CAAMA & Indigenous Broadcasting

Radio Redfern is an excerpt from the film 88.9 Radio Redfern produced in 1988 by the Film Australia National Interest Program. 88.9 Radio Redfern is a portrait of Sydney’s Aboriginal radio station. This video clip is on the From Wireless to Web website, produced in 2005.

The interview with Christina Spurgeon was recorded for the website.

Christina Spurgeon is a lecturer in Media & Communication in the Creative Industries faculty of the Queensland Universtiy of Technology. You can view her full biography at From Wireless to Web

The website is a selective history of broadcast media in Australia. Decade by decade, from radio and newsreels to TV and the internet, this history shows how the Australian broadcast media developed and shaped the way Australians see themselves.

From Wireless to Web is a Film Australia production in association with Roar Film.

Students will:

• discuss and reflect upon the importance of indigenous Australian broadcasting
• research, write and format a magazine article for a specific audience
• work in pairs to present a talk to the class
• write an imaginative short story.

Reading Standard: students view, analyse and discuss a wide range of informative and persuasive texts and identify the multiple purposes for which texts are created. They compare and contrast the typical features of particular texts and synthesise information from different texts to draw conclusions.

Writing Standard: students write sustained and cohesive narratives that experiment with different techniques and show attention to chronology, characterisation, consistent point of view and development of a resolution. They compose a range of other texts, such as feature articles, webpages and workplace texts. They proofread and edit their own writing for accuracy, consistency and clarity.

Speaking and Listening Standard: students compare ideas, build on others’ ideas, provide and justify other points of view, and reach conclusions that take account of aspects of an issue. They draw on a range of strategies to listen to and present spoken texts, complex issues or information imaginatively to interest an audience.

The activities in this digital resource are relevant to the Interdisciplinary Learning strands of Level 6 Communications (Listening, Viewing and Responding standard; Presenting standard), and Thinking Processes (Reasoning, Processing and Inquiry standard; Creativity standard).

The activities are also relevant to the Physical, Personal and Social Learning strand of Level 6 Interpersonal Development (Building Social Relationships standard; Working in Teams standard), and Personal Learning (The Individual Learner standard; Managing Personal Learning standard).

In 1972 the first Indigenous-produced community radio program went to air on 5UV in Adelaide. Two years later ABC Radio started broadcasting in several Indigenous languages to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in Far North Queensland.

At the same time in Alice Springs, two Aboriginal people and their non-Aboriginal associate – John Macumba, Freda Glynn and Phillip Batty- helped to establish the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). Their goal was that Aboriginal voices be heard throughout the world and for Aboriginal people to take ownership and control of their own future through a strong, vibrant media centre. That goal became a reality in 1980 when the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) was established.

The CAAMA website states:
'The Aboriginal people of Central Australia own CAAMA, and its objectives focus on the social, cultural and economic advancement of Aboriginal peoples. It has a clear mandate to promote Aboriginal culture, language, dance and music while generating economic benefits in the form of training, employment and income generation. CAAMA produces media products that engender pride in Aboriginal culture, and informs and educates the wider community about the richness and diversity of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.’

Today CAAMA’s radio network broadcasts on 8KIN FM.

1. Getting started
   As a class, view the interview with Christina Spurgeon and the archival video clip about Radio Redfern, then discuss and write notes on the following:
   1. Describe the role and the importance of BRACS (Broadcasting in Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme). (Spurgeon interview)
   2. From the Radio Redfern archival clip, comment on the ways in which community radio helps Aboriginal people, and explain whether the spoken commentary presented in the clip would be likely to be broadcast on ABC and commercial network mainstream radio stations.
   3. Comment on whether Aboriginals as a community are given a ‘voice’, and how you believe they are presented in the mainstream Australian media (radio, TV, newspapers).
2. Drafting, editing and formatting a magazine article
   Research then prepare, draft, edit and proofread an illustrated, informative two-page article for a magazine aimed at teenagers, about the history, growth, activities and importance of CAAMA. Format the article using word-processing or desktop publishing software.
3. Speaking to the class
   In pairs, research, prepare and deliver a short talk (approx. 5–7 minutes) to the class about one past or current BRACS or RIBS (Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services) media broadcasting project involving an Aboriginal community. Your talk should include a brief assessment of the aims and importance of the project, the work required to carry it out, and if possible the financial costing and the outcome. (As there have been many of these community projects, you should attempt to avoid repeating another pair’s discussion on the same project.)
4. Writing a short story
   Write an imaginative short fiction story in which either Radio Redfern or CAAMA plays an important role in the plot, setting and the lives of the characters.

Go to From Wireless to Web for more about the history of broadcast media in Australia.

Australian Government, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Indigenous Broadcasting

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association

Imparja Television

Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association

Community Broadcasting Foundation

Koori Mail