Volunteer radio

00:06 S1

This is Studio 1 on Vision Australia Radio.

00:16 S2

Hello, I'm Sam and I'm Lizzie, and this is Studio 1, your weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view - here on Vision Australia Radio this week.

00:24 S3

Have you ever wanted to be on radio?

00:26 S2

For Volunteer Week, we catch up with Simon and Abby from Vision Australia Radio's In Plain Sight - and Sean Oliver talks about volunteering on live radio, no less. That's a scary idea indeed.

00:38 S3

As we always say at this point, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio 1, or if you think there's something we should be talking about. You never know - your story and insight may help someone who's dealing with something similar.

00:53 S2

You can contact us via email - studio1@visionaustralia.org - that's studio number one at Vision Australia dot org.

00:58 S3

Or of course, you can drop us a note on the station's Facebook page by going to facebook.com Slash Radio Network.

01:10 S2

Hello, Lizzie. You seem to have dragged in something from outside. What have we got?

01:15 S3

I'm really sorry about... I'm sorry. Sam. I have, we have an extra guest in the studio today, Mr. Sean Oliver, come on down.

01:25 S5

Hello? Oh. What? The price is right. No, that's the wrong show.

01:29 S3

Yes.

01:30 S2

All right, so... welcome aboard our merry little ship... Studio 1.

01:37 S5

Studio 1.

01:38 S2

It's... been a ship. It's been a ship of fools, mainly.

01:42 S3

But at least it hasn't started sinking yet.

01:44 S2

Well, give it time.

01:45 S5

That would be a Titanic effort, wouldn't it?

01:48 S2

So this this week, we are talking about what it's like to volunteer. And indeed, well, it's volunteer Week. So this is so we thought we'd bring in someone that actually does do a fair bit of volunteer. You don't you don't just volunteer for your radio work. There is a few other bits and pieces of stuff that you do.

02:05 S5

There was... stuff that I used to do. I used to volunteer for Beyond Blindness back in the day.

02:11 S2

What? What is Beyond Blindness?

02:13 S5

That is a blindness organisation up in the north east of Adelaide... For those who aren't in Adelaide, who catered to the social needs, I guess, of blind and low vision people in that area.

02:33 S3

Now you were kind of a jack of all trades when it came to volunteering there, because I can't think of anything that you didn't do except for gardening and...

02:41 S5

No, I didn't do that as I could, but I didn't do those. Um, I suspect that there might have been a couple of other things I would have needed to do to be able to... do the kitchen work, like food handling and things like that.

02:55 S2

Oh, we can get you a forklift driver's license.

02:59 S3

I can perhaps convince my dad into trying to help you get a heavy, rigid or something.

03:03 S5

To some of the people we had to feed. defeat. I guess you would have needed a forklift, but...

03:08 S3

Hey.

03:09 S5

Wow.

03:09 S3

So what did you do then?

03:10 S5

They were. They were healthy eaters. I mean, like me, for instance?

03:16 S3

Yes.

03:18 S2

So you were such a small lad when I first met you as well.

03:21 S3

What happened?

03:21 S5

I was. I was much fitter back then. Now I'm fatter.

03:29 S2

Dear, dear listener, I have known Sean since, I think it's about 1988, when you came up to Darwin for the Pan Pacific Games.

03:36 S5

Correct?

03:37 S2

So, yes, a wee small lad back then, but, yes, he's... enjoyed life since then.

03:42 S5

Quite... know some of the things I used to do was I would help out with the music group, you know, making sure that... instruments were properly set up and... things like that.

03:56 S3

You also did Tech Corner.

03:57 S5

I did, I did tech Corner, Lizzie. And I did that for a while. And then Lizzie had life get in the way, and I did try to keep doing it, but it sort of petered out because nobody else kind of wanted to, to be there. It just, you know, it's like that sort of natural attrition that, uh, that happens when other things come up and, you know, even even though we're blind, we still get the attack of the shiny.

04:22 S3

That's true. Also, I remember that you did a bit of voiceover work for them too, didn't you?

04:26 S5

I did, and a lot of the time I was in the then Marnie Pierce lounge, you know, trying to braille up their... newsletter, which didn't quite work out as we'd hoped because a lot of time was spent setting up the Embosser. And Duxbury is an interesting piece of software. That's not to say it's bad, it's just an interesting piece of software, and if you've rarely worked with it before, then it can prove quite... daunting because you... would... take a word document, import it into Duxbury and hope the goodness it got all the translations correct?.

05:06 S2

What possessed you to do so much unpaid work for for this organization?

05:10 S5

Not well, not to put too fine a point on it. I was bored, and that's why a lot of volunteers do anything. Because they're bored sitting at home doing nothing. They've got some skills that they can put to use. They can't necessarily put it to use in an employed environment. So they go and volunteer somewhere to to do the work.

