Benefits of Community Radio: 

by Mallary McGrath

Some may say that an area such as the Cape Shore is suffering due to its dwindling population and outmigration of youth. We see the class sizes at Fatima Academy decrease year after year, the number of new homes is not what it was and there exists an obvious emptiness to those who are skeptical of the area's future. Owning a pride of place, feeling fortunate to be able to see, smell and touch the ocean and knowing that you see the same sights generations before you have seen is a special thing. Expressing these feelings of fortune to the world as one is simple with the use of modern communication but expressing pride of place together as multiple communities, as a united front of proud people can be a challenge.

However, community radio events that have become annual events on the Cape Shore allow for such expression of pride. During past broadcasts we have had children telling us on air why they like living on the Cape Shore followed by interviews with senior citizens relaying life stories of gardening, fishing and survival. Combinations such as these being broadcasted over the air waves and on the world wide web are extraordinary means of communicating our stories, our way of life and our pride of place.

Speaking from a town councillor's perspective, I believe that community radio is a particularly unique opportunity to facilitate promotion of the Cape Shore area, communication among the towns and discussion, as it not only encourages discussion but allows it to take place among interested individuals. Cooperation between communities is vital to sustainability and the sharing of ideas and initiatives can enhance council's performance as a devoted team of volunteers. A community radio event inevitably triggers thoughts of pride of place and excitement in the community for an event that will broadcast them to the world; their voices, their opinions and their way of life will be in the spotlight. In many cases, discussions lead to analyzations which can ultimately lead to strategies being implemented for betterment of the community.  

The more I learn about community radio and the more I listen, the more I realize that while I believe the Cape Shore area to be a very special place it is not alone. There are communities such as those on Bell Island and Fogo Island dealing with outmigration and other challenges faced by rural areas but while these problems exist there also exists a definite awareness of how special the community or communities are. While proud residents acknowledge the declining population we also promote the area through the use of community radio and choose to look beyond to the sustainable aspects of the community and the positive characteristics. On air discussions are venues of creativity and allow voices to be heard. 

Tip Sheet for Virtual Participation in Community Radio Events

Facebook

Pre-Event

1. Setup a Facebook Group for the event - Ideally, every community hosting a radio event would set-up their own Facebook Group, which would serve as a central online location for participants to gather virtually, share their experiences, and interact with the broadcast. 
2. Add participants to the group - Whoever creates the Facebook Group will be responsible for adding the first participants.  Note that adding a group member does not require their permission, so as a courtesy it is advised that the group administrator first contacts potential group members before they are added. 
3. Ask group members to add other group members - Administrators will only be allowed to add group members which appear on their friends list.  To broaden the network, all group members should add people from their personal friends lists to the group.
4. Add group administrators - All individuals who are physically present at the event should be made group administrators.
5. Promote the event and solicit participation from community members - Post all information people need to know about the event.  When it will be happening, what it is for, who to contact for participation, etc...

Event

1. Post in the Group - All participants who are physically present at the event should be instructed to post in the group, in addition to on their personal profiles. Posts should include photos, behind-the-scenes happenings, and personal reflections about participation.  
2. Tag the group in personal posts - Participants who use their personal Facebook profile can tag status updates by placing the @ symbol before starting to type the group name.
3. Let listeners know about the Facebook Group - Every time the station ID and website is mentioned, listeners should also be told where to find the Facebook Group for the event.  All groups will have the address facebook.com/groups/*groupname*
4. Ask for participation from listeners - Posts can also be asks for song requests, talk topic requests, shout-outs or relevant stories that can be shared on-air.
5. Monitor Facebook Group -Group administrators should be continually monitoring the interaction in the group; relaying relevant information to on-air participants, responding to posts, responding to requests to join the group.

Ryakuga Facebook Page

The Ryakuga Facebook page is another virtual place for participant interaction during a community radio event which extends networks beyond individual communities and into the broader Ryakuga Network.

