Waveform in Warrnambool

Ahh, Warrnambool. A town known for whales, being quite far away from Melbourne, and now, youth-made community radio! On my visit I didn’t see any whales, but I did experience a very long train trip and have the pleasure of meeting the local young people who are making cool radio!

Waveform Media has been giving new opportunities to young people in Warrnambool for the past few months due to the incredible dedication of our Young Media Leader Sam, community radio station 3WAY FM and youth organisation Brophy Youth Services.

I dropped in to 3WAY FM on the evening of a Waveform volunteer meeting. As I walked past the meeting space and caught a glimpse of a table packed with people, I was worried that the previous meeting had run over time, but no! It was around 15 young people braving the freezing cold to plan their first shows for SYN Nation!

After a round of introductions, the Waveform vols set to working in teams to produce the Media Hub’s four radio programs that are currently airing on SYN Nation, some of which are set to air on 3WAY in the next programming period.

The team brainstorming topic ideas for drive-style show This Is Everything were talking about, well, everything from the Brady Bunch to top tips for first dates. Long-time broadcaster (erm, since April) Airlie was pre-recording heavy metal show Screamway with some new recruits. A few journalists, writers and artists formed a little circle to plan discussion topics for talks program The Difference, and new volunteer Laura was enjoying some baby-free time while planning for her show about life as a young mother, Grown Ups.

But the variety of programming is just one incredible aspect of Waveform Media. As I went around the room, chatting to different volunteers about why and how they got involved in radio, so many told me a story about feeling apprehensive before joining Waveform, but then quickly finding people they love working with and topics they love talking about.

This is a Media Hub that is not only giving new broadcast opportunities and new skills to young people in Warrnambool, but is creating a space for volunteers to make radio, make friends and make an impact in their community.

– Tess