward at the last General Meeting. I urge anybody who is able to do so to attend (I'll be letting you know when it comes up, the first Secretary to do so in two years at least) if only to ensure that business is conducted in a proper manner (and a big thanks to those who attended the last one!).

This is just a little community radio station and yet is seems to me vastly important that the good people among us pull together at this point in our history, so that it may once again become a friendly environment, and begin to realize its huge (and as-yet under-utilized) potential as the Blue Mountains' premier community broadcaster.

Thank you,
Francis Dutton

The Secretary's Report was put on the notice board at 2BLU. We thought it to be of sufficient interest to warrant this special issue of Radio Outreach.

Issue 20 - 11 August 20022

BLU PRIVACY POLICY COMMITTEE INVITES INPUT TO FIRST DRAFT

At the 2BLU general meeting at the end of May, a committee was elected to draft a privacy policy. This was done out of concern about management's disregard for member's privacy. The privacy policy committee is now circulating the draft for suggestions and comment by 2BLU members. It has also been sent to the secretary of 2BLU and tabled for management committee feedback. The secretary, Francis Dutton, responded immediately and his feedback is incorporated in the draft.

BLUE MOUNTAINS PUBLIC BROADCASTING SOCIETY

PRIVACY POLICY - FIRST DRAFT - JULY 2002

1. The objective of this policy is to set standards to be observed by the Society in collecting, storing, using, disclosing, protecting and transferring personal information about members.

2. It is an overriding duty of the management committee to ensure the right to privacy of members is observed at all times. In doing this, consideration must be given to the specific needs of individual members, such as members with a disability and young people.

3. The management committee must ensure that personal information about members is collected in an honest and lawful way, and that personal information held about members is fair, accurate, up-to-date and kept secure.

4. Membership lists will not be rented or sold or loaned to other organizations. Nothing in this policy will affect the rights of members under the constitution to view the station's membership list and other documents.

5. Surveillance cameras are for security purposes and must not be used for any other purpose without the express consent of those recorded.

6. Appropriate warning signs must be placed in every area of the studio or office where security cameras are operated.

7. Recorded images from security cameras will not be held for longer than fourteen (?) days.

8. Logging tapes of programs are a statutory duty of the station and must not be accessed by anyone, including members of the management committee, unless the presenter is informed and the reason for the access is disclosed.

9. Presenters must be advised of every listener complaint immediately it is received. Under no circumstances are complaints to be kept secret and used against presenters.

10. Management will comply with the society's Constitution or the Model Rules of the Department of Fair Trading as well as the Community Broadcasting Code of Practice with regard to disputes resolution in matter of privacy.

11. Members with a grievance related to privacy must advise the management committee and provide them with the opportunity to correct the situation, apologise and give an undertaking to improve their performance before contacting the police, legal representatives or privacy bodies.

12. Members with a grievance related to privacy must advise the management committee and provide them with the opportunity to correct the situation, apologise and give an undertaking to improve their performance before contacting the police, legal representatives or privacy bodies.

13. It is not the role of the management committee to spy on members, keep them under surveillance or to entrap them. It is management's role to ensure that there is open communication, procedural fairness and compliance with the law and with this policy.

14. All mail, e-mail, faxes, telephone messages and correspondence of any kind addressed to individual members or to specific programs must be delivered to those members without delay.

15. The station's pigeonholes are for the convenient distribution of information between members and the management committee is not authorised to remove material from individual pigeonholes under any circumstances.

16. Personal details of individual members must not be discussed at meetings without that member being advised in advance and invited to attend.

17. The management committee must not discuss the personal details of a member in the presence of anyone who is not a member of the management committee, unless the member gives permission.

18. Conversations between members and between members and the management committee may not be recorded without the express permission of the member involved.

19. A member must be advised immediately should the society receive an enquiry from any government department, company, organization or individual about the participation of that member in the society.

20. Members are to be provided with access to any information of any kind held by the society for whatever reason and given the opportunity to challenge its accuracy and correct it if necessary.

21. Under no circumstances is the management committee to use information provided by members for any purpose without the knowledge of the members.

22. Management is responsible for ensuring the completeness, accuracy and security of personal information supplied by members.

23. The written consent of a members is required before the society collects sensitive information about members such as health information, or information about racial or ethnic background, or criminal record. The law requires the society to apply special protection to this information.

