Youth Digital Community Radio

Philanthropic support in the form of seed funding, along with a number of broadcast mentors, have helped launch a new community digital radio channel for Australia’s youth called SYN Nation.

SYN Nation is an initiative by SYN Media and has been developed with the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, Telstra Foundation and Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation in collaboration with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia’s Digital Radio Project.

Launched by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the service brings together programming produced and presented entirely by communities of young people around Australia, starting with Byron Bay, Canberra and Hobart, along with Melbourne, Warrnambool and Gippsland in Victoria.

SYN Nation is already being broadcast on digital radio to Melbourne audiences and streams nationally at syn.org.au.

Developed by Melbourne-based community youth broadcaster SYN Media, the service is being driven by volunteer youth leaders based at local community radio stations in each region, with the support of established media industry mentors from the likes of the ABC and SBS, community stations Triple R, PBS FM, Joy 94.9, 2RRR, RTR and 3ZZZ, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

“More than just a broadcast service, SYN Nation offers young people living in all corners of the country a platform to have their perspectives heard at a national level and the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of media-making,” SYN General Manager Tahlia Azaria said. 

“Since SYN Media launched in 2003 we’ve heard consistently from young people in other parts of the country who wish they had access to the types of opportunities we offer young people in Melbourne, and now they can get involved without having to leave their town.

“Having access to a new technology in digital radio gives us an incredible opportunity to experiment and innovate. The goal is to keep expanding the service into new communities each year so any young person, wherever they may be, can be part of this national movement of young media-makers,” Azaria said.

Azaria said the project will still need core funding and the youth leaders will be working towards establishing sponsorship and other funding models.

In Victoria, students from a school run by one of the state’s largest child and family services organisation, Berry Street, have already teamed with the young people at SYN Radio for their radio training course, Schools on Air. They recently completed the program and their final show will be broadcast on SYN 90.7FM on April 4.

The students from the school’s Noble Park campus will share on air what it means to be a young person today- talking about what they like to do in their spare time, their interests, their relationship with social media and how it affects their lives.  It will be interspersed with humour and anecdotes from their time at the Berry Street School.