That’s my point, more for RA (welcomed) yet none for domestic short wave. The contrast is stark.
If the government and ABC remain cool on domestic short wave, perhaps make RA available across Australia itself as a medium term contingency.
Yeah but the propaganda/content is not directed at Australians at home.
Restoring domestic shortwave broadcasts was a policy of the ALP prior to the 2019 election. Sadly I don’t recall any such commitment prior to the last election.
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ABC launches Australia Calling: The ABC Radio Australia Story
The ABC has released an official history of Radio Australia, Australia Calling: The ABC Radio Australia Story.
Written by long-time ABC Radio Australia journalist and presenter Dr. Phil Kafcaloudes, Australia Calling tells the story of the radio service’s evolution and change through the decades as geopolitics and the media landscape shift across the region and the world. It charts the push and pull of the service from pressures on the ABC budget over the years and as political support for the value of international broadcasting has ebbed and flowed within Canberra.
ABC Managing Director David Anderson said, “In the ABC’s 90th year, Australia Calling is a timely reminder of the historic importance of the ABC’s International Services in the Indo-Pacific. In an increasingly challenging international context, it is an opportunity to reflect on the ABC’s role in supporting a free media, regional democracy, and collaboration with our international neighbours.”
ABC Head International Services Claire M. Gorman said, “I commissioned Phil to write this book as this is a story worth telling. In documenting ABC Radio Australia’s evolution, the book highlights the ABC’s longstanding commitment to regional storytelling, peace, and democracy. It helps us understand why the ABC remains a valued and trusted source of news, information, and entertainment for international audiences. The book tells an important part of the ABC’s 90-year history and Australia’s engagement with its neighbours.”
According to Dr. Kafcaloudes, “Even though I worked at ABC Radio Australia for many years, researching for this book made me realise how much the network has affected so many people. Not to mention having a role in world events like the first landing on the moon, post-war migration, and even the cold war. No wonder it’s always rated so highly with international audiences.”
Australia Calling launches today and is available for sale online with Booktopia.
About the author
Dr Phil Kafcaloudes is an author and broadcast journalist who presented the breakfast program on the ABC’s Radio Australia for nine years, broadcasting across the Pacific and Asia on FM. This earned him a highly commended as the ABU International Radio Personality of the Year in the 2007 awards. For the ABC, he worked in 12 countries and hosted the corporation’s first English-language program from China. For a Churchill Fellowship, he studied journalism trauma training worldwide. In 2011 his third book, the novel Someone Else’s War, was published in Australasia and translated into Greek for Europe. It tells the story of his grandmother, who was a spy in Greece in WWII. His PhD looked at oral history storytelling and involved adapting the novel into a play. Phil has also taught journalism at La Trobe University and at RMIT, where in 2019 he produced the first national TV election program presented entirely by students. This broadcast earned Phil the inaugural teaching award by the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia.
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What’s with all the ABC Sydney radio frequencies being turned off at night over the last week, every night. I thought transmitter repairs only took a night or so, but this is now becoming quite a thing.
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BAI? Bi-Annual Inspection?
BAI Communications operate ABC transmitters
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PNG artist Danielle crowned Pacific Break’s winner!
Papua New Guinean artist Danielle has taken out Pacific Break 2022’s top prize with her powerful song Fight, making history as the first female winner of the Pacific’s biggest music competition.
The Port Moresby-based artist emerged triumphant from a field of nearly 200 entries from 15 Pacific nations and will perform at WOMADelaide, Australia’s largest international music festival, in March 2023.
Upon learning of the victory, Danielle said she was honoured and glad she persevered with her passion, “There were so many times when I thought, ‘What’s the point of doing this?’ because I kept hitting road blocks and getting a lot of criticism because I’m a mum and I’m a big girl.”
This year’s judging panel, composed of leading Pacific and international music producers and experts, unanimously awarded this year’s prize to Danielle’s song Fight which tells the story of the West Papuans’ ongoing fight for freedom. The track combines English and Tok Pisin lyrics and showcases the singer’s trademark stirring vocals.
