Radio Industry News

This year’s Community Broadcasting Awards were an exciting one for the sector, as we marked the 50th anniversary of both the CBAA’s formation and the birth of community broadcasting in Australia. We also marked the revamp of our awards, with a format better suited to capturing the diversity of our sector. Congratulations to everyone nominated, the finalists and of course the winners.

Best Program: Music (Sponsored by APRA AMCOS)

• Koori Radio – Tangata Whenua

Best Program: New (Sponsored by AFTRS)

• Eastside Radio 89.7FM – The Intersection

Best Program: News & Current Affairs (Sponsored by AVC)

• Vision Australia Radio – Studio 1

Best Program: Talks

• Vision Australia Radio – Happy Pants

Excellence in Australian Music (Sponsored by APRA AMCOS)

• 2SER – 2SER Australian Music Programming & Eventsect

Excellence in Community Engagement

• Bay FM 99.9 – Young Legends

Excellence in Disability Content & Engagement

• 3CR – Disability Day

Excellence in Fundraising & Sponsorship

• 89.9 TheLight – PositiveMedia Donor Engagement & Business Development Teams

Excellence in Indigenous Content & Engagement

• PAW & 8CCC – The Heat

Excellence in Multicultural Content & Engagement

• 88.9 WynFM

Excellence in Production

• 96five – The Rad-Vent Calendar

Excellence in Special Events & Outside Broadcasting

• Ngaarda Media & 3KND Kool N Deadly – Tamworth Country Music Program 2024

Excellence in Station Resilience & Development (Sponsored by the CMTO)

• 5THE FM – Rising Out of the Ashes of its Former Self

Outstanding Fundraising & Sponsorship Contribution

• 96five – 96five’s Building Hope Appeal

Outstanding Presenter

• RTRFM – Jeff Bullen

Outstanding Presenter News & Current Affairs (Sponsored by Deutsche Welle)

• Vision Australia Radio – Peter Greco

Outstanding Production Contribution

• JOY 94.9 – Elliot Attard

Outstanding Station Leadership

• 2DRY FM – Megan Williams

Outstanding Technical Contribution

• SWR 99.9 FM – Alex Agaciak and Matt Reid

Outstanding Volunteer Contribution

• Alive 90.5 FM – Rosh Vee

Outstanding Youth Contribution

• CAAMA Radio – Briana Alexander

Troy Garner Award – Best Program: Sports

• 3ZZZ – 3ZZZ Sports

Community Broadcasting Honour Roll

• David Marshall OAM – Harvey Community Radio
• Lorraine Clifford & Jane Armstrong – RTRFM
• Peter Weeks OAM – UGFM

Tony Staley Award for Excellence in Community Broadcasting

• 2DRY FM

Michael Law Award

• Phillip Randall

• Write and produce hourly news bulletins for National Radio News, the independent and valued national news service for the community broadcasting sector
• Reach a national audience of over 1.5 million listeners per week
• Work from the from beautiful Central West city of Bathurst

The Role

• Casual – Weekday and weekend work
• $48.66 per hour plus shift penalties where applicable
• Bathurst

You will be responsible for producing bulletins for hourly broadcast.

You will produce stories that reflect the principles of community broadcasting, showcasing diverse voices and serving under-represented audiences.

We are seeking to create a talent pool to fill casual vacancies as they arise. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

To be successful you will have:

• An associate diploma level qualification in journalism or a related discipline with relevant work-related experience or equivalent level of knowledge gained through any other combination of education, training and/or experience.
• Knowledge of the community broadcasting sector audience
• High level writing and communication skills for a target audience
• Experience in presenting and producing radio news and/or current affairs

About Us

Charles Sturt University is a young and growing university committed to developing far-sighted people who help their communities grow and flourish. We make a significant contribution to the prosperity and vibrancy of our rural and regional communities, with a reach and impact across Australia and internationally. We work together with industry, communities and students to create new thinking, inspire each other and make a positive and progressive contribution to the world.

National Radio News (NRN) is the national news service for the community broadcasting sector, produced by Charles Sturt University in partnership with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). It reaches over 1.5 million listeners a week and has been produced on the Bathurst campus for over 25 years. NRN is a learning and teaching resource for the Bachelor of Communication in the School of Information and Communication studies. Cadet journalists are drawn from the course and students contribute to the service through their class work.

