Are you ready to enter the X Awards?

Have you sorted out your entries and made a plan of the pieces you intend to enter into the prestigious 2012 X Awards. You have …great because the X Awards Entries are open now and your station can enter for free provided that you are a financial member of the SCMA or you will be attending the 2012 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference.

That’s right if you want to enter the 2012 X Awards for excellence in Community Broadcasting then entries are open right now. Just go to www.scma.org.au and click on the X Awards entry tab and you can enter. All the rules and conditions of entry are available right there on the website.

The most important thing to remember is you Must be a financial member of the SCMA at the time of judging the awards or if you are not a member of the SCMA then you must have a delegate attending the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference and they must be registered as a delegate before the judging of the X Awards.

Entry into the X Awards is free of charge regardless of if you are or are not a member of the SCMA and all are welcome to enter the awards or become members of the SCMA or Both if they wish.

Conference registrations are now open for the 2012 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference

You can register for the conference via the SCMA website www.scma.org.au. You will notice that conference registration costs have not changed since last year and that is part of the SCMA’s commitment to its member stations and keeping the conference as affordable as possible to all within the sector.

Accommodation cannot be booked through the SCMA for this year’s conference but there is information on accommodation bookings elsewhere on the website.

There have been some challenges in the last few months and that is why there has been a delay in getting the X award entries and the on line registrations open but they have largely been solved at this point in time. If you have any problems registering for the conference or entering the X Awards please don’t hesitate to contact Ray and he will sort it out for you as quickly as possible.

This year all entries to the X Awards and all registrations to the conference will be via the SCMA website www.scma.org.au

We look forward to your entries and registrations and just to ensure that all is running smoothly you registrations and entries will be confirmed via email this will mean that you can rest assured that they have been received and are being processed as quickly as possible.

Ballarat is the place to be from Friday March 2nd to Sunday March 4th 2012

See You in Ballarat for the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference 2012

MEDIA RELEASE
5th November, 2011

Community Radio stations are to be challenged to a special problem-solving session during the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference to be held at Ballarat in March.

The SCMA who organises the conference predicts the session will challenge stations attending to nominate issues that they face and then together with the rest of the conference work to solve them.

The President of the SCMA Helen Bath said the session will be just one of the many features of the 2012 Conference. It will be a great opportunity for stations to share their knowledge and assist each other to develop or to overcome some of the challenges that face us all.

Delegates will be asked to nominate the Big Issues they want to discuss during the first plenary session and they will be discussed in detail towards the end of the conference.

Helen Bath went on to say that these sessions will give members a great opportunity to ensure the topics and issues that most effect their stations will be discussed in a real down to earth problem solving session that will give all stations a chance to be part of providing each other with the assistance and support that the SCMA is well known for throughout its membership.

Planning for the 2012 conference is well underway and there is little doubt that the 2012 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference an outstanding event with a focus on problem solving, support and growing the outstanding network that the SCMA is so well known for within community broadcasting. The SCMA is proud of the conferences ability to provide ample opportunity for community radio station members to be involved in understanding and discussing the issues confronting community radio.

The Conference will feature a wide range of information from organisations such as the ACMA and the CBF as well as individual presenters who are well known for their knowledge and expertise in many fields relevant to community broadcasting.

The National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference is just one of the highlights of the year planned for the SCMA.

The SCMA has released the dates and location of the 2012 National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference.

The 2012 conference will be held in the Historic City of Ballarat at a central CBD Location. The conference dates will be as follows:

Welcome BBQ Friday March 2nd 2012

Day 1 Conference Sat March 3rd 2012

Day 2 Conference Sun March 4th 2012

More information about the Venue and other details will be released in the next few weeks including exciting news about guest speakers and workshop topics.

The President of the SCMA Helen Bath said that the 2012 Conference will be something special. All Conference activities will be at the one Venue with Accommodation being just half a block away. Voice FM will be the host station and they are looking forward to welcoming delegates to the station for tours and the welcome BBQ.

It is all happening in Ballarat the home of Eureka and steeped in National History.

Start making plans to be at the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference in March 2012 it promises to be a fantastic event.

For more information email conference@scma.org.au

and get good results

On a grey and overcast day after much to do within the township of Bordertown in South Australia for people stepped into the Studio’s of 5 TCB with a commitment to stay awake and be on air for the next 49 hours.

Scad and Mandy of Melomania fame along with survivor of the original Lockdown Ray and new kid on the block Stephanie entered the lockdown with mixed emotions and trepidations.

The lockdown started life last year as a concept brought together by the Melomania team and SCMA to assist the leukaemia foundation and 5 TCB. It was a success and even though it was a hard concept to get up and running and the execution wasn’t always pretty it proved to be a great event and something that was well worth the time and effort to develop it and maybe expand it to other stations as a major fundraiser.

