INDIGENOUS STORYBOOK

“We enjoy showcasing
women who are doing amazing
things in the Perth area and contributing
to the community in positive ways but don’t
get the chance to have their voices heard
otherwise. It’s great to be able to offer a
forum for people to share their
journeys.”
research. We email each other, confirm that everyone
is available on the Tuesday, and then start listing topics
and brainstorming ideas. On the Sunday evening,
Christine checks the Koori Mail for leads on issues
and stories to discuss, particularly with what has
happened over the weekend, and starts putting the
program together. We always check social media
as it’s a good barometer of what is happening with
people and issues they are concerned about. We
also nominate the songs for the playlist. Christine will
generally compile the running sheet which gets sent
out to everyone on the Monday before the show.
The program runs for an hour but at the end we
always say it goes way too quickly and we need
almost an hour and half to get through. All three of us
are on air at the same time as it is a yarning program.
The friendly discussion suggests we all fight for the
microphone and on occasion, that’s true! Sometimes
one of us will be out at a community event like
Survival Day or events that run during NAIDOC
week and we conduct live interviews. We also do
outside broadcasts from time to time if we want to
broadcast from a big event. We use social media quite
a bit to promote our show and upcoming guests. We
also run competitions to keep people engaged and
invite listeners to text in so they can be involved in
the program.
And because of that…
we are really proud of our program. We know that it
provides integral information to the community and
engages and connects people. Our shows are good,
juicy shows packed with informative content that
people can relate to. We also understand the sense
of empowerment many of our guests feel when
they come on the show-feel the fear about speaking
on live radio-and do it anyway! We relate, as in the
early days we were in the same position ourselves.
Sometimes it takes months to get people to agree
to come and speak on live radio. For a lot of people
it is far out of their comfort zones but once they do,
it is always an overwhelmingly positive experience
for them. They are relaxed and feel safe in the studio
because women are talking with women. That has a
way of breaking down any barriers. For instance, we
had a lady called Nerolie come in for an interview.
It took us forever and a day to convince her but
when she finally did, she couldn’t believe the sense of
accomplishment she felt. Stories like this are one of
the many reasons we love what we do.
Christine Ross, Tracey Cullen, Lesley Radloff, Dawn Bessarab, Josie Maxted and Carol Brewster-Michie
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