3ZZZ

Infobox Radio station
name = 3ZZZ


city = Melbourne, Australia
area = Melbourne
slogan = Melbourne Ethnic Community Radio - Broadcasting in your language
airdate = 1989
frequency = 92.3 MHz FM
format = Language programs, no playlist
class = Community
former_callsigns = 3ZZ
owner = Ethnic Public Broadcasting Association of Victoria Ltd.
webcast = http://www.3zzz.com.au/
website = http://www.3zzz.com.au/

3ZZZ ("3 Triple Zed") is an ethnic community radio station in Melbourne, Australia broadcasting programs in over 70 languages on FM 92.3 MHz.

About 3ZZZ

3ZZZ is Australia's largest community multilingual radio station, providing an independent, alternative and local voice in the media. With estimates at more than 400,000 listeners, 3ZZZ broadcasts 24 hours per day on 92.3 on the FM band. 3ZZZ's radio signal which is broadcast from its radio tower located on Mount Dandenong, covers Greater Melbourne and includes areas of Geelong, Macedon, Mornington Peninsula. The station can also be heard throughout the world via Internet Broadcasting on its website *http://www.3zzz.com.au

Governance

3ZZZ’S broadcasting licence is owned and operated by the Ethnic Public Broadcasting Association of Victoria Ltd (EPBAV). As a not-for-profit organisation, the members of EPBAV elect a Committee of Management (‘The Council’) from amongst the members to provide governance and direction in the policies and strategic direction of the station. As such, the station is independent of government and business and operates democratically. The station was originally created for the Melbourne ethnic community to hear their own languages and maintain their cultural identities.

Station Aims

3ZZZ is an active and vibrant cultural institution, where people from all parts of the globe come together to share ideas and work together as a team. 63 ethnic groups are affiliated with the station with more than 400 trained volunteers broadcasting in their own language, for and on behalf of the community. 3ZZZ enables participants to:

* Broadcast in community languages
* Promote culture and language
* Maintain links with their country of origin
* Learn from and respect other cultures, languages and traditions.3ZZZ enables people to:

* Become involved in affairs on a national, international, and community level
* Promote culture and language
* Maintain links with their country of origin
* Learn from and respect other cultures, languages, and traditions.

Funding, Training and Community Support

The radio station is financed by membership fees and listener donations during the annual 'Radiothon', company sponsorship and by grants from Community Broadcasting Foundation.3ZZZ offers free training to broadcasters. One training program, called 'Starting Out' is specifically targeted an asylum seekers and refugees. Dinka (southern Sudan) and Ghanaian trainees commenced broadcasting as part of Starting Out in early 2007. Starting Out commenced in 2006, and receives financial support from the *http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/.

Languages and Ethnic Groups on Air

Afghan (Dari & Pashto), Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, Austrian, Bharat, Bosnian, Cambodian, Chinese (Cantonese & Mandarin), Coptic, Croatian, Dinka, Dutch, Egyptian, Eritrean, Esperanto, Filipino, German, Ghanaian, Greek, Greek Cypriot, Harari, Hmong, Hungarian, Indian, Indonesian, Iraqi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jewish (Hebrew & Yiddish), Kurdish, Laotian, Latvian, Lebanese, Macedonian, Malaysian, Maltese, Mauritian, Oromo, Palestinian, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Scottish, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish Language, Sudanese, Syrian, Thai, Tamil, Turkish, Turkish Cypriot, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Vlach

History

3ZZZ began regular broadcasting on FM 92.3 (The old EON-FM Frequency) in June 1989.

3ZZZ was successful in a licence application that was contested at the time by a Spanish language broadcasting group known as "The Voice of Hispano America (VHA-FM)"

The community broadcast licence was granted to 3ZZZ on the basis of its diversity of languages and communities represented.

A Brief History of Ethnic Broadcasting in Australia

In 2006, 3ZZZ celebrated 30 years of ethnic broadcasting in Australia. Ethnic broadcasting in Australia emerged from widely- supported community and political campaigns in the early 1970s.

The beginning of ethnic broadcasting in Australia goes back to 1973, a decade when Australian society had to begin to recognise and respond to the rising demands for equality of rights. The ethnic community in Australia was very large, socially and politically conscious and active. It began to work together with the more enlightened and democratic sections of the wider Australian community, and threw its considerable strength and influence into the campaigns for access and equity to the nations airwaves.

In 1975, the community run, and ABC owned and assisted access radio 3ZZ was born, with 20 ethnic communities being the first to broadcast in their ethnic languages, through the national broadcaster. It was a tremendous achievement, celebrated in homes, at work, in clubs, and of course, the 3ZZ studios in Hardware Lane in the city. 3CR and 3EA were not far behind. (3CR at that time broadcast no ethnic programs.) But it was 3ZZ that captured the spirit and the pulse of ethnic communities, as it provided for the first time opportunity for ordinary people to have a say on air in their own language, and to have a say as to how the station was managed. It was an extension of community ethos and life. Radio for the people and by the people.

From day one at 3ZZ to this day, making and broadcasting programs went hand in hand with never ending struggles to get governments and others, to recognise and respect the significance of ethnic broadcasting. Attempts to deny ethnic communities of their democratic and human rights, including the closure of 3ZZ in 1977, were vigorously fought against.

The ethnic communities from across the socio-political spectrum vigorously protested the closure of 3ZZ by the Fraser government in 1977. The depth and passion of the ethnic communities for 3ZZ, and in general for ethnic broadcasting can be illustrated by the thousands who joined up as members, hundreds who served as broadcasters and committee members, hundreds of thousands of dollars contributed to Radiothons and campaigns to protect and develop ethnic broadcasting.

3ZZ became an every day issue and concern for the ethnic community. Excitement and expectation were very high. With the closure of 3ZZ, the community worked tirelessly to accommodate ethnic programs in 3CR, and later played a significant role in the establishment of 3ZZZ whilst fighting to maintain and democratise SBS. 3ZZ had set the foundations for community involvement and management that ultimately carried through to 3ZZZ and all community broadcasting.

Internet Broadcasting

3ZZZ began internet broadcasting in the year 2000.

External links

*http://www.3zzz.com.au/
*http://www.cbaa.org.au/
*http://www.cbonline.org.au/
*http://www.nembc.org.au/
*http://www.cbf.com.au/