Author
alan jones
The recent state of emergency conference in Melbourne saw people occupy not just an abandoned warehouse for four days of discussions, workshops, films, parties and more, but also the reclamation of the radio waves through the form of Emergency FM, a micro radio experiment that also streamed online.
The recent state of emergency conference in Melbourne saw people occupy not just an abandoned warehouse for four days of discussions, workshops, films, parties and more, but also the reclamation of the radio waves through the form of Emergency FM, a micro radio experiment that also streamed online.
Broadcasting on 93.9, (despite some interference from Geelong’s Bay FM whose signal occasionally reaches the Melbourne CBD), the radio transmitted talks throughout the conference to the local neighbourhood in the Brunswick area and down as far as Carlton. Various shows and interviews, as well and live hip-hop from Sunday night’s party were also broadcast.
After setting up on Friday evening the neighbourhood was flyered alerting people to the frequency. The idea was to enable the neighbourhood to find out what was going on, why people had occupied the building and what they were talking about. Too often activists end up being cagey about what they’re doing, here was an opportunity for the neighbourhood to tune in without having to come into an intimidating squat, or decide that perhaps people weren’t that intimidating after all and turn up for the sessions.
From reports many of the local did come down, obviously much more and better work could have been done in this regard but as an experiment the radio was a good experience, an opportunity to get out there and get the information out.
Become the distraction!
How can we bring conflict to this state of affairs? Where are the cracks and how do we open them? What are our communication needs and how do we fulfil them? How can we become a distraction from the smooth broadcast of media messages? A regionally constructed stream hooked up to an array of micro-transmitters?
Lo-tech – hi-tech – By Any Media Necessary
Limitations
Obviously this essay is an exercise in hyperbole but also of the imagination. A lack of organization meant the idea and broadcast was diffused at perhaps 10% of its possibility. In the end we could have been far more audacious and daring and got the frequency out to the neighbourhood more effectively. A strange occurrence meant that at night Bay FM reached further across Port Phillip than during the day, often limiting our signal resulting in Bay FM being streamed across the globe to lucky listeners who were in dire need of some Britney Spears.
Yet the possibilities are there for media experimentation. Breaking into the mediasphere to throw open new questions and change the debate has to happen more. The war on terror appears to have silenced even the most radical. Take down the empire of signs!
Included here are a couple of rough selections of the stream from the "work and neo-liberlism" and "permanent war" panels.