SCMA | Southern Community Media Association

88.6 Plenty Valley FM, with the assistance of a dedicated team of SCMA volunteers, is pleased to be producing, once again, the 2011 Victorian & National Country Music Awards from the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre, Saturday 12^th February 2011.

The Awards will be broadcast ‘LIVE’ via  the Community Radio Network (CRN) and, in two hour delay, on the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS).

A dedicated ‘dry’ (no local sponsorship included) internet 96 kb/s stream will also be available for stations unable to access satellite.

The broadcast will commence at 20:00 hours EDST and run until approximately 23:59 EDST.

Please join us for the Awards Ceremony, interspersed with live on-stage performances from some of the best Country Talent locally and from across the nation.

NOTE: There will be opportunities for local sponsorship announcements during the broadcast. A detailed running sheet with sponsorship times will be made available mid-January to allow stations to program in their local sponsors.

Stations already taking CRN programming at that time will automatically receive the 2011 Victorian & National Country Music Awards.

We would love to hear from stations intending to broadcast the Awards so that we can include ‘shout-outs’ to their station on the night. Please email the Awards Producer at: b4king@live.com.au with your station’s call sign.

www.whittleseacountrymusicfestival.com.au/Awards.html

The CBF has a vacancy for a Grants Administrator. The vacancy arises from an internal promotion.

The role of the Grants Administrator is to ensure the efficient administration of the grants process and servicing of the CBF Board and Grants Advisory Committees.  The position entails a high level of contact with grant applicants and grant recipients (grantees) to clarify both the opportunities and responsibilities of CBF grants programs.  Regular liaison with grantees by telephone, e-mail and mail is necessary to ensure the timeliness and adequacy of grant reports and financial acquittals.  The daily challenge is to provide clear, accurate and relevant information and advice to grantees and applicants and to maintain the Foundation’s (Access) grants databases and (MYOB) financial software to ensure that a clear record of the grants disbursement process is always available.  As such high level communication and administrative skills are required.

Further details, including a Position Description and details of the application process, can be found on the CBF website.

If you require additional information please contact CBF Executive Director, Ian Stanistreet, or Senior Grants Administrator, Jo Curtin, on 03 9419 8055.

Applications addressing the selection criteria must be received by close of business Monday 14 January 2011.

For sale.

Headsets for sale

Beyer Dynamic DT109 headsets (3 available).

Location: Plenty Valley FM Melbourne.

Industry standard headsets, great for O/Bs.(200ohm mic / 400 headphone) in good working condition.
New retail price about $399.00ea.

Fitted with genuine velour earpads (not standard plastic ones), and 5 pin Male XLR connectors.(will give connector pinouts & copy of service manual listing spare parts if required).NOTE: EVERY PART IS AVAILABLE & REPLACEABLE, so you can keep these going for a long time.

Reason for sale: We have upgraded to a newer model.

SCMA members price $60.00 each. Non members $75.00 each.

NOTE: ALL ITEMS SOLD

Buyer to pay all postage charges.

If interested, please contact Brian via email at b4king@live.com.au

We regularly run spots for a Travel Company here on the SunshineCoast in beautiful Queensland..‘Trade Travel’.anyway the local guy came to me and said they had a tour they needed to fill that hadn’t been advertised on our station…anyway they had no bookings and needed at least 20 people to make the trip break even…..after 2 weeks advertising with Sunshine FM they had topped up the trip to 50 people with a genuine 48 who had booked as a direct result of the ad on our station….that’s a 96% result…not too bad in these days of doom and gloom!

The cost to the client was a ¼ of what they would have paid on one of the other commercial stations

Who says Community Radio doesn’t pull good numbers!

Gary Roydhouse JP C.dec  General Manager  104.9 Sunshine FM

The SCMA has announced that delegate’s fees for The National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference now in its 7^th Year will remain frozen at 2010 rates. This means all delegates fees will remain below $200 for the entire weekend.

Fees for the 2011 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference are once again all inclusive. There is no extra to pay to attend any event at the conference unless you are bringing a guest to the conference dinner and X awards presentations.