24. When requesting personal information about a member the society must disclose the following:the purpose for which the information is being collected; how it is going to be used;who is going to have access to it; andhow the member can access and correct the information.

The Privacy Policy Committee wishes to emphasise that this is a first draft with some repetition, vagueness and excessive statements that need to be addressed. Hopefully the policy will be ready for presentation at the Annual General Meeting. The committee is James Kilby, Louisiana Cash-Morley, Chris Parkin and Ken Quinnell. Responses should be sent to the committee convenor before Tuesday, 20 August: ken_Quinnell@hotmail.com

AIR CHARTS ON LINE

The AIR charts are a valuable resource for special music presenters and they are available on the Internet. On the AIR website you will find the Independent Top 20 Albums and Top 20 Singles/EPs, Top 10 Jazz Albums, Top 10 Blues and Roots Albums and Top 10 Dance and Electronica Albums. You can register to receive an e-mail each time the charts are updated. The site also has all kinds of useful information about local independent record labels. Go to www.air.org.au/charts.html

 AMRAP RECOMMENDED LISTENING CORRECTION

The item we published last time somehow got terribly garbled. Here's how it should have read:

The people at the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project are very pleased with the 800 or so hits on its website during July. They are equally pleased with the steadily increasing number of community radio presenters from across the country who have now registered to provide listings for the Recommended Listening page on their website. www.amrap.org

PERSPECTIVE

While 2BLU special music presenters struggle to support local talent in the face, not just of indifference but active hostility from management, it is encouraging to know that at some stations it is done differently.

Paul McQueen, a signals communications technician at Hornsby (railway) station in suburban Sydney presents the Have a Go Show on Hornsby (community radio) station every week. Paul's passion is recording local musicians - blues/rock is his main interest but he'll record any reputable and creative sounds.

Paul loves to find new and emerging bands in his local area and record them for the first time in his studio. He is motivated by the satisfaction of getting the performance out of the artist and capturing it in his recording so that young musicians have something tangible, like a demo tape. But, was it enough?

Paul thought not, after seeing promising bands break up because they couldn't get a break. So he started the Have a Go Show on 2HHH, a program designed to showcase the diverse range of music that is out there in his local community. Paul brought his years of experience in recording to the show and has recently been expanding his scope by recording live performances for presentation on his program.

APRA ISSUE CONCERNS INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS

The Australian Performing Rights Association administers music copyrights in this country and collects royalties on behalf of musicians. Local independent musicians have just received a serious shock from AMRAP. Anyone who permits music downloads from the Internet will now be required to pay a fee to APRA - from $220 to $1100 a year depending on the number of soundbites.

In other words, musicians who puts music tracks for download on their own website to promote their careers or market their albums, will have to pay APRA to do it, even if it is all their own music. As one musician put it, "They are only looking after the big end of town but they are really just pissing on their own feet."

SHAGGY DOG STORY

It may sound like urban myth but Lynn Wells of 3BBR-FM in Warragul, Victoria, swears it's true. A local dog was getting on the nerves of neighbours by barking and howling while her owners were away during the day. The owners tried everything to no avail. Then, her owners began leaving her inside with the radio tuned to 3BBR and now she loves it so much she drags her bed blanket into the kitchen and sets it up in front of the radio of her own accord.

We did a quick survey of some Katoomba dogs to see if they listen to 2BLU. Scruffy, Bobby Boy, Brain, Snowy, Isis, Lightening and Sundance all said they would love to listen but, unable to find a program guide, they can't figure out what's on.

Issue 19 - 9 August 2002

REVIEW OF COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CODE OF PRACTICE ANNOUNCED BY CBAA

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) has announced a review of the Community Broadcasting Code of Practice. At present 2BLU is in extensive breach of just about every section of the Code but that should not prevent members from familiarising themselves with what is proposed and giving direct feedback to the CBAA.

The Code sets out the agreed standards of conduct for all community broadcasters. The discussion paper makes it clear that while a complete overhaul is unnecessary at this time, there are a few areas where the document needs to better reflect the sector's needs.

The Code is important because it means the sector can be self-regulated rather than have licensing conditions imposed on it by the Australian Broadcasting Authority. When a station irresponsibly breaches the Code as 2BLU does, it is not only letting down its listeners, members and the local community, it is undermining the whole community radio sector.