1. Assign a Ryakuga Administrator - A community participant can be made administrator at the Ryakuga Page for the duration of the event.  Ideally, this administrator would also be the main administrator of the Facebook Group.  When an individual is made administrator of a Facebook Page, all posts that person makes on the page will show up as being from "Ryakuga" rather than their personal account.
2. Tag posts and photos with Ryakuga - Posts can be tagged with Ryakuga in the same way groups can be tagged; type the @ symbol before the word Ryakuga.  Photos can be tagged with Ryakuga as well in the same way that people are tagged in Facebook photos; click tag photo, click anywhere on the photo, and type Ryakuga into the box that appears.
3. Let listeners know about the Ryakuga Facebook Page - In addition to station ID, website and group name, on-air participants can let people know about the Ryakuga Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ryakuga

Twitter

1. If Twitter is to be included as part of the campaign for the event, it can be done either by creating a Twitter account for the event itself, or through the use of hashtags. Creating an account for the event on its own is unadvised, as building a Twitter network of followers can be task that requires time and effort, and not necessarily worth the work for a one-off event. 
2. Ryakuga has a Twitter account that can be used during the event as well.  All posts to the Rykauga Facebook Page automatically update to Twitter.   
3. Many communities have official or unofficial Twitter representation (for example @Branch_NL), a better approach would be to solicit participation with the individuals behind those accounts to broadcast the event on Twitter in addition to the Ryakuga Twitter.
4. The event can be labelled using a hashtag, which is placing the pound symbol before a one character word or phrase representing the event, as in #nameofevent. Hashtags become search links, and clicking on them will produced a feed of all Tweets containing that hashtag.
5. Tweets mentioning the event with a hashtag can be retweeted by the Ryakuga page and individuals participating via Twitter.  
6. As with Facebook, someone should be monitoring Twitter at all times for mentions of the event, to respond to those tweets and share them on-air.  Also, listeners should be given the hashtag name for tweets about the event.

Radio Bell Island/Network 12: Call for Musicians

Radio Bell Island Returns March 19 to 25. RBI is now recruiting Singer/Song writers, Actors & Musicians, for their programming week & the final Concert at St. Michel's Regional High School. If you would like to promote your music or play. You have to submit a short BIO, What songs or Plays you would like to do, what time slots you are available & the running time for each song. 

Email submissions only please.

terryparsons@nf.sympatico.ca 

radiobellisland@groups.facebook.com

All submissions close at 12.00 noon Sunday March 4, 2012.

Dates are

Monday 19: Singer/Song writers 5.15 to 5.30

Tuesday 20:The Time,Live Local Music  5.00 to 5.30

Weds 21:  Singer/Song writers 5.15 to 5.30

Thurs 22: The Time,Live Local Music  5.00 to 5.30

Friday 23: Singer/Song writers 5.15 to 5.30

Saturday 24: Live Concert @ St. Michel's High School gym.7.00 to 9.00

Network 12 Virtual Participant FAQ

Network 12 is a Radio Broadcast and Community Radio Conference taking place March 19- 24, 2012 on Bell Island in Newfoundland. The following is an FAQ on how to participate in the broadcast and conference virtually.

What is a Virtual Participant?
A Virtual Participant is one which is not physically present at an event, but who participates from afar using mobile devices and social media.

How do I become a Virtual Participant in the Network 12 Event?
Essentially, Network 12 is 2 events; there is the radio broadcast and the conference. We are encouraging virtual participation in both events.

To become a Virtual Participant of the radio broadcast, all you have to do is listen to the webcast while it is on-air, and discuss what you are hearing using Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

To become a Virtual Participant of the conference, you have to contact Kelly Russell

What are the tools of Virtual Participation?
The main tools being used in Network 12 will be:
Twitter: using the #network12 hashtag
Facebook: posting directly in Network 12 group; tagging posts with Radio Bell Island and Ryakuga
Skype: participating in workshops, deliberative conversations
Text Messaging: for direct communication with on-the-ground participants

Can I be a Virtual Participant if I am physically at the event?
Yes! If you are at the event, you can virtually participate by interacting with the non-present participants, and incorporating their content into the on-air broadcast. You can also solicit participation from virtual participants, by asking them to send their messages and requests from away. As a physically present virtual participant, you can also share photos and videos from the event with the virtual participants.

Ewipkek Radio from Flat Bay

On January 19 and 20, 2012, The Flat Bay Band Council hosted a historic community radio event, the first Mi'kmaq radio broadcast in Newfoundland.