Included in your conference registration fees are the following conference events:

• Welcome BBQ
• Drinks with the trade
• Conference Dinner
• X Awards Presentations
• Lunch Saturday & Sunday
• Morning & Afternoon teas
• All Conference sessions

The SCMA and the Conference Committee is committed to keeping the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference as affordable as possible for all delegates.

The reason the event is held in Regional areas is to make travel to and from the conference and accommodation as affordable as possible for delegates attending the conference.

In 2011 the conference fees will be as follows:

Early Bird Conference.

(Must be paid prior to January 31^st 2011)                                                   $155-00

Standard Conference Attendance

(Paid prior to March 1^st 2011) $170-00

Corporate Rate Business Representatives

(Paid prior to March 1^st 2011)                                                                      $210-00

Additional attendance at Conference Dinner                                              $60-00

All registrations after March 1^st 2011 will incur a late payment of $25-00

The SCMA members discount offer will once again be available to all financial members of the SCMA.

Send 3 delegates, or more, and pay

just $115 per delegate

That is a saving of $55-00 per delegate off the standard registration cost

This offer is only available to Members of the Southern Community Media Association who are financial by January 31^st 2011.

The Association works hard to ensure that the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference is:

• Affordable
• Informative
• Value for money
• Relevant to all delegates
• Addresses your needs
• Ease of accesses to event

Take the time to consider attending the 2011 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference March 11^th to 13^th In Wagga Wagga N.S.W

You will be glad you did

Much more information and conference details will be added to our website in the coming weeks.

Two more community radio stations have become official emergency broadcasters in time for the bushfire season, Minister for Emergency Services Bob Cameron announced today.

Visiting Stereo 974 FM in Brooklyn and Plenty Valley FM today, Mr Cameron said the stations will become emergency broadcasters in a further bid to boost emergency messaging to communities in times of need.

Mr Cameron said the agreements are similar to the MOUs in place between the emergency services, community broadcaster UGFM – Radio Murrinidindi, commercial radio networks, ABC local radio and Sky News TV.

“Stereo 974 FM and Plenty Valley FM are both committed to providing official emergency information to all communities in their areas, no matter the emergency, and the Brumby Labor Government is proud to partner with them in having this historic MOU signed,” Mr Cameron said.

“Both stations have a strong history of serving their respective communities and our Government is proud to have worked with the local communities to harness the great local work they do to help keep the community safer.

Mr Cameron said while all radio stations have access to emergency information, under the new agreement, Stereo 974 FM and Plenty Valley FM will break into programming to broadcast emergency warnings at the request of the emergency services, and move to continuous coverage in some circumstances.

Stereo 974 FM broadcasts on 97.4 FM to the western suburbs of Melbourne, including Brooklyn, Sunshine, Braybrook, and Footscray, while Plenty Valley FM transmits on 88.6 FM to high fire risk areas in the Nillumbik Shire Council and City of Whittlesea, including Eltham, North Warrandyte and areas of the Kinglake Ranges.

The Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner has invited all community broadcasters in Victoria to enter into emergency broadcasting MOUs, subject to their capabilities.

Acting Emergency Services Commissioner Joe Buffone said both stations will play a significant role in assisting the emergency services to alert local communities.

“Stereo 974 FM and Plenty Valley FM will assist their local areas by broadcasting local emergency warnings to the community as quickly as possible,” Mr Buffone said.

“Local information is critical to saving lives and during this Fire Action Week a week we are dedicated to educating Victorians about how to prepare, act and survive during a fire.”

The Southern Community Media Association (SCMA) is pleased to announce that two more member stations have completed the process and will sign Memorandums of Understandings to become only the second and third Community Broadcasters to sign MOU’s with the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner (OESC). STEREO 974 based in Brooklyn and Plenty Valley FM located in Mill Park will join the only other station to sign a MOU; 3 UGE FM Alexandra who are also members of the SCMA.

The signings will take place on Tuesday the 12^th of October and will be signed by the Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron and Acting Emergency Services Commissioner Joe Buffone as well as key Station personal from both Community Broadcasters.

