Wangki Yupurnanupurru Radio, usually shortened to Wangki Radio , is an Aboriginal

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 popular ...

station based in

Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia Fitzroy Crossing is a small town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, east of Broome and west of Halls Creek. It is approximately from the state capital of Perth. It is above sea level and is situated on a low rise surrounded by th ...

. Wangki Radio has a weekly listenership of around 10,000 people in various communities surrounding the Fitzroy Valley and via it's networked programming.

History

Wangki Radio was developed in the late 1980s by Aboriginal elders and community members who saw the rapid development of media technology and wanted to ensure that their communities weren't left behind. The

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

helped to establish many Aboriginal Radio stations in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, hiring Wayne Bynder, who would decades later become Wangki's manager, to assist local communities in the development of the stations. Wangki Radio began as a localised radio program on ABC Kimberley, presented by founding broadcaster Nooley Preston. Later, the radio station gained an AM license and began broadcasting 24 hours a day on 936 AM. In 2014, a group of children broke into the studios and presented an impromptu late-night show full of swearing, previously being taught broadcasting skills during station training. The story gained international attention, being published in ''The Guardian'', ABC & WAtoday. In 2021, the

Fremantle Dockers The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of Fr ...

Next Generation Academy visited Wangki Radio broadcaster and passionate Dockers fan, Ethan Hoad. Ethan once played as a forward and midfielder for the Yakanarra Dockers in the Central Kimberley Football League before having a major accident which resulted in him using a wheelchair, he now works as a broadcaster for Wangki.

Programming

Wangki Radio airs national news from NIRS, regional current affairs programming produced locally or through the PAKAM Network, world news from DW, interviews, road reports, and weather information. Wangki Radio is a member of

First Nations Media Australia First Nations Media Australia (FNMA), formerly Indigenous Remote Communications Association (IRCA), is the national peak body for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander not-for-profit broadcasting, media and communications. The Indige ...

and draws national content through the country wide network of Aboriginal radio stations. Wangki Radio broadcasts programs in

Aboriginal Languages Aboriginal language may refer to: * Indigenous language * Australian Aboriginal languages * Taiwanese aboriginal languages * Indigenous languages of the Americas * Aboriginal Malay languages The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-P ...

including the Danggujarra Language Program presented by Natalie Davey and Bullen Rogers. Wangki Radio also broadcasts the general community discussion and news program, In The Valley, hosted by Geoff Davis and will broadcast local games of the Central Kimberley Football League. Wangki Radio is an adopter of online content sharing, winning the 2019 Excellence in Digital Media award from the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.

References

{{coord missing, Western Australia Radio stations in Western Australia Community radio stations in Australia Indigenous Australian radio