One proposal is to take out the points that must be complied with under the provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act and put them in a separate section. Breaching these can have serious consequences for a station whereas breaching other sections of the Code may lead only to a "breach of Code" warning from the ABA. In other words, the Code will avoid repetition of legislative requirements.

The second important issue is Conflict Resolution. The CBAA claims that this is an area that is increasingly time consuming for stations and could be better handled. At 2BLU there is simply no conflict resolution, which has resulted in the disaffection of more than half the station's presenters and the increasing strength of the Friends of Community Radio. The proposal is to clarify the specific arrangements stations need to put in place to ensure they follow reasonable conflict handling procedures. These would be set out in guidance notes attached to the Code and are aimed at ensuring transparency of procedure in internal conflict resolution.

The third issue for revision is the procedure for handling complaints from members of the public. The Code could be improved by clarifying that this is a two-step process. Once the complaint has been made, the station is required to provide a substantive response in writing within sixty days. This means the response should engage with the Code of Practice and advise the complainant of their right to refer the matter to the ABA if the station's response is not satisfactory. At 2BLU, listener complaints are either ignored or used to threaten and bully presenters.

Sponsorship is another issue to be considered for revision. Especially pertinent is the vexed question: What is the difference between Sponsorship and Advertising? 2BLU has recently begun putting the sponsorship tags on a lot more of its sponsorship announcements. The ABA has proposed that sponsorship and advertising are licence condition matters, and that the drafting of guidelines is a process independent of the Code review. The Authority will conduct a review of these at the same time as the Code is reviewed.

(The ABA has also agreed to consult the CBAA in developing comprehensive guidelines to assist the sector to interpret the sponsorship and advertising provisions in the Broadcasting Service Act. Once complete these guidelines will be available on both the ABA and CBAA websites.)

There is also a proposal to include an Indigenous Protocol. While extremely important, protocols are for guidance only and a breach is of no interest to the ABA. The protocol proposed would recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have often been misrepresented in the media and will set out guidelines to put the community broadcasting sector in step with SBS, ABC and other media organizations.

Further information and a detailed discussion paper on these proposed changes can be downloaded from the CBAA website: www.cbaa.org.au

The deadline for feedback is 30 August and you can read the feedback already received on the CBAA site. The aim is to register the revised Code with the ABA on the 1 October 2002 to enable the launch of the new Code at the Annual CBAA Conference in November. Please email any thoughts about the Code to Fran: fmorgan@cbaa.org.au

HELLO AND GOODBYE THE 2BLU WAY

David Brownlee was dumped from the position of office coordinator without warning or prior discussion a few weeks ago. John Grinter replaced David but John has now joined the ranks of "the disappeared" also. This is bad news for presenters attempting to access the music library at the station to include new Australian music in their programs.

Incidentally, the management committee has written to Raey Andersson at Parramatta Jail to thank him for his efforts as training coordinator. Now we know what we have to do to be acknowledged at 2BLU.

Raey's replacement is Brian Edmonds - consolation prize after his resounding defeat in the Liberal Party preselection for the forthcoming Sate election perhaps? It wasn't exactly an auspicious start for Brian, missing the training session on the Maximation software.

Still there is no sign of the studio computer actually running in the near future, so the training was probably irrelevant anyway. The station's time, effort and money have been put into getting the computer audio and video surveillance systems up and running - so watch out everyone, the spooks are watching your every move. (see story below)

Incidentally, there is no sign either of 2BLU's participation in the accredited training scheme. Remember the meeting about this publicised for May? Those who expressed an interest never received a response.

DEMO COMPETITION SUCCESS

Brian and James's Nice Noize Demo Competition for local musicians received over 30 entries this year. The winners will be announced on their 2BLU program Everything is Nice on Thursday 15 August 8.00 and 10 pm. Entries were received from musicians across the mountains and greater Sydney, and they range in style from rock and electronic to classical and sound art.

The annual competition is an important event on the music scene in the mountains. As well as airplay on 2BLU the winners will appear at upcoming gigs organised by Brian and James. Eventually the best entries will be compiled into on a sampler CD for distribution to community radio stations across the country.