Danielle’s second submission to the competition, Let Me Love You, was also highly commended by the panel of judges which included Pacific Island ethnomusicologist and founder of Pacific Island Creative Arts Australia, Rita Seumanutafa-Palala, artist manager and producer Kera Whewell, WOMADelaide Associate Director Annette Tripodi and musician and producer Brendan Marolla.
According to Whewell, “Danielle’s vocal tone, experience and presence on stage, depth of repertoire, warmth and charisma as well as her proud links to her cultural heritage and her courage representing Pacific women in music make her a standout winner for this year’s competition.”
Tripodi added, “While the judges were unanimous in our decision, it was no easy task given the excellent calibre and diversity of this year’s entries. Danielle’s authenticity and heartfelt truth-telling is so powerful and I know she is going to be very well received by the fans at WOMADelaide.”
ABC International Head Claire M Gorman said, “We are thrilled to have Pacific Break running again in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. We are very proud to be able to showcase amazing Pacific musical talent through this competition to audiences across the region on ABC Radio Australia, ABC Pacific homepage and ABC Pacific Facebook. It is an honour for ABC International to be bringing Danielle’s unique voice to WOMADelaide’s audience.
The finalists for Pacific Break 2022 are;
- Inside Out (Fiji), Yadra Mai
- Bibao (Solomon Islands), Blow My Mind
- I NU (New Caledonia), Pi Tronia (My Coconut Tree)
- Jugu Mahn (PNG), Ugamagi Walona
- KY MO, (Federated States of Micronesia), Upwe Uwe Tori Mwuchun Manawei
- Edy Ramos (Timor-Leste), Fuan Timor (Timor Is My Heart)
- Smogg and Lizzie (PNG), Smile
- Rockye (PNG), This Is My Time
- Sacha Terrat (New Caledonia), Silver Chains
- Rhee Gial (PNG), Unnamed track
- O-Four (PNG), Fire
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Didn’t realise this would be so frustrating to find, but I’m trying to locate the half hour weekly edition of Pacific beat that is aired every Saturday afternoon on ABC News radio. When searching the ABC website itself, and the Apple podcasts site, I get all different variations of the show, except for the one that is aired on ABC Newsradio.
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/pacific-beat/id114255728
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In The Fale will be broadcast every Friday at 2:00 – 3:00PM PNG time from Friday, March 24. It will be repeated Fridays 6:00 – 7:00PM PNG time and Sundays 10:00 – 11:00AM PNG time.
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ABC Radio Australia’s newest show Nesian Footy kicks off in the Pacific
ABC Radio Australia has added another entertaining and insightful sports program to its weekly line-up, with the launch of Nesian Footy. Join former professional players of Pacific Island heritage Sam Wykes and Tinirau Arona every Monday at 6pm PNG time as they break down and wrap all the stories across both league and union.
Listen to the first episode of Nesian Footy, available on ABC Pacific online here
Sam Wykes is a former rugby union player of Tongan heritage who debuted in 2008 with the Western Force. Sam is currently the host of ABC Australia’s That Pacific Sports Show and has played over 100 games in Super Rugby. His co-host, Tinirau Arona is a former rugby league player who represented the Cook Islands as well as playing in the NRL with the Roosters and Sharks, and for seven seasons in England for Wakefield Trinity.
“I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity on ABC Radio Australia to reach out to the Pasifika community” says co-presenter Tinirau. “Sam and I will aim to entertain, educate and inspire our Pasifika people by sharing stories from our own experiences. We’ll also hear from some great guests from both the rugby league and rugby union worlds”.
Sam is also excited to co-host the show, explaining “our footy radio show on the ABC provides a platform for our Pacific sports community to have a voice”.
ABC’s Head of Sport Nick Morris says: “We are thrilled to add Nesian Footy to the programming schedule. We know that league and union footy codes are loved by our Pacific audiences and both Sam and Tinirau will bring a lot of insight, humour and competitiveness to their weekly chats”.
