The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) is the

peak body A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processe ...

and the national representative organisation for

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

and television stations in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The CBAA provide leadership, advocacy and support for members to actively provide independent broadcasting services and to build and strengthen local communities. The organisation provides advice and support to community broadcasters regarding a variety of issues. The CBAA runs the Community Radio Network, offers a national

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

network, that allows community broadcasters to share and syndicate their content, manages the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap), CBOnline, a sector information and research unit, runs the digital radio project and publishes CBX magazine. As the peak body for the sector, the CBAA represents the sector through policy submissions, advocacy and campaigns. The Community Radio Network service has been expanded in recent years with the addition of the Digital Delivery Network (DDN). This project has allowed community radio stations to record and replay programs, interviews, and music from contributing stations within the network. Recently the association has launched a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

hosting service, C pod. The organisation also runs an annual Conference, which brings together representatives from around Australia.

Member stations

The CBAA, as the recognised peak body for community broadcasting in Australia, has members from a diverse range of independently operated not-for-profit community based radio stations. The station types include: * General Community (Geographical Area based stations) * Christian / Religious (Religious stations, usually Christian, now includes Muslim services) * Youth (Student and general youth stations) * Indigenous (Indigenous / Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islands) * Print Handicapped (RPH and affiliates) * Specialist Music (Broad or specific genre stations - e.g.: Classical, jazz etc.) * Progressive (used to describe Left leaning, mainly talk based radio services) * Senior Citizens (Over 60's - oldies music for senior citizens) * Sport In most cases, each licensee is the operator of a single station, in some cases with translators and repeaters to provide services in otherwise poor reception areas.

First Sounds

First Sounds is a collaborative effort by the CBAA and First Nations Media Australia to get more Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

artists played and heard in the Australian radio music industry.

Member services

The CBAA operates to provide advice and representation to the members. It also offers insurance plans for volunteers, music broadcasting rights and news copyright fees at discounted rates for its members. The CBAA also consults with its members on matters including broadcast licensing, the relevant Code of Practice (Community Radio), and provides training and legal advice.

History

The CBAA was born out of the

Public Broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

Association of Australia (PBAA). That organisation was founded during the 1970s in response to the rapidly developing sector. However, changes in funding for the sector during the 1980s sparked a crisis. As government funding was re-directed, the stations were less able to support themselves, or the peak body. This pressure culminated in near bankruptcy for the PBAA. In 1988 the PBAA was dissolved and from its ashes, the new CBAA arose, under strict financial management, and a focus on membership support.

References

External links

Community Broadcasting Association Of Australia
{{Authority control Arts organisations based in Australia Organisations based in Sydney Community radio organizations * 1988 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1988 Radio organisations in Australia