SCMA | Southern Community Media Association

The CEO of the SCMA has announced that as part of the ongoing commitment and development of the association’s internet presence that the SCMA has acquired a new faster Australian based server to locate its IT services on.

Web Master for the SCMA Mr Brad Ward said “The introduction of this new server will see a significant and noticeable increase in speed for both the SCMA’S websites and also for the PDS”.

The new server was brought into service earlier this week after some extensive testing to ensure that it would provide the association and it’s membership with a reliable faster way to get information out to the membership of the association.

The most significant improvements will be in upload and download time for programs available on PDS with the new server providing a faster and more stable platform for the system to operate on.

The Associations web presence is constantly being updated and developed to provide the SCMA membership with the best possible information and support.

If you are interested in finding out more about the services that SCMA have available to it’s membership please feel free to contact the associations via the contact us page on the SCMA’s web site http://www.scma.org.au/contact-us/ or simply have a look at the SCMA’s website www.scma.org.au

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More information or comment on this release by contacting SCMA’s Web Master Mr. Brad Ward
via webmaster@scma.org.au or phone Geek Internet 03 9014 9815.
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The X Award winning show “A Country Yarn” today became a nationally available program as it hit the PDS for the first time.

A county Yarn will now be available to all financial members of the SCMA via the “Program Delivery System” accessible through MySCMA another innovation by the Association.

A Country Yarn is a program that runs for around 56 minutes and is delivered weekly via PDS it is as simple as ordering the program and as soon as it becomes available you get it downloaded without any further work on your part.

The program is hosted by Ross Usher and features an chat show style interview with a different country music artist each week as well as music, album information and so much more. The laid back style of Ross makes the show one of those shows you just want to listen to all the way through.

Produced in the studios of My 105.9 FM  Mackay QLD the show and the fact that it is now national is a real credit to the hard working team.

Station Manager of My105.9 Stephan Kent said “A Country Yarn is one of those unique programs that we on community radio do so well – it also gives us a chance to really highlight the very best in Australian County Music. It was voted the most popular program on our station in 2009 and so far this season Ross Usher the presenter has managed to line up an excellent range of artists. I can tell you that any station who chooses to run this show will be adding a high class show to their line up.  The show is produced without any funding from anyone and we just love the idea that using Ross’s research and interviewing talents has taking THE COUNTRY YARN to new heights”.

There is no time like right now to add “A Country Yarn” to your stations program list if you need more information on PDS, mySCMA or A Country Yarn check it all out at www.scma.org.au or log into mySCMA.

Membership to SCMA is just $50-00 per year and information and applications can be found here

SCMA Member UGFM becomes the first Community Broadcaster to sign Emergency Broadcasting Memorandum of Understanding.

This audio grab is from the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Listen & Download the Audio Here

Read the press release here.

SCMA Member becomes the first Community Broadcaster to sign Emergency Broadcasting Memorandum of Understanding

Member Station UGFM Alexandra has become the first Community Broadcaster in Australia to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in regard to Emergency Broadcasting. UGFM and the Victorian Office of Emergency Services Commissioner formalized the MOU in at studio complex of UGFM in Alexandra. UG FM played a vital role in Emergency Broadcasting during the Black Saturday fires and continues to broadcast recovery information to its area.

Community Radio has always been involved in emergency broadcasting in as much as when there is an emergency community broadcaster’s do all they can to assist.

The President of the Southern Community Media Association, Mrs. Helen Bath said “It is gratifying to see all the work of the past five years come to fruition. The SCMA has had an ongoing commitment to the formalization of community broadcasters role in Emergency Broadcasting for a long time now and we have done all we could to support our members to achieve Emergency Broadcasting Status”

CEO of the SCMA Ray Hazen congratulated the team at UG FM and in particular Peter Weeks on this achievement. Today is a proud day for all community broadcasters” Peter has been part of the SCMA’s emergency broadcasting committee that has worked hard to ensure that community broadcasters role in Emergency Broadcasting was formalized.

UG FM has made history by becoming the first community broadcaster to gain recognition as an emergency broadcaster in Australia. There are more stations in the system who will be accredited in the coming weeks as part of a push to ensure that people are better informed in times of emergency.

Bruce Esplin, Emergency Services Commissioner said “It’s a fantastic outcome to have community broadcasters now being officially recognised by the State as official emergency broadcasters.”

He went on to say “Community broadcasters can play a vital role in that they can target messages direct to local communities and reach some areas of Victoria where there is no access to commercial or other radio broadcasts”

Emergency Broadcasting and community radio really go hand in hand as Community broadcasters have a real commitment to their local community. They are local vibrant and vital and a valuable part of the fibre of communities all over Australia.

There is no doubt that the addition of community broadcaster’s to the Emergency Broadcasting MOU can only be beneficial to all in times of emergency and recovery.

The Southern Community Media Association remains committed to emergency broadcasting and supporting stations throughout Australia to achieve recognition for the emergency and recovery work they do. The president of the SCMA said “it is vital that we as an organisation remain at the ready to assist all community broadcasters in times of emergency. It isn’t about ego it is about getting the message out in a quick and concise manner and ensuring that listeners are as well informed as possible about the situation at hand.

There is no doubt that this is a great achievement not only for the team at UG FM or the SCMA but also for the community broadcasting sector in general.

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For more information or comment on this release please contact the President of the SCMA on 0407770209 or via email helen@scma1.com

SCMA Launches Program Distribution System Free to All Members

The Southern Community Media Association today released the latest in internet program sharing technology the “Program Distribution System” (PDS) designed by Michael Mcfeeters of MJM Solutions the system is the latest and greatest.

This technology will not only allow member stations to upload and make available programming for all other member stations through a central library it also offers members the ability to direct deliver programs to specific stations without the need to go through the formality of uploading to a library.