Nesian Footy will employ a laid-back feel with presenters given freedom to have fun, make each other laugh and share their own experiences as players. Together, and with invited special guests, Sam and Tinirau will discuss weekend results, highlights and talking points across the two codes.
PROGRAM DETAILS:
Nesian Footy launched Monday 3 April, with new episodes broadcast across the Pacific every Monday at 6:00PM PNG and in Australia, 6:00pm AEST on ABC Sport Digital. The show will be repeated Sundays 10:00AM PNG.
WAYS TO LISTEN:
There are multiple ways to listen to ABC Radio Australia — live via internet streaming or in your area through 24-hour FM stations,or catch up with full episodes on ABC Pacific online.
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According to The Australian’s Nick Tabakoff, the ABC had quietly pulled Australia All Over with Ian McNamara from Radio Australia’s schedule. It’s understood that ABC staff attached to the show weren’t informed of the decision to remove Australia All Over from the RA schedule, until they were contacted earlier this month by expat listeners who were curious as to why Radio National broadcasts were airing on Sunday mornings instead of McNamara’s program. Last week, a senior ABC manager told the program’s staff the broadcaster had “decided to go in another direction” and wanted to put more emphasis on “celebrating Pacific voices”.
Australia All Over can still be heard on ABC Local Radio and ABC Listen app domestically.
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ABC Radio Australia returns to the Republic of Palau
ABC Radio Australia will be heard in the Republic of Palau for the first time in more than five years.
Under a new Memorandum of Understanding, ABC Radio Australia programs will be carried on the Republic of Palau’s national radio broadcaster, Eco Paradise FM (EPFM).
The signing was attended by Palau Minister of State, the Hon. Gustav Aitaro and the Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon. Pat Conroy.
ABC International Services Head Claire Gorman acknowledged the support of the Australian Embassy in Koror for brokering the agreement and said: “This new partnership is a first step towards the aim of establishing a full FM radio service in Palau, an ABC initiative funded under the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy.”
Gorman continued: “The ABC is proud to partner with EPFM and has a long history of engagement with Palau, including the provision of ABC Australia content on Palau National Communication Corporation’s (PNCC) television service.”
ABC Radio Australia has recently increased its Pacific-focused content and under the agreement, Palau residents will have access to programming including flagship regional current affairs show Pacific Beat as well as culture, education and music shows Stories from the Pacific, Pacific Playtime and Island Music.
ABC Radio Australia is available via EPFM on FM radio at 87.9FM and on EPFM Ngerel Belau AM Radio at 1584AM from Wednesday 28 July 2023.
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ABC Radio Australia launches new music show On The Record
ABC Radio Australia is adding an exciting new offering to its schedule, hosted by award-winning Samoan-Australian music journalist Sosefina Fuamoli. On The Record launches on ABC Radio Australia on Tuesday 4 July at 4pm in PNG.
Check out more about the show here.
Fuamoli’s new show is set to make a big splash, interviewing the Pacific’s best music talent, and diving deep into their connection to music that has inspired them throughout their careers. Some of the Pacific’s most-loved artists will feature in the first episodes including Tiana Khasi, Sprigga Mek, Joji Malani, Sorong Samarai’s Airileke and Kirrah Amosa.
According to Fuamoli: “I love being able to go on a journey with musicians and performers – whether it be about their own music and journey or the music they adore. The best interviews are the ones that don’t feel like interviews at all, and that’s what I hope On The Record will be for my listeners and guests.”
Fuamoli continues: “It’s an open invitation to come in, hang out, and discover more about Pasifika artists who are creating in their homelands, away from their homelands and who are, most importantly, putting it on for their culture!”
Fuamoli is a music journalist, broadcaster and content producer who has guest hosted on Double J, appeared on ABC NEWS Breakfast as a music correspondent, and been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone Australia, NME Australia, Junkee, Time Out, The Big Issue, The Australian and Australian Music Vault. Fuamoli has also been a judge for the Australian Music Prize, APRA Music Awards, National Indigenous Music Awards, and the ARIA Awards and has won Best Live Music Journalist at the Australian National Live Music Awards.
