The complex story of Alice Springs community station 8CCC continues as locals lobby for the station to remain on air (see previous stories).
Former 8CCC Station Manager(2001-2003) Nigel Slater has told radioinfo:
“I am concerned that Charles Darwin University will control the local community radio station 8CCC. Charles Darwin University already controls 8TOP Darwin and there is potential for all levels of 8CCC to be run from Darwin including committee of management, staffing and programming. This would limit the amount of local involvement in the station.
“I believe that 8CCC would be better run as a fully independent, locally managed and operated community radio station. Alice Springs Deputy Mayor David Koch’s media statement regarding the retention of students due to 8CCC is not relevant as 8CCC currently provides very little student involvement.”
The current problems for 8CCC began when the Centralian College of Education was merged into Charles Darwin University. Because Centralian College was the licensee of the community station, the ABA (now ACMA) required it to hand back the licence when it ceased to exist.
At that time the ABA allowed the station to continue on air under a temporary community broadcasting licence (TCBL) while the processed were followed for advertising applications for the permanent licence. Applications for that licence opened in September last year.
If all had gone well, the process would have resulted in a smooth transition from one licensee to another under the rules of the Broadcasting Services Act.
The trouble came when Charles Darwin University became unsure if it wanted to hold the licence, and when another aspirant community group, the Community Radio Association of Central Australia Inc, emerged to challenge for the licence against 8CCC Community Radio Inc. To make matters more complex, the building which houses the station, and all broadcasting equipment is owned by Charles Darwin Uni.
According to station sources, the negotiations between 8CCC and CDU broke down when 8CCC Inc tried to cut back programming from Darwin. Early this year, Charles Darwin University wrote what opponents say was “a secret letter to the ACMA, withdrawing support for 8CCC Inc’s licence application.” Charles Darwin University also indicated to the ACMA that it wished to apply for the licence separately to 8CCC, but this was not possible as applications closed in October 2004.
An ACMA spokesperson has told radioinfo: “The latest developments are a factor in terms of 8CCC’s ability to be able to provide a service.”
ACMA has the option to delay making a final decision while the two groups redevelop capacity to provide an ongoing service, or it may decide to allocate the licence to the best applicant at this time. No ACMA decision has been made as yet.
A letter to the editor in Tuesday’s Centralian Advocate said:
Sir,
I write in response to the two letters in Friday’s Advocate, “David and Goliath” and “Help Needed for 8CCC”.
I ask both Merideth Campbell and Hal Duell, why isn’t 8CCC able to stand on its own legs and operate without Charles Darwin University after 25 years on air?
Hundreds of community radio stations around Australia operate without any university or government support. They gain support from their local communities and through fund raising activities, build their own studio and transmission facilities.
8CCC should be able to “go it alone”, apply for a licence without the Charles Darwin University and use its 25 years of history to harness community support for a truly independent, community run, radio station.
The Alice Springs Town Council should not be expected to support 8CCC. Ratepayers may not see the funding of a radio station as core council business. There is also potential for conflicts of interest in programming the station, similar to the existing situation with the university.
I am not questioning that 8CCC is providing an opportunity to air local talent, but this is not relevant in determining support for the station from the Charles Darwin University or the Alice Springs Town Council.
Finally I ask, is 8CCC still relevant in the Alice Springs radio landscape? With 3 AM and 9 FM radio stations available in Alice Springs, maybe 8CCC should conduct research into community needs and provide radio suitable for 2005.
Radio stations should have an audience and a community radio station is no different. An audience can generate subscriptions and business sponsorship.
Anna Sabadin
(Anna Sabadin is Treasurer of Community Radio Association of Central Australia Inc. The letter represents her views as a long term resident of Alice Springs and is not necessarily the official view of CRACA Inc.
The two applicants’ documents address the question of communities served. In answer to the question, ‘What is the applicant’s understanding of the existing and perceived future needs of that
community in relation to community broadcasting,’ the applicants’ responses were:
8CCC
8CCC seeks to widen the community’s involvement in broadcasting and to encourage
participation by those denied effective access to, and those not adequately served by,
other media – as per the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia code of
practice 1.9. 8CCC understands Alice Springs to be a highly transitional community
whose broadcasting needs change over time.
Over the last 23 years of operating, 8CCC
has evolved along with our community. It is an isolated community in the heart of
Australia, our nearest major towns/cities being Darwin to the north and Adelaide to the
south, both equidistant from Alice Springs. As a remote town, we have a number of
organisations and networks which help knit a strong, cohesive community which rely
on local sources to disseminate local information, events and projects.
Our membership echoes the demographic of Alice Springs.
We have a good balance of
males and females and a sound representation of the different cultural groups living in
the Centre. This broad representation is reflected in our diversity of programs. This
diversity is largely reflective of the interests, expertise and desires of the respective
volunteers. Our music variety incorporates many genres: R&B, alternative, acoustic, rock, pop, blues, jazz, ambient, world, folk, country, nostalgia, reggae, hip-hop – and
everything in between. 8CCC also gives space for women’s voices, religion, sport, the
arts and youth. Non-English speaking programs currently include Latin American,
French, Spanish, Filipino and Maori, though we have in the past produced programs in
Italian, Dutch, Japanese and German.
Our community ethnic broadcasters are
representatives of their cultural groups providing important information and cultural
services to their communities. Language programs are very much dependent on the
transient nature of the population and people’s desires to broadcast.
Community Radio Association of Central Australia Inc’s answer to the question said:
More than 25% of people are employed in community and tourism related areas, around
1600 people are employed in strictly tourism related businesses (hospitality, travel and
visitor services), the wholesale and retail trade employs more than 15 per cent of the
workforce. Other major employment groups include recreational and personal services,
agriculture, mining, construction, transport, public administration and defence. Around 3.5%
of the town is unemployed. The Joint Defense Facility, Pine Gap in Alice Springs employs
around 700 Americans and with their families, the American Population in Alice Springs
numbers around 2000 people.
The tourism, community and hospitality areas of employment have a high amount of staff
turnover with many people from interstate visiting the area, working for a short time and
then moving away form the area. Locals use the word “transient” to describe this process.
While unemployment is low in the non Aboriginal population, it is extremely high in the
Aboriginal population. In addition, there is a higher level of poverty within the Aboriginal
population with social issues including petrol and paint sniffing, alcohol abuse and crime
including violence, vandalism and theft. Their levels of literacy are low and the main
medium for communication is radio.
Waiting and lobbying continues for the two groups.
Details of both applications are on the ACMA website (click below).