New resources to help community radio better include people with disability

Community radio exists for everyone to have a voice. While there are some really great radio producers with disabilities in the community radio sector,  a real opportunity for voice still exists for many more!

For this reason, the Ability Radio Project’s Kim Stewart produced these guides with RPH Australia, the radio network providing Radio Reading services to the 34% of Australians with print disability. We want to encourage more people with disabilities to participate in community radio, and to help radio stations prepare for new volunteers.

Some of the topics for stations include:

• • Get Reading
  • Access for all
  • Who’s out there?
  • New volunteers
  • Accessibility shopping list

And for people with disabilities or prospective Radio Readers who might think radio is something they want to try, but don’t know where to start, we made:

• • Pitching your program
  • Planning and researching a radio reading programs
  • Presenting skills for Radio Readers
  • Introduction to the studio
  • Social media with screen readers

You can find the Radio Reading Resources for stations and for volunteers on the RPH Australia website.

There is also a series of video interviews with RPH and non-RPH volunteers on their experiences in the sector including 3CR’s Helen Gwilliam and RPHA’s Stephen Jolley.

We developed these community media training resources to support the Regional Development project, which aims to broaden the national reach of Radio Reading services to reach people with a print disability living in regional and remote areas.

The resources have been created by Kim Stewart  (4ZZZ, Ability Radio Project) for RPH Australia utilising original materials developed by the Community Media Training Organisation (CMTO)  and new materials researched and developed by Kim.

Produced with the assistance of the Department of Communications and the Arts through the Community Broadcasting Foundation. We also thank our project partners: Tagged PDF and the CMTO.

RPH Australia is supporting stations, outside the current Radio Reading Network, to produce new, diverse, quality local programming made by and for people with a print disability in their community. Contact them to find out more.

Radio Reading programming aims to meet the information needs of people with a print disability (those who are unable to effectively access printed material due to visual, physical or cognitive impairment, age or low literacy).

It provides a voice for people in our community with a print disability and caters directly to their information needs and interests.