National Radio News provides timely, relevant and independent news from across the country. NRN is built on the community broadcasting sector’s principles of democracy, independence and access.

Charles Sturt University offers a great work-life balance, professional development opportunities and generous financial benefits.

Charles Sturt University is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. This is demonstrated through our Workplace Gender Equality Agency Employer of Choice Citation and our Athena SWAN Bronze Institutional Award. Charles Sturt is also a participating member in the Australian Workplace Equality Index. Applications are encouraged from Indigenous Australians; people with a disability; women (particularly for senior and non-traditional roles); people who identify as LGBTIQA+; and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Application Requirements 

Applicants are expected to apply online, upload your CV and provide a 1-2 page ‘statement of suitability’ demonstrating your skills, knowledge and/or experience relevant to the position (referencing the selection criteria in the position description).

Applicants are also required to submit a recent air check with their application. This should be in .mp3 format and no longer than 1 minute in length.

If you experience difficulties applying online or for further information on completing the application process please visit our how to apply page or contact us.

This position is open to Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents; or applicants who hold a current valid work visa commensurate with this position.

Further Information

Additional information is available in the position description or by contacting:

Rebecca Wotzko | Community Radio and NRN Manager | rwotzko@csu.edu.au | Ph: 02 6338 4774

Closing Date: 11 pm, 12 November 2024

In the September Triton podcast ranker released today, the ABC continues to feature more titles than any other publisher and we are the third most listened to publisher in Australia.

As we inch closer to the US general election, the ABC continues to demonstrate the strength of our news offering with ABC News Top Stories taking third place in the ranker and delivering a record high audience of 782,000, up +9% on August.

The strong result caps of an exciting month of announcements for the ABC’s podcast and audio on demand offering.

Earlier this month the ABC published the latest season of the highly anticipated true crime series Unravel: Mr Big.

Hosted by reporter Alicia Bridges, Unravel: Mr Big investigates a secretive crime boss who touts his corrupt connections to police and the courts.

This week also saw the ABC announce Jessica Radburn as our new Head of Audio on Demand.

Jessica is an internationally renowned audio executive who has worked with Wondery and Audible.

In this new role, she will lead the ABC’s audio on demand strategy including our commissioning and development processes and manage our significant podcast slate.

The full Triton Australian Podcast Ranker can be found here.

Audiences can enjoy all the ABC’s podcasts for free and ad free on ABC listen.

The Australian Podcast Ranker is a regular monthly snapshot of Australia’s most popular podcasts. The Ranker has been reporting podcast listening in Australia since 2019 and includes a wide cross section of Australian podcast publishers, from both radio and non-radio backgrounds.

The ACMA has registered a new community radio broadcasting code of practice, establishing an updated set of rules about what can and can’t be played on community radio.

The code was developed by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). It is the first broadcasting industry code to be registered since the ACMA asked all industry bodies to review their codes in 2022.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin has welcomed the new code and its strengthened community safeguards.

“The new community radio code is the result of substantial work undertaken by CBAA over several years. The ACMA acknowledges the highly collaborative way the review was undertaken and the broader community broadcasting sector’s commitment to the development of the code.

“We are particularly pleased to see stronger protections around news content on community radio, including requirements for impartiality and for reporters to take special care where facts may be contested and not settled,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

Under the new code community radio broadcasters are also committed to align their programming decisions with contemporary community standards, prioritise First Nations voices when reporting on or discussing First Nations issues, and strengthen complaints-handling processes.

The ACMA expects all broadcasters to regularly update their rules to reflect changing broadcasting practices and contemporary audience expectations. This includes providing safeguards to those accessing their content in new ways.

“We remain of the view that it is high time that the broadcasting industry voluntarily extend their rules to cover all TV- and radio-like content they make available online. This would ensure audiences benefit from the same safeguards, regardless of how they access the content,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

The new community radio broadcasting code will commence on 1 July 2025. The existing code will remain active until that time.

The new community radio code is available at: https://www.acma.gov.au/industry-codes-practice

Further information about the code review process is available on the CBAA website.

