Student Youth Network
Encyclopedia
SYN Media is a youth-run media organisation that provides training and broadcast opportunities for young people.
Commonly referred to as SYN, the organisation produces new and independent media that is made by and for Melbourne's young people. It's a multi-media organisation utilising radio
, television
, and online
.
Student Radio Association) and 3TD (Thornbury Darebin College's radio station) merged in order to bolster their bid for a fulltime community radio
broadcasting
license. SYN began broadcasting in 2001.
In late December 2002, SYN was awarded a permanent broadcasting license. It began broadcasting full time in January 2003. SYN broadcasts on a full power metropolitan community radio
license in Victoria
and can be heard throughout Melbourne
, Geelong and in parts of regional Victoria on 90.7 FM. Many of their shows are podcast (or SYNcast) on their website, and also through sites like Facebook.
While SYN programming rotates four times each year in seasons, a number of 'flagship' programmes remain consistent, including:
SYN's current television production for C31 is 1700, a live, hour-long youth music show every weekday. It features music videos, interviews, reviews and music related discussion.
In late 2008, SYN launched Get Cereal TV, a morning television alternative aimed at the youth of Melbourne. The show aired daily between 7:30 and 8:30am on Channel 31. It was cancelled by SYN at the end of 2010 to allow the station to create alternative television programming
2010 saw the premiere of The Wrap, a weekly live-to-air news entertainment programme that on Friday nights on C31 Melbourne.
and the world, and has up to 1,500 volunteers. It defines its aim as "to implement a national culture of young people broadcasting for themselves". In order to achieve this outcome, the station rotates on-air presenters frequently (approximately every three months) and all crew and executive positions annually. SYN does this to allow more than 1200 young people to gain direct media experience annually. Around 2500 students have also incorporated SYN's training and education programmes into their studies.
SYN has contributed greatly to Community Radio both in Australia and worldwide. For example, one spinoff project, the Bentokit Project, is a FLOSS
and Cross-Platform
Radio Broadcasting Suite for Community Stations licensed under the GPL.
On November 25, 2011, a book will be released entitled "Life of SYN", by Ellie Rennie. In it, she follows key SYN staff and volunteers "as they build Australia’s most unusual media empire against enormous odds. Over the course of the book, social networking becomes the most popular use of the internet and traditional media institutions are forced to acknowledge the rise of amateur content. In response, SYN rethinks its approach to the online environment, kills its print publication, deals with the introduction of digital broadcasting and teaches schoolteachers about a new kind of literacy. In just two years dozens of careers are launched, the SYN radio audience doubles and they get told off for swearing."
, who have each had a strong involvement in the Australian Community Broadcasting sector.
Former SYN presenters include Australian media personalities Hamish and Andy, Jack Post, Ryan Shelton
, The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape
and Zan Rowe
.
Commonly referred to as SYN, the organisation produces new and independent media that is made by and for Melbourne's young people. It's a multi-media organisation utilising radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, and online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
.
History
The station was formed after SRA (RMITRMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
Student Radio Association) and 3TD (Thornbury Darebin College's radio station) merged in order to bolster their bid for a fulltime 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...
broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
license. SYN began broadcasting in 2001.
In late December 2002, SYN was awarded a permanent broadcasting license. It began broadcasting full time in January 2003. SYN broadcasts on a full power metropolitan 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...
license in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and can be heard throughout Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Geelong and in parts of regional Victoria on 90.7 FM. Many of their shows are podcast (or SYNcast) on their website, and also through sites like Facebook.
SYN Today
Approximately 80,000 people tune in to SYN's radio broadcast on 90.7 FM weekly. Volunteers are all aged 12–25 years, and fill various roles in the organization. These include presenting and producing programs and working within the various departments including radio, TV, online, music, talks, marketing and publicity, IT and tech. A 2006 McNair listener survey showed a similar age group, 15-24, as the largest age group listening to community radio in Australia.Radio
SYN broadcasts full time on 90.7FM and, as of January 2010, simulcast their analogue programming both online and on digital radio.While SYN programming rotates four times each year in seasons, a number of 'flagship' programmes remain consistent, including:
- Get Cereal. SYN's breakfast radio show, airing between 6 and 9am each weekday, currently hosted by a different team each morning
- Panorama: The station's news and current affairs show.