This year the lockdown wasn’t just about 5 TCB and the Leukaemia Foundation with four other stations joining into the network the pressure was on to prove that we as community broadcasters could work together for the common good, Joining the lockdown network in 2011 were stations that shared the vision and were prepared to take a chance on something a little different and new. 2 MIA (Griffith), TEM FM (Temora), 2 GHR (Holbrook), EMFM (Echuca) and Voice FM Ballarat all stepped up to the plate and decided to have a go and see if history could be made with one of the first live simulcast broadcasts for a fundraiser within community radio could be achieved. The simple answer is yes it was achieved and yes it was successful and yes there were some problems but by in large they were overcome and the show went on.

There was a very steep learning curve and some trial and error to keep all stations happy as much as possible but that was always going to be the case and has provided the organisers with a lot of information to ensure that the next Lockdown will be bigger better and as user friendly as is possible.

So to the actual event. 49 Hours of Continuous on air content provided by four people and some 60 plus interviews. There were challenges and problems there was some personality conflicts and disagreements but all in all it went well and provided an entertaining and in most cases enjoyable listening experience. There were some notable highs such as talking with Foo Fighters and Suzie Quatro and so many others. There was outstanding acts of generosity from listeners as well as performers, one example was the guys from Noise Works who are about to put a new album together and will be in the studio soon doing just that. When we explained to them what we were doing and why right then and there live they went we want to help out we will donate a prize for two people to spend the day with us in the studio to just hang out and watch us record for you to auction off, that auction is still going on as I right this and it was already in the three figure area. Yes it was a hard 49 hours with no sleep and yes at

times the content was not the best but what it was; was proof of concept it proved that 6 community broadcasters can get together and make a difference, that we can work together and that it is possible if we are prepared to step out of the comfort zone and take a few risks.

I congratulate not only the people that stepped into that studio for the 49 hours but also the crew at Melomania and 5 TCB who supported the concept and assisted to make it all work, the SCMA for being involved and helping to put the thing together. Most of all I congratulate Voice FM, EMFM, 2 GHR, 2 TEM and 2 MIA  for taking the chance and believing enough to take on the lockdown and create that network that was interactive live and vibrant.

I know we did live crosses to most of the stations several times throughout the lockdown event and that proved to be an important link back to the communities of the stations that were taking the show and supporting the concept.

I don’t know if there will be a Lockdown in 2012 but I certainly hope there will be and if there is I am more than happy to be involved again and see the event grow and develop as a fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation and for Community Broadcasters in general. To quote Paul Kelly “from little things big things grow” and I hope that this is one event that continues to grow and prosper and that the stations that put their hands up to be involved in this event remain involved and continue to benefit form their vision and involvement.

Audio will be uploaded in the coming couple of weeks.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS & ALL WHO ENTERED

Best In House Production Of A Sponsorship Announcement

88.6 Plenty Valley FM – Hurstbridge Town

Best In House Production Of A Sweeper or Station ID

Voice FM – Sparks ID Brad Ward

Best In House Production Of A CSA

Great Lakes FM

Best In House Production Of A Show Promo

5TCB – Melomania – Scad & Mandy

Best Sports Program

3MFM – Footy Show – On The Bench

Best Outside Broadcast

Great Lakes FM – Andrew Farr – NABIAC CHARITY RODEO

Best Interview

5TCB – Melomania – Leukemia Foundation

Best locally produced Program (Music)

5TCB – Melomania – Scad & Mandy

Best locally produced Program (Non Music)

3MFM – The 3MFM Kitchen

Best Locally produced News

2MIA – Amy Ryan

The SCMA is proud to announce that one of its members has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to Community Broadcasting.

Roger Wood one of the founders and stalwarts of Community Station 2 RBR Coraki in N.S.W has received recognition in the Australia Day Honours list.

Roger is one of the grass roots community broadcasting stalwarts that has a fire in his belly and a real belief not only in community radio but also in his community and has battled the odds to not only make his station a vibrant and vital part of its community but has also furthered the cause of Community Broadcasting within Regional and Rural areas.

The Order of Australia Medal is not awarded lightly there is a very stringent selection process that is gone through in considering nominations. The Council for the Order of Australia is an independent advisory body that meets twice yearly to consider all nominations and make recommendations to the Governor-General on who should receive awards in the Order of Australia. The Council also recommends the level of award.

The Council consists of 19 members from across Australia. These include a number of public office holders, representatives from each state and territory, and a range of community representatives who are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Its diversity means that the Council has a national perspective. The Council seeks to satisfy itself that the person concerned has:

• demonstrated achievement at a high level;

• made a contribution over and above what might be reasonably expected through paid employment; or

• whose voluntary contribution to the community stands out from others who may have also made a valuable contribution.