The revised Community Radio Broadcasting Codes of Practice (2025) have been registered by the Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA).  

The new Community Radio Broadcasting Codes will commence on 1 July 2025. The existing Codes will remain active until that time. 

The 2025 Codes consist of 10 Codes, adapted from the current Codes. All changes made were designed to make the Codes easier for stations to put into practice and understand. We are grateful for the input and feedback from our sector throughout the review process. 

The new Codes are the outcome of a lengthy consultation across our sector to ensure they remain relevant and meet community standards in an environment of changing media. The 2025 Codes received overwhelming support with over 98% of responses from community broadcasters endorsing the new Codes.  

From 1 July 2025, the revised Codes (2025) will replace the current Codes (2008). Stations should continue using the current 2008 Codes in the meantime. 

The CBAA will support stations to ensure staff and volunteers understand the changes before they come into effect on July 1, 2025. We are already working on training and guidance materials to support all broadcasters understand and comply with the Codes.  

The new Codes will be accompanied by practical easy-to-use guidance material to help every station and broadcaster to understand how to comply with the new Codes. This guidance material will provide templates for policies, processes to follow and suggestions for best practice. 
  

View the new 2025 Community Radio Codes Broadcasting Codes of Practice here.

17 October 2024: Nine Entertainment (Nine) has today released an independent review of its workplace practices and culture.

The review, conducted by leading organisational culture firm, Intersection, involved a company-wide survey in addition to comprehensive interviews held with members of the TV News & Current Affairs department.

The Nine Board received the Intersection report today and, in the interests of transparency, has released it in full to Nine’s 5000-strong workforce and shared it publicly. The report will inform the work underway to strengthen Nine’s organisational and workplace culture.

The report found that Nine has a systemic issue with abuse of power and authority; bullying, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment.

Driving these behaviours is a lack of leadership accountability; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the business.

The report has made 22 recommendations, prioritised into foundational, intermediate and advanced changes required for the reset of culture at Nine.

After considering the report today, the Nine Board committed to implementing all 22 recommendations, and has requested management to provide the Board and employees a comprehensive action plan to uplift the company’s culture during November 2024.

Nine Chair Catherine West said: “Today is an incredibly difficult day for Nine as we confront these findings and reflect on serious cultural issues as an organisation. The behaviour outlined in the report is unacceptable. Abuse of power, bullying, sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct is not okay. This behaviour has no place at Nine.

“We acknowledge that too many of our past and present employees have been harmed by poor workplace culture, the prevalence of inappropriate workplace behaviours, and an inadequate response in the past from Nine to those behaviours.

“To any individual who has experienced inappropriate conduct that does not meet the values of Nine, we are deeply sorry. On behalf of the Board, I unreservedly apologise.

“The strength and courage these individuals have shown in sharing their stories as part of this process will allow us to move forward as an organisation with a clear understanding of where we went wrong and their insights will help strengthen Nine’s culture for the better. For that, we thank them.

“Despite the proactive culture change agenda already underway, the reality is much more needs to be done and a cultural reset is required. Nine’s Board and leadership team are united in their commitment to accelerating and driving the required change.”

Nine Acting Chief Executive Officer Matt Stanton said: “The Intersection report makes for hard reading for the many people who love working for Nine and all that we stand for. It was personally distressing for me to read these stories from our people. The behaviour experienced by many of our people right across the business is not acceptable in any workplace and falls well below what our people should expect in the work environment.

“While it is important that today all of us at Nine take a moment to reflect, we also move forward with a resolve to do better. We have a responsibility to our people to create a safe and respectful work environment to ensure they can perform at their best. Our people deserve nothing less.”

Intersection Principal Natasha de Silva said: “This report reflects the findings from the most comprehensive review of culture ever undertaken in the Australian media sector. While our review contains sobering findings, the strong survey participation rate is an indication of the willingness of the Nine workforce to be part of the cultural change.

“The recommendations made by the review are intended to build a safe, respectful and inclusive culture at Nine into the future. I am encouraged by the Board and management’s commitment to transparency demonstrated by releasing the review report in full as well as their commitment to implementing the recommendations.”

The report is available here.

