And we don’t mean the TV series about drugs.
The Wire is a daily current affairs program broadcast exclusively on Community and Indigenous radio stations around Australia. And it’s been doing it for 10 years, well before that tv series began.
The Wire is produced by a consortium of community radio stations: Radio Adelaide, Sydney’s 2SER and Brisbane’s 4EB and supported by story producers from JOY in Melbourne, CAAMA in Alice Springs and RTR FM in Perth.
It takes an alternative look at current affairs, covering mainstream events, but also widening the news agenda to other stories that may have been missed by other media outlets. This week’s programs, for example, covered same sex adoption and the need for an indigenous public holiday, as well as major news stories such as the Australia Post job cuts and Japanese whaling. The program focuses on human rights and looks at the way big stories affect ordinary people.
“A robust current affairs program is a core element of community radio programming,” according to the CBAA’s Jon Bisset.
This year The Wire celebrates a decade of current affairs programs. This milestone was featured in the April – July edition of Radio Adelaide’s Radiant Magazine, with an article highlighting the program’s unique focus and editorial approach.
The Community Broadcasting Foundation has provided support to assist the production of the program via Content Development – National Program grants.