- Box of Neutrals: Australia's only Formula OneFormula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
radio show. - Objection: Radio by under-18s.
- New and Approved & The Hoist: Airing between 6 and 8pm, both programmes feature music reviews, artist interviews and songs selected by SYN's music committee. The Hoist focuses specifically on Australian music.
- Arts Mitten: A show centred on Melbourne arts and culture.
- The Naughty Rude Show: Covers sex, relationships and drugs from a youth perspective.
Television
As well as radio, SYN also produces television for Melbourne's community television broadcaster C31. At SYN TV's height in 2010, it produced up to fifteen hours of content per week.SYN's current television production for C31 is 1700, a live, hour-long youth music show every weekday. It features music videos, interviews, reviews and music related discussion.
In late 2008, SYN launched Get Cereal TV, a morning television alternative aimed at the youth of Melbourne. The show aired daily between 7:30 and 8:30am on Channel 31. It was cancelled by SYN at the end of 2010 to allow the station to create alternative television programming
2010 saw the premiere of The Wrap, a weekly live-to-air news entertainment programme that on Friday nights on C31 Melbourne.
Online
Online, SYN publishes programme blogs and a weekly e-newsletter. The website also features 'SYNcasts' of some of SYN's radio shows as well as various SYNcast-only programmes.Contribution to the Sector
SYN is one of the largest youth projects in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the world, and has up to 1,500 volunteers. It defines its aim as "to implement a national culture of young people broadcasting for themselves". In order to achieve this outcome, the station rotates on-air presenters frequently (approximately every three months) and all crew and executive positions annually. SYN does this to allow more than 1200 young people to gain direct media experience annually. Around 2500 students have also incorporated SYN's training and education programmes into their studies.
SYN has contributed greatly to Community Radio both in Australia and worldwide. For example, one spinoff project, the Bentokit Project, is a FLOSS
Floss
Floss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
and Cross-Platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
Radio Broadcasting Suite for Community Stations licensed under the GPL.
On November 25, 2011, a book will be released entitled "Life of SYN", by Ellie Rennie. In it, she follows key SYN staff and volunteers "as they build Australia’s most unusual media empire against enormous odds. Over the course of the book, social networking becomes the most popular use of the internet and traditional media institutions are forced to acknowledge the rise of amateur content. In response, SYN rethinks its approach to the online environment, kills its print publication, deals with the introduction of digital broadcasting and teaches schoolteachers about a new kind of literacy. In just two years dozens of careers are launched, the SYN radio audience doubles and they get told off for swearing."
Slogan
SYN has had several different slogans. The most recent slogan is Click, Switch, Watch and was intended to reflect SYN's three media platforms - online, radio and television. Past slogans include Creators not Consumers, We May Be Young But We Know Our Shit and Where the Kids Push the Buttons. The circle logo was developed in the mid 1990s by Caroline Worsley. The launch creative, featuring an evolution narrative, was designed by Jeremy Wortsman.Notable Alumni
Former SYN staff members include Georgia Webster, Jo Curtin, Craig Twitt and Bryce IvesBryce Ives
Bryce Ives is a theatre director, community activist, facilitator, social commentator and media producer....
, who have each had a strong involvement in the Australian Community Broadcasting sector.
Former SYN presenters include Australian media personalities Hamish and Andy, Jack Post, Ryan Shelton
Ryan Shelton
Ryan Shelton is an Australian comedian, actor, radio presenter, television personality, host and writer.- Biography :He attended St Leonards College for some of his schooling, where he met Hamish Blake...
, The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape
Scott Pape
Scott Pape is an investment advisor, author and radio commentator who lives in Melbourne, Australia.-Career:Scott Pape grew up in Ouyen, Victoria, where he held odd jobs - once being paid by his father with a single BHP share...
and Zan Rowe
Zan Rowe
Susanna "Zan" Rowe is an Australian radio announcer, best known for her work on the nationally broadcast Triple J.-Radio:...
.
External links
- SYN official website - including audio streaming.
- SYN description
- SYN official philosophy
- SYN innovations
- SYN history
- SYN official Twitter page
- Community Broadcasting Foundation
- Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA)
- CBAA's Online Handbook including a chapter Youth Broadcasting