More information about local music and Brian and James's program: www.everythingisnice.com

LET'S MAKE THE MOST OF 2BLU'S SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

Management committee paranoia has reached new levels with the surveillance video cameras now recording their perceived enemies (i.e., the members) for the entire time they are at the station. The suggestion has come in that we organise a little theatre group to perform for these cameras along the lines of the New York Surveillance Camera Players (SCP).

One of the pioneers of this was this movement was Denis Beaubois, an Australian who was born in Mauritius in 1970 and first staged his piece called In the Event of Amnesia in Sydney for three-days in 1996. Here is the text as adapted by the NY-SCP for a performance in Times Square, Manhattan on 4 May 2002.

Amnesia by Denis Beaubois.

I have amnesia. I couldn't help but notice that you are watching me and that you've been watching me all day, everywhere I go. So, maybe you can help me. Who am I? What's my name?

You can view the photographs of this performance at the NY-SCP website. It's a great site with scripts of many performances, including adaptation of famous plays such as Waiting for Godot for surveillance camera performance as well as videos.

You'll also find links to the sites of other groups in America, Italy, Holland, Lithuania, a how-to guide and debate on the controversial face-recognition software used by law enforcement agencies. No, 2BLU hasn't got this yet ... at least we don't think so.

www.notbored.org/the-scp.html

AMRAP RECOMMENDED LISTENING

The people at the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project are very pleased with the 800 or so community radio presenters from across the country who have now registered to provide listings for the Recommended Listening page on their website. www.amrap.org

PERSPECTIVE

Congratulations are due to Brian and James who have recently been featuring on their program Everything is Nice (2BLU, Thursdays 8.00-10.00 pm) a series of community service announcements dealing with road safety. The Drive Time series was produced by people on the "work for the dole" scheme at the studio of Radio Out There.

Radio Out There was established several year's ago by the St Vincent de Paul Society to foster greater youth participation in community radio. It is broadcast live on 2BFM Padstow and many community stations take the program, though not 2BLU.

More recently the studio has participated in the "work for the dole" scheme to give young job seekers greater confidence as well as expanding their job opportunities. Unemployed people of varying age, skills and levels of enthusiasm are brought together at their inner city studio to produce a ten-part Community Service announcement.

The studio has a programme director, Danielle, and an audio engineer Peter, both employed full-time. What starts off as another 'Work for the Dole' scheme soon proves to be an exciting, challenging and ultimately rewarding experience for participants. Together, Peter and Danielle use their extensive experience to make creative decisions and educate new comers to radio and the captivating world of the 'theatre of the mind'. Visit their website: www.radiooutthere.org.au

Issue 18 - 6 August 2002

NATIONAL YOUTH MEDIA NETWORK ANNOUNCES EXCITING NEW INITIATIVES FOR 16-26 YEAR OLDS

The National Youth Media Network (NYMN) is a brand new project designed to develop a network of young people around Australian actively involved in community broadcasting and other forms of media making. Although no announcement has been made by 2BLU management, 2BLU's youth presenters are eligible. 

As part of this new project there are two key activities being run:

Web + Radio Project: Two days professional web development training, $200 for produced radio works and seven days all expenses paid stay in Canberra. Deadline for applications is Wednesday, 18 September 2002.

Speak Up! Youth Media Conference: Australia's best young community radio makers and media guru's meeting up for workshops, forums, practical info sessions plus the hands on plenary session that develops and launches the NYMN.

Both activities will take place in conjunction with the CBAA National Conference in Canberra, November 2002. So if you're 16-26 years of age, check out the info below and download and fill out the application forms available soon from www.cbaa.org.au/youth/

Alternatively if you'd like to talk to someone at the CBAA about getting involved please contact Jan Mcarthur at the CBAA on 02 9310 2999 or via email jmcarthur@cbaa.org.au

The NYMN project is a CBAA initiative jointly funded by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, Myer Foundation and the Foundation for Young Australians.

Web & Radio Project

If you are 16-26 years old, and have a radio show in a regional or rural area, then you are eligible for this project.As part of the NYMN project, the CBAA is searching for twenty-four young community radio makers that want to learn web development skills and produce a short pre-recorded radio piece to play at your station, and to distribute to community radio stations around the country. Here's the deal:

All expenses paid seven-day stay in Canberra. 4 November. You get flown to Canberra in November and accommodated at a youth hostel for six nights with 24 other young community radio makers.

