This year saw the debut of the first ever radio program broadcast by and for outworkers in Australia. The program airs on community radio station 3CR, which is gearing up for its annual radiothon, to run from June 7-21. The radiothon aims to raise $140,000, a quarter of the station's annual running costs.
Outworkers' Voice is broadcast in Vietnamese, reflecting the cultural composition of those who make up the ranks of poorly paid homeworkers, usually engaged in garment-making. Vietnamese is just one of a range of community languages at 3CR. Through funding from the Victorian Women's Trust and the Stegley Foundation, a group of Vietnamese outworkers completed their radio training and began broadcasting information relevant to outworkers.
With the closure of community broadcasting like Sydney's Channel 31, it becomes vital to support forms of alternative media that do exist. 3CR's radiothon coordinator, Cara Beltrame, told Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly that 3CR's coverage this year has focused on the impact of the Australian anti-terror laws on civil liberties and continued coverage of what's going on in Australia's detention centres.
"We have also been consistently covering the conflict in Palestine from an angle that distinguishes us from the mainstream press, as well as events in Latin America."
3CR has a proud track record of involving Indigenous people in its weekly broadcasting and management. NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Week in 2002 featured a broadcast directly from Port Phillip Prison, focusing on the theme of Indigenous people in prison. On May 26 this year, for Sorry Day, the Koori Survival Day held a four-hour broadcast from the Aboriginal Health Service in Fitzroy. May Day and International Women's Day also feature special programming. This year's May Day focused on queer workers.
3CR broadcasts on 855 AM. Some 3CR-produced programs are syndicated nationally. To donate to this year's radiothon and keep 3CR on the air, telephone (03) 9419 8377. You can also email your donation pledge to <radiothon@3cr.org.au>.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, June 2, 2004.
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