AGM Dinner with Gail Southwell

Radio -

over its 47-year history

Let me start by sharing some images to help give you an overview of what broadcast community radio (our people) do, in particular – our volunteers. They make up the community in our broadcasting rooms, they work in the libraries and some are on-air presenters. We also have Broader Melbourne/National Arts community and the local musicians and artistes that we support.

Australia is the world’s most successful community broadcasting sector with over 500 services and more than 5 million Australians watching or listening in. Each broadcaster reflects the unique culture. More than 18,000 passionate, dedicated and creative people volunteer up to eight hours a week nationally and together, with more than 800 full-time equivalent staff, they deliver high quality content on radio, television and online. We are very diversified, with:

• 52 First Nations organizations, making up a quarter of all services.

• faith-based and multicultural broadcasters and broadcasters with disabilities.

• specialist music, educational and youth-focused content, and

• each week, more than 2,000 hours of content is broadcasted in a language other than English. We come together every year for conferences and that is the most amazing one thing that really unites us - the volunteering community. Some of these community stations are one person-handled, a small broadcaster station in the middle of nowhere. We are grateful that make the big effort to come to our conference and share their experiences of serving a small community.

Our broadcasters reflect their communities and they are:

• communities of identity: indigeneity, ethnicity, race, ability, or sexual orientation.

• communities of place: the importance of where you live and where you come from.

• communities of practice: area of interest or expertise, faith based or a love of specialist music.

Community Broadcasting have a purpose, they exist:

• to reflect and strengthen communities through media.

• to have informed, connected communities, strengthened by trusted people-powered media.

• to be a catalyst for innovation.

• to tell a united story of our positive impact on the diverse communities and cultures we reflect and serve.

The 3MBS Melbourne 103.5FM’s vision statement is to be the heart of Melbourne’s classical music community. It is a not-for-profit, volunteer-based innovative community broadcaster organisation that provides the highest quality in programming to the residents of Melbourne and beyond. This is accomplished through:

• presenting classical music, jazz and associated genres.

• recording live music performances for broadcast.

• educating listeners and supporting arts education.

• supporting the arts through interview, promotion, and events.

• promoting local Australian composition and performance.

Our licence is for classical music and jazz, and this does not allow us to do documentaries and speaking-based content. As we do not receive direct operational government funding, our revenue is generated primarily through private giving, sponsorships, subscriptions, patrons, donors and bequestors and Trusts and Foundations (Grant funding).

We currently have 170,000 weekly listeners FM/ Digital, Online and On-demand, 2,500 subscribers and 180 volunteers.

During Covic-19 pandemic and especially during Melbourne's extensive lockdown, many of the station’s activities were cancelled and our volunteers were asked to stay at home. Only a skeleton staff of presenters kept the station broadcasting going (the station needed to support Victorian musicians), while keeping up with the station hygiene requirements.

The 3MBSComeTogether program was conceived in response to the first extended winter lockdown. The program involved:

• 3MBS caring for all community members online.

• two online sessions each day including pilates, cooking, art history, book clubs, wine tasting, morning teas etc.

• monitoring ‘at risk’ volunteers.

• National Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in 2022.

• the community, who was determined to make things work despite the challenges and daily changes over the pandemic

We received wonderful endearing support of loyal listeners during that time and we communicated with our listeners not only through radio but also through publishing. Here are some wonderful messages received:

“Please accept a cheque, the size of which fails dismally to express the affection I have for all that 3MBS does for the cultural life of Melbourne, and particularly during this current challenging time” - Colin Goodwin, Silver Patron

'Just want to put it on record, how much I enjoy 3MBS. I had just spent a grueling 2 hours in front of the computer and it was time to get my dinner. I stretched my aching limbs as I walked to the kitchen, and then the music took over. Maybe it was I'll see you in my dreams. Whatever - I just started dancing around my small unit for the next 40 minutes - dinner could wait. Thank you so much. - Dance on, Virginia from Box Hill

We are proud of our new 3MBS logo, the improved functionality of the station’s website and the introduction of a new On Air magazine.

And finally, ensuring success of the organisation is by working together, year after year here, and to have that feeling of belonging. In every way, on every level, the 3MBS community works together to ensure the success of the organisation. I end with a quote :

I contemplate who we belong to, how why and where we belong, understanding that ‘belongingness’ is an innate human desire to be part of something larger than ourselves. We need to belong in order to thrive. Without this fundamental human motivation we are alone and disconnected - Octavia Tomyn, Artist 2023.

Thank you, Gail, for a wonderful insight into the operations of 3MBS Community Radio!