Kia Ora ADA,
I'm writing to ask for your help.
One of New Zealand's most iconic alternative radio stations - a
bastion of support for music and for art - is being threatened with
closure. Radio One <http://www.r1.co.nz> in Dunedin is in big
trouble and needs our help.
Otago University's Student Association (OUSA) are threatening to sell
Radio One's broadcasting licence and assets and close the station
down, in an effort to save money.
You can read the full story here: http://www.r1.co.nz/faq.php
And here: http://www.r1.co.nz/pressreleases.php
You might be wondering why this is relevant to ADA, and why we should
care about a student radio station in Dunedin. Because it's one of
the things that makes Dunedin special. It's the glue that holds
Dunedin's cultural community together. Before mailing lists, before
Facebook, radio was the original social media, and there are few
better examples of this than Radio One. It's importance as a
supporter of New Zealand music is obvious, but what is perhaps less
visible is the invaluable role radio stations like Radio One play in
supporting artists of all kinds. Radio One has been at times a kind
of 'art gallery of the air'.
It's also the place that a lot of us started our careers. This is
where we cut our teeth and learned how to work in cultural
organisations. I learned to use a computer at Radio One. It was
where I used the internet for the first time. It was there that the
whole notion of digital art, and networked practice first began for
me. For reasons that are different for different people, Radio One
is a big part of the reason why Dunedin's cultural life continues to
be as rich and varied as it is.
But all that might soon change.
Panicked by the possible passing of the National/ACT government's
Voluntary Student Membership Bill (VSM), OUSA are taking preemptive
action and have earmarked Radio One for closure.
The local newspaper, hardly known for it's left-wing artsy leanings,
actually summed up quite nicely in an op-ed piece
<http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/167870/fixated-price-blind-value>.
OUSA are fixated with money and blind to Radio One's value. So we
need to illustrate what this value is.
Here's what you can do:
- Join the Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/saveradioone91fm
This might sound a bit useless, but it sn't. This is the main avenue
that the Radio one team are using to communicate with their
supporters. Please join
- Sign the Peteition
http://www.petitiononline.co.nz/petition/save-radio-one-91fm-dunedin/1282
This is really important. the interface is annoying and ridden with
ads, but please persevere. If we can get enough signatures, this
will carry weight tith OUSA>
- Make a Submission
OUSA are still accepting submissions from members of the public who
want to express their views on their plans to sell Radio One. So
there is still time to formally protest against this decision.
I'm waiting for instructions from Sean Norling and Gilbert May at
Radio One about how exactly these should be put together. If you are
interested, I'll post these instructions as soon as i have them. If
anyone is interested in making a joint submission, let me know off
the list.
There are many, many New Zealanders on the ADA list who work in
Universities who are in way a better place than me - based in
Brighton in England - to talk about why this matters. They are also
better placed to talk about why VSM will be disastrous for campuses
across the country. I'd be really keen to hear from people on the
ground about how this is going to effect things where you are. For
15 years, VSM has been the spectre that those of us who care about
the cultural life of our towns and cities, which often revolve around
the Universities, their students and their infrastructure, have
feared. And it seems it's nearly here.
The Radio One story will be frighteningly familiar to any
Hamiltonians on the list. Adam might want to tell the painful story
about what happened in Hamilton in the late 1990s when VSM was
introduced at the University of Waikato, which lead immediately to
the sell-off of his beloved Contact FM.
Sadly, there's probably more of these stories waiting to be written
if the Bill goes through.
But in the meantime, please show your support for Radio One. Believe
me, the world would be a poorer, less wonderful place without it.
x
Honor
--
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
honor harger
present location: brighton, .uk
email: [email protected]
sms: +44 7765834272
-> w e b
bio: http://about.me/honor
-> b l o g
particle decelerator: http://decelerator.blogspot.com/
- > b l a g
twitter: http://twitter.com/honorharger
-> l i s t e n
radio astronomy: http://www.radio-astronomy.net
-> w o r k
director of lighthouse: http://www.lighthouse.org.uk
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