Over the 2-day broadcast, youth and elders came together to share stories, music and traditional knowledge from the community.  Students from the College of the North Atlantic Community Studies program were also welcomed into the community and assisted in the broadcast, providing technical support with the broadcast and social media promotion.

Some highlights of the broadcast included:

• Knowledge about traditional Mi'kmaq drumming with the help of members from Grandmother Drum, Flat Bay's Women's Drumming Circle, and listeners enjoyed recorded and live performances from them.
• A history of the Mi'kmaq in Flat Bay was read online by Elder Calvin White and his nephew Ivan.
• Information about the upcoming Flat Bay Pow-Wow, taking place July13-15, 2012, and gave listeners a detailed account of what a Pow-Wow was, its importance for the community, and how it worked.  Including a discussion of Pow-Wow traditions and expected behaviour of participants.  
• An interview with Chief Liz LaSaga

In addition to the FM broadcast, Ewipkek Radio was simulcast online, and social media tools were implemented to engage participants from away.  Facebook and Twitter were used to promote the event and solicit greetings; the Twitter hashtag #flatbayradio was active with over 40 tweets being tagged.  People from Flat Bay who were located elsewhere in the country and world tuned in indicated they were so happy to bring a piece of Flat Bay into their homes and offices for those broadcast days.

Between January 18 and 21 our Facebook page recorded visits from the following towns in Newfoundland: St. John's, Stephenville, Corner Brook, Bell Island, Branch, Mount Pearl, Fogo, Placentia, Baie Verte, Witless Bay and Bonne Bay.

Across Canada, people checked out the broadcast from: Halifax, Winnipeg, Yellowknife, Ottawa, Fredericton, Niagara Falls and Toronto.

Globally, people tuned in from the USA, Greece and Kreuzberg, Berlin.

Ryakuga was honored to be a part of this historic event.  We hope that it is the first of many community broadcasts from within the Mi'kmaq community, in Newfoundland and the whole Atlantic region.

Network 12 Handy Social Media Link List

Here is a list of useful Network 12 social media links for
communication, organization and promotion of the event in addition to
this mailing list.  This will come in handy particularly for those who
are planning on participating virtually.

On Facebook
Network 12 Group (formerly Network 11 Group) - currently 59 members -
http://www.facebook.com/groups/network11/
Radio Bell Island Group - currently 318 members
http://www.facebook.com/groups/radiobellisland/
Ryakuga Page - currently 35 followers
http://www.facebook.com/ryakuga

On Twitter
@ryakuga - 77 followers - http://twitter.com/ryakuga
hashtag #network12

Skype Name: ryakuga

Blog
The Ryakuga Blog http://ryakuga.blogspot.com/

YouTube
Channel is in development.
http://www.youtube.com/ryakugacollaborative

There is a handbook for virtual participation available at the end of this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1NbZzbBgat3h38Yf4Dmn9M1PqW4Hlgyih2BmfrSC6Jzk&pli=1

Announcing Community Radio NL - Network 12 Conference

Radio Bell Island is very pleased to announce that we will host
Network 12 on March 23 & 24, 2012, here on Bell Island. We will have
our radio station set up here at St Michael's High School and will
broadcast with lots of interesting programming from March 19 to 25.
Similar to Network 11 in Bonne Bay, we hope to invite participation
from other Community Radio Enthusiasts from all around the Province
with a particular empahsis on "electronic media participation". This
means to wouldn't have to "physically" be here to take part. However,
for those who would like to come "in person" we hope to facillitate
this as well and are in the process of applying for funding to cover
your travel, accomodations, meals, etc.

Please contact us if you:

1/ would be interested in connecting with us via Skype, Facebook, even
telephone, twitter or text at some point during this Conference (March
23/24)

2/ would be interested in visiting us here at Radio Bell and taking
part in person

We are also interested in re-broadcasting Programming from your Radio
Station so please consider submitting something interesting from your
archives. We will have an emphasis on "Youth" as well and hope to have
a feature panel discussion on youth issues, in particular "staying in
your community vs. moving away to work". All ideas and input welcome -
it's community radio after all

You can find more information out on Facebook at
Network 12 Group
Radio Bell Island Group
Ryakuga Page

or subscribe to this here blog!