The system is designed for ease of operation and for quick and effective delivery of not only programming but any sort of data. This could be a program, an interview, a word file or even a data base of information. The PDS system is designed for ease of operation and was designed specifically for the needs of community broadcasters in mind, while at the same time offering extremely high levels of security for information sent through the system.

Already member stations are keen to provide programs and information for uploading into the system and it will be a matter of weeks before the system has a wide variety of programs available within its program library and the Document library starts to fill.

The PDS is available to all financial members of the Southern Community Media Association at no charge.

If you would like more information on the PDS please feel free to go to the SCMA’s website and follow the link to either PDS or PDS download.

If you would like to become a member of the Southern Community Media Association there is also information on the website on membership to the association. The SCMA is a National Representative Association for Community Broadcasters with member’s right across this Great Southern Land and welcomes new members to the association at any time.

Date of release: 29-03-2010

2010 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference is huge success

The Southern Community Media Association has received wide praise for the success of the 2010 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference.

The President of the Association Helen Bath said “It was very gratifying to get so much great feedback about the conference so quickly” This year the conference focused on making sure that Regional Rural and Sub Metro community stations had the best possible grass roots information available.” The 2010 conference had a new format that seemed to work seamlessly and provide all delegates with the maximum amount of opportunities to attend workshops and plenary sessions and gain the information that their station needed.

The weekend got off to a great start thanks to the efforts and hard work of the team from OAK FM who used their community networks to host the traditional free Welcome BBQ.  Oak FM volunteers threw open their station to all visiting delegates as well as providing a great venue for people to get to know each other and kick off the weekend in an informal and friendly gathering. The networking was flowing and the food, refreshments and conversation made it a great event.

This year the conference did not have a keynote speaker as the informational opportunities were too many to not utilize every second the conference had to offer. It was apparent right from the start of the conference that delegates were there to learn, network and enjoy the friendly and open atmosphere of the event. Southern Community Media Association worked had to ensure that this year’s conference was arguably the best of the six annual events so far and the delegates went a long way to ensure that was the case. With delegates from every State in Australia, some travelling huge distances, it was apparent very early that this conference was going to be something special

This year’s conference dinner and X Awards presentation was a great night of food, wine, conversation and fellowship with delegates moving from table to table enjoying each others company and conversation. With yet again record numbers of entries into the X Awards the awards were presented under a new format that was very well accepted by all at the event. There were many happy faces as finalist certificates were presented and awards were handed out. Congratulations to all winners. All winners will be announced in a media release later today.

The final day of the conference saw record numbers of delegates stay around to be involved in plenary sessions and be involved in lively discussions on several topics. It was great to see so many stations so actively involved in the sessions and the conference in general.

The organising committee thanks ARFC, Air News, MJM Solutions, Klotz Digital and the team from Mind Frame for their continued support of the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference. We also wish to acknowledge the great group of people who took time out of their lives to assist the conference by presenting a workshop, training session or plenary. It was fantastic to see the level of involvement, the reaction and the interaction to your presence at this years conference. Speakers at this years conference were: ACMA, David Wilson Business coach, Brad Ward, Michael McFeeters, Andy Ingram, Denise Kuchmar, The CBF, Di Richmond, ARFC, Air News, AMRAP, Helen Bath and Ray Hazen.

Of course that does not include the wealth of advice and information passed between delegates at various times through out the conference.

There is no doubt that this years National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference has laid a firm and substantial foundation for future conferences to grow and expand.  If you attended this year’s conference, see you next year and thank you for helping to make this year’s conference great.  If you were unable to be at this years conference perhaps this will inspire you to attend in 2011.

Date of release: 18-03-2010

SCMA Press Release – Date: 19-01-2010

National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference schedule released on the Web

Following on from the relaunch of the Southern Community Media Associations new website yesterday the Association has released the schedule of events for the 2010 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference.

Some of the featured speakers at this years event will be the ACMA speaking about the code of conduct and sponsorship guidelines, David Wilson will return to speak about succession planning and marketing your station, Michael Mcfeeters will conduct a session on Technical made simple, the CBF have two workshops plus many more speakers on many topics will be at the conference. There will be all the usual features of the conference such as drinks with the trade, the welcome BBQ and the Conference dinner and X Awards.

All of this and a whole lot more and all included in the affordable conference registration fee. There are no extras and no hidden costs for delegates.

The 2010 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference is a great opportunity for your station to learn, network and enjoy the social side of community broadcasting in an open and friendly atmosphere.

Take a few minutes to have a look at the conference schedule and information and then make your booking to be in Wangaratta Victoria on March 12^th to 14^th 2010.

We will make you welcome!

See you in Wangaratta

SCMA Press Release

After the devastation of Black Saturday last year, the Whittlesea Country Music Festival is back bigger and brighter in 2010.

The festival will run from the 12th through to the 14th February 2010.

As part of the festival, Plenty Valley FM is proud to be broadcasting nationally the Victorian and National Country Music Awards. The broadcast will come to you “LIVE” from the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre on Saturday February 13^th from 8 pm EDT.

Join us for a night of awards, interviews & live performances by some of the best established and up and coming talent in Australian Country Music.

These awards are now regarded second only to Tamworth and are gaining in stature year by year.

We would love to hear from SCMA stations who will be taking the awards, drop us a line at b4king@live.com.au, so we can give your station a “shoutout” during the broadcast.

Join us on CRN or NIRS satellite service from 8pm EDT till Midnight on SATURDAY 13th FEBRUARY.

NOTE: Stations already taking AMRAP music that night will automatically get the awards program from 8pm.

Festival Website: http://www.whittleseacountrymusicfestival.com.au

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