Web Development Training. 5-6 November. Two days of professional web development training where you learn to use Dreamweaver software and develop websites. You also get a Dreamweaver software package for your station so that you can work on web projects when you get back from Canberra. (You can download a free trial version of Dreamweaver software from www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/

Speak Up! Youth Media Conference

7-10 November. Speak Up! Youth media conference, which brings together young media makers from around Australia for one day. Here you are actively involved in a series of practical info workshops and special guests from Triple J, SBS Alchemy, ABC Radio, noise, Octapod, AMRAP and Interface. You also have the opportunity to help set up the National Youth Media Network and develop future projects such as this.

CBAA Conference. 8-11 November. Attend the CBAA conference. The national conference where community broadcasters get together for three days and hold workshops, catch up and make plans for the community radio sector.$200 for a short radio piece.

November & December. Get $200 to make a short pre-recorded radio piece for your station.

Speak Up! Youth Media Conference - 7-10 November 2002 For the first time ever, the CBAA are proud to present Speak Up! - a Youth Media Conference featuring training, information, discussion and practical advice for young media makers around the country.The conference is especially designed for those involved with community broadcasting that aren't exactly "conference veterans", or to put it simply - Speak Up is after some new faces.

The focus day for Speak Up is Thursday, 7 November (the day before the CBAA Conference commences). Here young media makers will participate in a series of workshops, meet with special guests (Triple J, SBS Alchemy, ABC Radio, Octapod, Interface, AMRAP & noise) and a take part in a key plenary session aimed at setting up the National Youth Media Network.

Days 2-4 (Fri to Sun) of the Speak Up conference will integrate with the CBAA conference program and feature a range of 'general' and 'youth interesting' workshops including:

      - Website development - How to make a great site - How to get involved with SBS Alchemy radio - Youth Caucus and CBAA Youth Rep Elections - DIY all ages fundraiser gig - New media formats - A special Interface presentation from Nexus

A special range of social events will be announced closer to the Speak Up Conference date.

How much? $180 concession for the whole 4 days; or $30 for the Thursday conference focus day.Application forms for Speak Up! Youth Media Conference will be available soon from www.cbaa.org.au/

If you are interested in any of these initiatives you will need to hassle the 2BLU committee - who have not made this information available to members. The CBAA may even assist you in getting 2BLU's cooperation - always worth a try.

WOODY GUTHRIE TRIBUTE NIGHT

The date for the Woody Guthrie Tribute Night has been announced by Louisiana - it is Friday 20 September at Gearins. Take a tip - write it in your diary right away and cancel everything else!

We are anticipating a great night in homage to the great American folk singer and songwriter who has inspired musicians from Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs to Tom Paxton and Steve Earle.

Louisiana tells us that Kris Kempster, who impressed everyone so much at the recent Pete Seeger Tribute has already confirmed. We'll have more info closer to the date.

2BLU SATELLITE CONTRIBUTIONS

When Barry O'Sullivan sent us the information about his satellite program An Hour of Jazz for our last issue, he said that 2BLU's Community Gardening Program had also been on the Community Radio Satellite Service. We were uncertain about this but have since checked with Supapon Raffen who was at the panel for most of the program's long run on Sunday mornings. Turns out that some of the special events from the program were contributed to an environment program on the satellite service, in particular Supapon's extended discussions with permaculture guru Bill Mollison, and interviews with ecovillage advocate Ted Trainer and with the Dalai Lama. 

PERSPECTIVE

This Perspective looks at Warrumbungles Area Radio (WAR-FM) where the emphasis is very much on generating interest in the local community and keeping residents informed about local affairs.

Ross Whelan, WAR-FM chairman and a councillor on the Gilgandra Shire Council, hosts a community affairs program aimed at "dissolving the four walls of the council chambers to enable a view of local government's decision making processes. This gives the whole community access to what's being discussed at the Council's public meetings."

His program Rosco On Saturday generates interest in the Gilgandra Shire with interviews from local nurses, police, and the school principal. Seniors can hear about local initiatives like water exercise classes at the local pool and the community can share the experiences of young people who have moved out of the area. The program works on the basis that each member of the community is important and has a story to tell.