ABC Radio Australia head Justine Kelly said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Sose Fuamoli to our line-up. She’s one of Australia’s best music journalists and a champion for Pacific artists and music. Her industry and music knowledge, her love for the Pacific and her warmth as an interviewer will bring something different to listeners, introducing them to new and old music that they’ll love.”
PROGRAM DETAILS:
From 4 July, On The Record will be broadcast every Tuesday at 4:00 PNG time (4:00PM AEST, 6:00PM Fiji, 7:00PM Samoa)
It will be repeated Fridays 6:00PM PNG and Saturdays 10:00AM PNG time.
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ABC Radio Australia relaunches with a comprehensive suite of Pacific-focused programming
ABC Radio Australia has launched a new-look schedule and more than tripled the amount of Pacific-focused content available to audiences across the week.
Under new dedicated funding for international activities from the Federal Government, ABC International Services has reinvigorated ABC Radio Australia, recruiting a wide range of new talent with a depth of experience in the Pacific and developing high value content for audiences across the Pacific region and Timor-Leste.
Exciting new offerings include;
- Music shows On The Record with Sose Fuamoli and In The Fale with Hau Lātūkefu
- Two-hour weekday morning show Nesia Daily with Jacob McQuire and Michael Chow
- Rugby league and union round-up Nesian Footy with Sam Wykes and Tinirau Arona
- Revamped Pacific sports show Fresh Off The Field featuring men’s and women’s sports from across the region, coming soon
- Conversations-style program Stories From The Pacific with Bobby Macumber
- Specialist series Pacific Scientific, Climate Mana and Culture Compass
The latest programs join the existing Pacific line-up including flagship news and current affairs shows Pacific Beat, Pacific Review, in-language news and current affairs program Wantok, Sistas, Let’s Talk, Island Music, Pacific Prepared and children’s show Pacific Playtime .
Pacific Beat also recently welcomed experienced journalist Agnes Tupou as its new host.
ABC International Services Head Claire M. Gorman said: “We are thrilled to see ABC Radio Australia shift into the next gear. It has been serving international audiences continuously since 1939 and in recent years, has focused its content and transmission on serving the Pacific and Timor-Leste. However, the latest investments which have led to the new schedule will make us even more relevant to our listeners and ensure we are offering the best Australian and Pacific programming to the region.”
ABC Radio Australia head Justine Kelly said: “We are building a high value, pan-Pacific service designed for, with and about Pacific people. With a refreshed schedule and a slate of new programming, we are well-placed to continue to expand our FM footprint and our content sharing with local partners in coming months.”
ABC Radio Australia increased its monthly listenership by 12% to 321,225 from 2022 to 2023 and in coming months, will expand from its current FM footprint of 13 locations across the Pacific and Timor-Leste to new locations including Kiribati, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Gizo in the Solomon Islands, Kokopo and Lorengau in Papua New Guinea and Buka in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
A phase two expansion undertaken in coming years will see further expansion of the network’s footprint to all Pacific Island Forum members.
For more details, click here.
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Don’t recall reading this before
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Is it referring to Radio Australia or ABC Australia TV channel? Radio Australia was known for its multilingual shortwave broadcasts into Asia and Pacific region, before non-English programs were axed due to funding cuts during Howard and then Abbott governments. If Radio Australia is dividing its English broadcast into Asian and Pacific streams that’s great.
However, if it’s the TV service that is being planned to be split to Asia and Pacific streams, it will cause an issue for live sporting broadcasts such as Melbourne Cup and the upcoming AFLW season.
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Pacific Break returns in 2023!
The Pacific’s biggest music competition returns to the ABC in 2023, kicking off on 21 September.
This year, the search for the Pacific and Timor-Leste’s best original talent launches with an exclusive concert in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Headlining the show is PNG-born Australian artist Ngaiire who will travel from Australia to Port Moresby to perform. Joining her on stage is last year’s Pacific Break winner Danielle as well as ABC Radio Australia music host and DJ Hau Latukefu who will broadcast a special edition of his weekly music show In The Fale: Live From Moresby.
