Radio Skid Row
Encyclopedia
Radio Skid Row is a community radio
station based in Marrickville
, broadcasting to the Inner West
suburbs of Sydney
. This includes the municipalities
of Leichhardt
, Marrickville
and the City of Sydney
.
Radio Skid Row has built a reputation for development and training projects with minority
communities and has been pivotal in allowing disadvantaged communities to participate in community broadcasting. It was home to the original Radio Redfern and later Koori Radio
which now has its own citywide licence. It was also the station where Muslim
radio started in Sydney
.
operation available in Community Youth Support Scheme Centres, Long Bay Gaol and local drop-in centres. The station secured a community radio
licence in 1983 to broadcast to the inner-city areas of Sydney.
Initially the plans for the station was that it would play commercial music and would broadcast relevant information that homeless
people needed, such as accommodation availability and where to obtain free meals.
Tensions emerged during the first year of operations at the station, sparked by a management style that limited volunteer involvement in the structures and operation of the station, thereby going against the principles of community broadcasting.
In June 1984 the management tried to close the station down and lock out the volunteers and community program makers. The station was off the air for three weeks and when it reopened was only on air for twelve hours a day. Station workers then took the opportunity to overturn the Board of directors
at an Annual General Meeting
, which happened shortly after the lockout
. The station then set about reforming itself based on a cooperative
model, in a style similar to that of 4ZZZ
.
. It is particularly active in working with marginalized
members of the community.
, African
, indigenous
, hip hop
, RnB
, music from the Pacific Islands
and from around the world. It also specialises in talk programs presented from a radical
viewpoint.
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
station based in Marrickville
Marrickville, New South Wales
Marrickville, a suburb of Sydney's Inner West is located 7 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia and is the largest suburb in the Marrickville Council local government area...
, broadcasting to the Inner West
Inner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
suburbs of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. This includes the municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Leichhardt
Municipality of Leichhardt
The Municipality of Leichhardt is a Local Government Area in the inner-west of Sydney, in state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The Municipality of Leichhardt stands on land that traditionally belonged to the Gadigal and Wangal people, of the Eora nation...
, Marrickville
Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council is a Local Government Area situated in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia.The area is bounded by Leichhardt to the north, the City of Sydney to the east and north-east, the City of Botany Bay to the south-east, Rockdale to the south, Canterbury to the west, and...
and the City of Sydney
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...
.
Radio Skid Row has built a reputation for development and training projects with minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
communities and has been pivotal in allowing disadvantaged communities to participate in community broadcasting. It was home to the original Radio Redfern and later Koori Radio
Koori Radio
Koori Radio is a community radio station based in Redfern broadcasting to Sydney on a city-wide licence. It is part of the Gadigal Information Service and is the only radio station in Sydney providing full-time broadcasting to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.Koori Radio is the...
which now has its own citywide licence. It was also the station where Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
radio started in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
History
Radio Skid Row began as a landlineLandline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
operation available in Community Youth Support Scheme Centres, Long Bay Gaol and local drop-in centres. The station secured a community radio
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
licence in 1983 to broadcast to the inner-city areas of Sydney.
Initially the plans for the station was that it would play commercial music and would broadcast relevant information that homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
people needed, such as accommodation availability and where to obtain free meals.
Tensions emerged during the first year of operations at the station, sparked by a management style that limited volunteer involvement in the structures and operation of the station, thereby going against the principles of community broadcasting.
In June 1984 the management tried to close the station down and lock out the volunteers and community program makers. The station was off the air for three weeks and when it reopened was only on air for twelve hours a day. Station workers then took the opportunity to overturn the Board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
at an Annual General Meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
, which happened shortly after the lockout
Lockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
. The station then set about reforming itself based on a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
model, in a style similar to that of 4ZZZ
4ZZZ
4ZZZ is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia...
.
Current
The station’s mission is to provide a voice for youth, community groups and in languages other than EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It is particularly active in working with marginalized
Marginalization
In sociology, marginalisation , or marginalization , is the social process of becoming or being made marginal or relegated to the fringe of society e.g.; "the marginalization of the underclass", "marginalisation of intellect", etc.-Individual:Marginalization at the individual level results in an...
members of the community.
Programming
Radio Skid Row plays a mix of black music which includes reggaeReggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, African
Music of Africa
Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....
, indigenous
Indigenous music
Indigenous music is a term for the traditional music of the indigenous peoples of the world, that is, the music of an "original" ethnic group that inhabits any geographic region alongside more recent immigrants who may be greater in number...
, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, RnB
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, music from the Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
and from around the world. It also specialises in talk programs presented from a radical
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
viewpoint.