UNIQUE PROBLEM FOR REMOTE BROADCASTER

8EAR-FM the community station at Gove in the Northern Territory has experienced an unusual problem with its transmitter. Birds have eaten the transmitter cable. Volunteers at the remote station are starting to think the birds are more of a nuisance than the local crocodiles.

The isolated community is a long way from the nearest electronics store so while they wait for a suitable replacement the station is limping along on low power cabling and volunteers are experimenting with ways of making it less appetising for their feathered friends.

Issue 17 - 4 August 2002

'NO SHOW' BY 2BLU EXECUTIVE AT FUNDRAISER 

Friday night was the first fundraising activity 2BLU has mounted for a considerable time. The event was organised by program coordinator, Al Goodie to assist the Winter Magic Festival to pay its debts.

Sharmelle, winner of the first prize at the Winter Magic Busking comp, headed the 2BLU line up. Unfortunately, her performance was marred by a particularly poor sound system, but her legion of friends and supporters gave her an enthusiastic ovation nonetheless.

The back room at Gearins had been double booked for the night, which was something of a boon for those who turned up - we heard two additional bands (fortunately with a different and excellent sound system). Sydney band, Artamus, featuring singer and songwriter Amber Kenny - a former Katoomba local - was the highlight of the evening. (We hear on the grapevine that the band will appear soon at one of the Solla Sollew gigs at Gearins.)

In essence, it was the Friends of Community Radio who turned up on the night. There was no sign of anyone from 2BLUs executive. Bob Kemnitz, the non-executive member of management and Winter Magic Festival apparatchik was on the door but Bob tends to be as much in the dark about goes on at 2BLU as the ordinary members.

We look forward to eventually hearing Sharmelle in happier circumstances.

2BLU JAZZ PROGRAM ON COMRADSAT

The ComRadSat national satellite network has recently accepted a program devised and presented by Barry O'Sullivan from 2BLU (as we reported in Issue 3). Barry has provided details for an update.

 A Jazz Hour is heard at 5.00-6.00 pm each Sunday on 2BLU following Jazz on Sunday, which Barry has been presenting consistently along with an assortment of other music specials for the past five years.

A Jazz Hour, now in its fifth week, has already featured music recorded locally at Leuras Hillcrest Coachman as well as a large number of excellent recordings from all over Australia including Kaaren Enkellar and Tony and Coral Theil. A Jazz Hour is broadcast nationally each Tuesday at 3.06-4.00 am and is downloaded by several community stations and replayed at various times as a 'filler' where no live presenter or other Jazz program is available for broadcasting.

Barry says that his program not only raises the profile of local music and musicians but also the profile of 2BLU FM and is the only music program to be accepted by the CBAA from the station and one of only two shows that have been accepted in the long history of the station.

Incidentally, the other program from 2BLU networked on the Community Radio Satellite service was Mike Bothams Crosscurrents a one-hour magazine format with contemporary Christian music and two religious news bulletins that was broadcast weekly for five years. Mikes gospel Album Show and Writers Block are heard on 2BLU on Saturday mornings.

Also, last year the satellite service broadcast programs produced for the radio section of the Noise Media Festival by some of 2BLUs young presenters. Well over 100 stations broadcast the series of three programs produced by Brian and James highlighting young and emerging local bands and Monicas program about Louisiana, which was selected for the Best of Noise section of the festival.

 PERSPECTIVE

This time we have a perspective on youth participation in community radio, fairly apt since young people continue to find themselves unwelcome and under threat at 2BLU.

Until recently 4CCR in Cairns, North Queensland had about ten volunteers under the age of 25 but within a matter of a few months that number grew to 80 out of a total of approximately 200 members. This rapid change came about when management adopted an open access policy designed to bridge the generational divide. The station trained and allocated a programming band to year 11 and 12 high school students, as well as some university students. The demand was overwhelming and since then the 4.00-6.00 pm drive time slot has been the province of young people.

Students learn a range of skills including journalism, interviewing, how to navigate the music library, as well as production and presentation techniques. They walk away with a thorough grounding in media skills. From the stations perspective, the initiative has brought more advantages than just giving it new energy. Having young presenters has attracted a whole range of new listeners, and with them, sponsorship opportunities. www.cbonline.org.au