The SCMA has worked hard and long to get Community Broadcasters recognised as Emergency Broadcasters with its efforts dating back over 4 years. The SCMA had identified the valuable roll that community broadcasters could and do have in times of natural disaster and emergencies and began work on developing a protocol to recognise these efforts and introduce uniform emergency broadcasting formats for it’s member stations and the sector as a whole.

The President of the Southern Community Media Association Helen Bath said “It was great to see member stations being recognised for a role that so many community broadcasters had been carrying out for such a long time in an unofficial capacity. The SCMA has achieved what we set out to do and we hope that the fruits of our labour will have a flow on effect throughout the community broadcasting sector right across this Great Southern Land. – Australia”

While these stations are the start of the MOU faze for community broadcasters within Victoria it is hoped that the groundwork laid by the SCMA and the OESC will become the template for MOU’s throughout the nation. While the MOU roll out and development continues community broadcasters from not only the SCMA will continue to pass on vital information to their listeners in times of emergency.

The SCMA is proud to have been deeply involved in this process and congratulates not only the stations that have reached MOU status but all community broadcasters who have made a commitment to emergency broadcasting.

More information or comment on this release by contacting SCMA’s President Helen Bath – either via our web site www.scma.org.au or by phoning 0407770209

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)  released their Draft Application Form for Renewal of Community Radio Broadcasting Licence (B66) for industry comment.

As you may be aware, the ACMA has been working on revising the application form for the renewal of a community radio broadcasting licence (ACMA Form B66).

Since the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA) was amended in December 2002 to enable the ACMA to take into account the same matters that it considers when allocating a new community broadcasting licence (section 84(2) of the BSA), all community radio broadcasting licensees have applied for and their applications considered against those matters.

They have received feedback from many licensees and consider it timely to revise the form before the next round of licence renewals. You will note that they have streamlined the form so that:

1. It more closely aligns with the matters at section 84(2) of the BSA; and
2. It more closely aligns with the application form for a community radio broadcasting licence (B32), as it is assessed against the same matters when allocating a new community radio broadcasting licence. Attached is a copy of the current B32 for comparison (minor amendments are being made to this form, based on feedback from applicants during allocations in 2009-2010).

They  expect to discuss have the form finalised in time for licensees to use from January 2011.

To enable them to achieve this timeframe, they would appreciate if comments on the draft revised renewal form can reach the ACMA no later than 5.00 pm Monday 29 November 2010. Comments marked ‘licence renewal application form B66’ are to be sent to:

Email: communitybroadcasting@acma.gov.au

Fax: 02 9334 7799 [marked ‘Attention: Community Allocations and Information Section’]

Post:

Community Allocations and Information Section
Australian Communications and Media Authority

PO Box Q500
Queen Victoria Building
Sydney NSW 1230

All members of the SCMA are encouraged to read through this draft and make either individual submissions to the ACMA or forward their thoughts to the SCMA to be added to the associations submission.

Comments to info@scma.org.au

You can download a copy of the Draft form below.

DOWNLOAD – Draft Application Form for Renewal of Community Radio Broadcasting Licence (PDF 200kb)

Effective 1st September 2010

This form is an important part of becoming a community broadcaster and is available for download below.

For further information or assistace please contact SCMA or ACMA.

DOWNLOAD – B32 Application For A Community Radio Broadcasting Licence (PDF 150kb)

Life FM Gippsland had been running quietly for a few weeks and after some checking we discovered that the exciter had decided that after 40,000 or so hours – it was time for a break! The unit was red hot and so we needed to get it out!

A quick email to Ray at SCMA to see if anyone had a unit they could loan us prompted a quick response and two days later we picked up a unit from Plenty Valley FM. We are so grateful tat we didn’t have to take the station off air while we sorted this out.

The team at PlentyValley were very helpful and we’re hoping to hear soon what we need for our transmitter. Great networking and terrific service from SCMA! Thanks everyone.

Deb Bye Station Manager Life FM Gippsland