Koori Radio (

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assi ...

2LND), formerly Radio Redfern, is a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...

station based in Redfern broadcasting to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

on a citywide licence. It is part of the Gadigal Information Service (GIS) and is the only radio station in Sydney providing full-time broadcasting to the Aboriginal and

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

community.

History

Koori Radio grew out of Radio Redfern, which was established in the early 1980s. Originally it had programme time on other community station Radio Skid Row. During Australia's

Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

in 1988, Radio Redfern played a pivotal role in informing and educating the public about Indigenous responses to the celebration. It also acted as a communication channel for the thousands of Indigenous people from around Australia who had gathered in Sydney for protests. In 1993 Koori Radio came under the umbrella of Gadigal Information Service. It was then part of a series of national Indigenous radio broadcasts during the

Sydney 2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Koori Radio conducted 19 test broadcasts while it was applying for a licence. The ACMA granted the licence in June 2001. Koori Radio began full-time broadcasting in December 2001 with a 1 kW transmitter. It switched to a new 50 kW transmitter in December 2003. In 2005, the

Indigenous Land Corporation The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is an Australian federal government statutory authority with national responsibilities to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to acquire land and to manage assets to achieve cultura ...

purchased the buildings on Cope Street occupied by Radio Redfern and the Black Theatre. In 2008 Koori Radio received

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...

funding to move into purpose-built studios with Black Theatre in Redfern. A new building was designed by architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer to accommodate the

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enou ...

s and offices of the Gadigal Information Service, with exterior artwork created by Aboriginal artist Adam Hill. The building was opened in 2008. Author and academic

Anita Heiss Anita Marianne Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her mem ...

was voluntary chair of the radio station until 2008.

Programming

Koori Radio is the city's only

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

music station. The music format is one third

Australian Indigenous Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

, one third

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Indigenous and one-third other black music. The station broadcasts live from 07:00 to 00:00 with a music service overnight. It is a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

-run organisation and is funded through listener support, grants and limited commercial sponsorship. As well as its format of Indigenous and black music, the station broadcasts news, current affairs, sport and listener involvement programs. There are also programs by the Samoan and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

communities. Koori Radio's flagship program is ''Blackchat'', a daily current affairs program on weekday mornings committed to discussing news, issues and events from an Indigenous perspective. Koori Radio also contributes programming to the

National Indigenous Radio Service The National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) is a satellite program feed available in Australia to Indigenous and non-Indigenous community radio stations. NIRS provides targeted and specialist programming for and by Australia's Aboriginal and ...

. Koori Radio's programming also features Koori Radio Sport, an entertainment programme that covers the latest in sport news, with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players. Richard Baini is a regular co-host of Koori Radio Sport and is best known for his segment Richie's Rants. It also features ''Marloo's Blues'', a programme of blues and roots music hosted by

Marlene Cummins Marlene Cummins is a jazz blues singer, saxophonist, songwriter, artist, Aboriginal Australian activist, broadcaster, dancer, and actor. Many activists consider her to be Australia's Angela Davis. Music Cummins is considered Australia's foremost ...

References

External links

* {{coord missing, New South Wales Radio stations in Sydney Community radio stations in Australia Indigenous Australian radio

Koori Radio Koori Radio (callsign 2LND), formerly Radio Redfern, is a community radio station based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern broadcasting to Sydney on a citywide licence. It is part of the Gadigal Information Service (GIS) and is the only radi ...

2002 establishments in Australia

History

Programming

See also

References

External links