The degree and value of the contribution, rather than merely length of service, is the primary focus of the Council’s consideration.

After assessing the nominations, the Council recommends a list of recipients to the Governor-General for approval.

We spoke to Roger and he said he was a proud recipient of the award but it went deeper than that it was an honour not only for him but for all the people within community broadcasting and the SCMA who have and still work hard to make community broadcasting what it is today and to ensure the future of the sector. Roger also paid tribute to the many members of his station that work tirelessly for the station and the community as a whole and make his job so much easier.

Roger has been involved in the SCMA for several years and has been a big supporter of the association and the work it does in support of the Regional Rural and Sub Metro part of the community broadcasting sector.

You can bet that once again this year at Wagga Wagga Roger and Robyne will be at the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference as they have been in past years not only supporting the conference but also gleaning as much information as possible and asking the hard questions at the same time.

The President of the SCMA Helen Bath congratulated Roger on behalf of the SCMA and it’s members and said that it was important that the hard work that goes into developing, growing and maintaining a Community Broadcast station be recognised and there can be no greater recognition than an Order of Australia Medal. Helen went on to say that it was not only a huge honour for Roger and his family but also valuable recognition of the work so many do within the community broadcasting sector.

The Board of Management of the SCMA also take this opportunity to congratulate Roger on his award and hope that he continues to be involved in community broadcasting for many years to come.

Members, Go to www.my.scma.org.au and enter the X Awards!!!!!

There is less than 1 month left to submit your entries for the prestigious 2011 X Awards.

Entries to the awards close on the 31^st of January 2011 at midnight. So get to it search through all of the production that your station has done over the last 12 months and enter the X awards.

I don’t know how many times I have said this but I will say it once again you will be amazed how many stations have either scored a finalist certificate or won an award who were not going to enter because they didn’t think they had anything of a high enough standard.

You never know if you don’t have a go so have a word to your production team sort through all of the great stuff you have produced over the last 12 months and get your entries in.

This year the entries to the X Awards are even easier than ever before no more burning to disc and posting your entries in this year it is all done on line via your mySCMA account. If you are a financial member of the SCMA you have an account all you need to do is log in, go to the X awards section, follow the instructions and you have placed your entry. The good news is you can manage your entries, change your entries and add to your entries right up until midnight on the 31^st of January using your mySCMA log in.

If you don’t have a log in or you have lost your password please get in touch with us as soon as possible via info@scma.org,au and we will organise a new login and password to ensure that you can access mySCMA and the X award entry area.

If you are not a financial member of the SCMA and want to enter the X Awards all you need do is register for the National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference and you are eligible to enter the X Awards. You can find the Public X Award on line entry area on the SCMA public website www.scma.org.au but remember all entries on the public area will need to be validated with a conference registration or they will not be moved to the judging area of the awards.

If you are entering from the public site please ensure that you have registered for the conference by January 31^st otherwise you entry will not be valid and will be deleted.

All the rules and conditions for the X awards are available on both websites and that includes the entry categories, entry conditions and deadlines.

The X Awards will be presented at the Annual National Regional Rural and Sub Metro broadcasters Conference dinner on Saturday March 12^th 2011 and the cost of the dinner and awards presentations is included in your conference registration.

The top three finalists in each category receive a certificate identifying them as a finalist and the winner of each category also gets to take home the ever sort after X Award and all the bragging rights that go with that win.

There is no charge to enter the X Awards and I sincerely encourage your station to enter as many categories as you can. I wish you all the very best of luck and look forward to seeing you at the conference in Wagga Wagga and at the X Awards presentations.

The National Regional Rural and Sub Metro Broadcasters Conference commences with the welcome BBQ on Friday March 11^th, The Conference dinner and X Awards presentation is on Saturday evening March 12^th and the conference closes around 2 pm on March 13^th.

You can register for the conference on line from this website just go to http://bit.ly/gFhJfM and register right now

See You in Wagga Wagga March 11^th to 13^th 2011

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.

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)

ACMA has released it’s Draft Community Broadcasting Not‐for‐Profit Guidelines.

Download the PDF document here, if you have anything about the draft guidelines you’d like to discuss with us please get in touch using the contact us page.

Draft Community Broadcasting Not‐for‐Profit Guidelines

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) has developed draft
Community Broadcasting Not‐for‐Profit Guidelines and the document is now being released
for industry comment.

Submissions marked ‘community broadcasting not‐for‐profit guidelines’ should be sent by 5.00 pm Monday 1 November 2010 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