Pacific Break offers unsigned artists living in the Pacific and Timor-Leste a career-changing opportunity with the winner flown to Australia’s largest international music festival WOMADelaide in March 2024. Throughout the six-week campaign, featured artists have their music and videos featured on ABC Radio Australia and ABC Australia programs and on ABC Pacific digital and social accounts.
ABC Head International Services Claire M. Gorman said, “It’s great to see Pacific Break returning this year. It’s an important springboard connecting Pacific artists with audiences across the region, and we welcome artists from all genres and all the corners of the Pacific to enter their tracks for consideration.”
This year’s winner will be decided by a panel of judges made up of Ngaiire and ABC Radio Australia music hosts Hau Latukefu (In The Fale), Sose Fuamoli (On The Record) and Rick Howe (Island Music).
According to Ngaiire, “There is so much raw talent in the islands. I feel like the world is going to turn towards what’s happening in Pacific music at some point and Pacific Break is playing an integral part in laying the groundwork. I’m really happy to be a part of the initiative this year helping to find the next winner and even more excited that I get to come home and celebrate it with a live performance with my band.”
The free launch concert will be co-hosted by the Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea and held at Port Moresby’s Lamana Gold Club. Ngaiire and Danielle’s performances will be recorded and available for audiences to listen on ABC Radio Australia and online through ABC Pacific.
The ABC first held Pacific Break in 2008 when Vanuatu group 26 Roots took out first prize with their track Broken Promises. Last year, PNG singer Danielle made history, becoming the first female artist to win the competition. Other past winners have included PNG hip-hop artist Sprigga Mek as well as Emmanuel Mailau (PNG), III Kings (Solomon Islands), BSQ (Fiji) and Jaik Berg (Cook Islands).
Entries will open on 21 September until midnight on 2 November with the winner announced on ABC Radio Australia morning show Nesia Daily on Thursday 9 November.
Find out more about Pacific Break by visiting www.abc.net.au/pacificbreak
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New ABC Radio Australia program Fresh Off The Field captures the sporting spirit of the Pacific
Pacific sports fans can enjoy more of their favourite sporting news and content with new weekly ABC Radio Australia program Fresh Off The Field.
Listen to the latest episodes of Fresh Off The Field, available on ABC Pacific online here.
Fresh Off The Field is the latest ABC sports show dedicated to Pacific-focused sporting news delivered by in-country professionals. Broadcasting Thursdays on ABC Radio Australia, Fresh Off The Field is hosted by stand-up comedian, former athlete, and sports commentator Bobby Macumber. Two in-country co-hosts from around the Pacific join Bobby each week to cover the big stories from across the region.
Bobby Macumber is excited about hosting the show, explaining: “Working with a rotating set of co-hosts located around the Pacific makes this a totally unique program. There is an immense amount of sporting talent and some incredible stories from Pacific athletes so to be able to share this with ABC Radio Australia audiences is important to me and the team.”
ABC Head of Sport Nick Morris said: “We are thrilled to have launched Fresh Off The Field and to be able to create a specialised program that captures the sporting pulse of the Pacific, delivering in-country voices and covering important sporting news from across the region.”
In the most recent episode of Fresh Off The Field, co-host Asinate Wainiqolo from Fiji TV and the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation interviews Peter Mazey, the interim Chairman of Fiji Rugby Union about Fiji’s historic win over the Wallabies at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. Listeners can also catch up on past episodes on ABC Pacific online where Bobby and her co-hosts discuss the latest news from the 2023 Pacific Rugby League Championships that will be held in Port Moresby and the upcoming 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara.
Fresh Off The Field has been created with funding from the Australian Government’s Pacific Oz Sports initiative.
PROGRAM DETAILS:
Fresh Off The Field is broadcast on ABC Radio Australia every Thursday at 6:00PM PNG time and repeated on Friday 1:00PM PNG time.
WAYS TO LISTEN:
There are multiple ways to listen to ABC Radio Australia – live via internet streaming or in your area through 24-hour FM stations, or catch up with full episodes on ABC Pacific online.
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