Energy is running high from last weekend’s 35th Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), a night that brought together the brightest talent of the radio industry at The Star in Sydney. The yearly ACRAs honours the on-air and off-air achievements that shape the world of Australian radio, podcasting, news, and entertainment. With over 1159 entries from radio stations across the nation, the competition was fierce, and the talent set the bar for excellence on the industry. 

This year, 71 winners were selected from 361 finalists, representing the metropolitan, provincial, and country commercial radio stations. From impactful local news to engaging entertainment, the ACRA winners showcase the diverse voices and practitioners that drive Australian radio.  

The AFTRS community had plenty to celebrate, with alumni taking home awards in seven distinct categories across country, provincial, and metropolitan markets, ranging from recognition for excellence in journalism to music and creative promotion. 

For the third consecutive year, Clinton Maynard was awarded the prestigious Brian White Award for Excellence in Journalism (Metro) for his outstanding work with 2GB, Nine Radio. The Brian White Award is one of the highest honours in radio journalism, recognising sustained excellence and above-and-beyond efforts in news coverage.  

In the on-air talent category, Matt Lipiarski from Mixx FM in Colac, VIC, took home the Best On-Air Team award for his work on Mixx Brekky with Jimmy & Lippi, alongside James Thwaites. This marked their second consecutive win, showcasing their unique ability to deliver engaging, entertaining content to the Great South West. 

AFTRS alumni also made waves in the music categories, with awards in three key areas. The Gudinski Award for Australian Music Champion went to Triple M Homegrown with Matty O, featuring AFTRS alum Andrew Very. Andrew’s passion for Australian music was further recognised with his win for Best Music Feature for the Taylor Swift Triple M Versions. 

Adding to the list of music accolades, Cam Hilder was named Best Music Host (Provincial) for his work at i98FM at WIN Network in Wollongong. His win follows last year’s success of AFTRS alum Sean Brown, who also received recognition for his work in the music hosting space. 

AFTRS proudly sponsors the Best New Talent Off Air award, which recognises up-and-coming talent in the radio industry. This year, the award went to Ella Kanna from KIIS 1065 (Metro) and Leesa Singleton from 864 Triple M (Non-Metro) in Toowoomba/Darling Downs. 

From news and talk to sport and music, the winners of this year’s ACRAs demonstrate the immense talent that fuels the commercial radio industry. The diverse voices and creative minds celebrated at the event highlight the power of local content in engaging audiences and delivering impactful stories that resonate.   

AFTRS is incredibly proud to be a part of this thriving industry and to see our alumni consistently recognised for their contributions. Their achievements reflect the School’s ongoing commitment to developing the next generation of radio professionals and leaders. 

Here’s the roundup of AFTRS alumni awarded and the teams they work with. You can see all the ACRA winners here. 

• Brian White Award For Excellence In Journalism
  Clinton Maynard; 2GB, Sydney, NSW, Nine Radio 

• Best On Air Team (Country)
  Mixx Brekky with Jimmy & Lippi Matt Lipiarski, James Thwaites 

• The Gudinski – Australian Music Champion
  Triple M Homegrown with Matty O; Matthew O’Gorman; Kalun Townsend; Andrew Very; Shaun Gough; Julia Di Gregorio, Triple M Melbourne, VIC, SCA 

• Best Music Host (Provincial)
  Cam Hilder; i98FM, Wollongong, NSW, WIN Network 

• Best Music Feature
  Taylor Swift Triple M Versions; Andrew Very, David Konsky, Kalun Townsend, Triple M Network, Sydney, NSW, SCA  

• Best Comedy Segment (Non Metro)
  Hans The Aldi Mole; Sam Archie Arenson, Henry Bretz, Power100, Townsville, QLD, ARN 

• Most Creative Station Promotion (Non Metro)
  Lyndal & Crammy’s Origin or Bust; Lyndal & Crammy, 96.5 Wave FM, Wollongong, NSW, ARN  

The radio and podcasting industry is thriving and evolving, with AFTRS alumni setting the bar for excellence and innovation, ensuring that Australian radio remains dynamic, influential and engaged with Australian audiences.  

If radio and podcasting is of interest to you or someone you know, applications for the Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting close on 29 October.