About community media

Community media is brought to life by more than 31,000 volunteers. These dedicated volunteers sit at the heart of their local community, inspiring connection by producing media that is ‘for the people, by the people’. Community broadcasting actively promotes access and participation in operations, administration and media production.

Community media organisations are often managed by teams of volunteers, with many of the smaller stations operating 24-hours, seven days per week on less than an average annual salary. These dedicated volunteers are creative, innovative and agile and most importantly, driven by their passion for making a difference.

“Community radio is a medium that gives voice to the voiceless, that serves as the mouthpiece of the marginalized and is at the heart of communication and democratic processes.”
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

Read more about the team bringing community broadcasting to life in the Station Census research funded by the CBF.

Each week, more than five million listeners across Australia tune in to community radio for more than 15-hours. Community radio captures a loyal audience with engaging, local content not found in mainstream media. Additionally, more than 1 million Australians watch community television, including media producers ICTV, C31 Melbourne and Geelong, C44 Adelaide and West TV.

Read more about listeners in the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia’s Community Radio Listener Survey, funded by the CBF.

As an industry, community media is mostly self-funded with CBF grants forming just over 7.5%* of income. Community radio stations gain the majority of their income from business sponsorship, subscriptions, donations and other fundraising activities. Many CBF grants support station sustainability to ensure their important work can continue into the future, including enhancing business knowledge and funding strategic planning development.

In addition to the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, stations often seek the assistance of other organisations. FBi in Sydney for example partnered with Multicultural NSW to produce ‘Outskirts Reporting,’ a journalism masterclass for aspiring journalists (featured above).

_{Community Broadcasting Sector Financial Health of Community Radio Survey (October 2017).}

Representative organisations from community media meet regularly at a roundtable discussion to consider leadership, advocacy, policy and development. The Community Broadcasting Sector Roundtable consists of representatives from the CBF, the Australian Community Television Alliance (ACTA), Christian Media & Arts Australia (CMAA), Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council (NEMBC), First Nations Media Australia and the peak body for the Radio Reading Network, RPH Australia.

The Sector Roundtable meets bi-annually in August/September and March/April.

• CBF funded research
• Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA)
• Australian Community Television Alliance (ACTA)
• Christian Media & Arts Australia (CMAA)
• First Nations Media Australia (previously IRCA)
• National Ethnic & Multicultural Broadcasters Council (NEMBC)
• RPH Australia
• Southern Community Media Association (SCMA)
• Community Broadcasting Codes of Practice
• Community Television – Codes of Practice
• More than radio – a community asset: Social Return on Investment analyses of Indigenous Broadcasting Services (SVA Consulting)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
• 3CMedia e-journal