05:32 S2

Well, when we come back, we'll talk about the reason why we actually asked you in here for your because of your radio show on, uh, coast FM in Adelaide. But first let's hear from Simon and Abby who have their own radio show and podcast. Um, I will leave it to them to explain it.

05:52 S6

Recently it was Anzac Day, and I reached out to a friend of mine who I knew was in the Navy and knew that his wife was in the Navy also. And they are musicians, and that's who we are going to speak to today. We are going to be going to be speaking to Kay Fairbairn, who was a musician in the Royal Australian Navy. I've never been in the military. How about you? Have you ever been in the military?

06:15 S7

I'm a bit young. I was going to join the Navy after high school. I definitely considered it. Went through the application process, but I'm a New Zealand citizen, so they wouldn't accept me.

06:28 S2

So this week is volunteers week, and... I thought it would be good to actually catch up with people that do something similar to what I do. And that's what I sort of decided to catch up with you to on a rather scratchy zoom line with a lot of technical faults. Simon, what got you first involved with Vision Australia Radio?

06:45 S6

I saw an ad for volunteer readers and I approached them and said, well, I'm vision impaired myself, so I can't really be a very good reader. But I have an idea for a show. And I gave him the proposal for the show, and and they accepted the proposal, and here I am.

07:06 S2

Abby asks the same question. What got you involved?

07:09 S8

So I'm studying journalism at uni, and I did a podcasting unit. And it was about like carers and stuff in the disability sector. And my tutor really liked it and actually recommended me because... they were looking for someone to do the podcast with Simon, so they put my name forward and then, yeah, I met Simon and that was that.

07:29 S2

So the show is called In Plain Sight. I've got that right, haven't I?

07:33 S6

In Plain Sight. Yes.

07:35 S9

That's right.

07:36 S2

So...what gave you the idea for the title? Or was it that everything else was taken?

07:42 S6

I came up with the title because being on Vision Australia Radio, I thought it should have something to do with sight involved. And then I remembered that there is that phrase hidden in plain sight. And that was the nature of what I wanted to do, was present people who otherwise would be hidden in plain sight and give them an airing, let them share their voice. Let the public and their community hear what they have to say.

08:09 S2

So who's on your list if you talk to so far and who are you hoping to?

08:14 S6

Oh, we've talked to a lot of different people, Sam. Mostly people in and around the disability sector. I started originally with people who I know within the blindness community here in Perth. So people like Erica Webb, Jalisco. Also, Nigel Aisgill, some of the leading advocates in... the disability sector, coming up soon. This week we'll be talking to Vanessa Jessop, who works for the people with Disabilities Western Australia, which is a leading disability advocacy organisation who are holding their conference coming up... in June.

08:54 S9

Mm.

08:55 S2

How has the experience been for you?

08:57 S8

It's a tough question. I don't know, I really I really enjoyed it. I feel like I've learnt a lot, like there's a lot of things It's really, I guess, broaden my understanding of the world, like around me without that sounding too, like cringey. Yeah, it's just kind of, yeah, I've met some really great people, I think, and it's given me a lot of good experience. I've learnt a lot about interviewing people and podcasting and just yeah, I feel like I just keep learning.

09:27 S9

All right, back to you, Simon.

09:29 S2

Who's, I say, is there any particular person you want to target? Is there anyone that is there on your wish list that you would want to talk to?

09:37 S6

None that I would name right now. Sam. Excuse me. None. None really. Specifically. I just discover people as they arise with every new guest. They often tell me about new people. So a few weeks ago, we had a guest and she told me about three other people. They're all local people here in Western Australia. And that's the other point of it, is to highlight what's happening here in Western Australia, because we often feel a bit left out on this side of the world. So no specific names at the minute, Sam.

10:10 S9

All right. How are you finding the workload?

10:13 S2

I know we've talked a bit off air, and I explained that what we do is usually it's non-stop. So, finding this a bit of a challenge, or are you finding this a challenging but enjoyable?

10:24 S6

As I've just recently turned 60 years old and a number of my friends are thinking about retirement. I've just started a new job and, um, I haven't had a job for a while, so for that reason it's been a bit stressful and I didn't realise when I signed up for this that it's like a three and a half four day job preparing, setting up interviews, finding new people, making sure the schedule is booked in advance and then, um, preparing what we're going to say and do. So it's a, it is a pretty demanding role. And... luckily I love it. And I'd be, I'm happy to be as a volunteer.

11:04 S2

Abbie. Has there been what you said? It's been... a learning experience. Is there anything that sort of come across your... attention that you would have thought I would never have imagined that happening in a million years?

11:15 S8

A lot of things, actually. Like, I never knew that para dancing existed or that goalball existed, so things like that, and then learning all about it. We talked to... Caitlyn Hannon Williams and she's just recently a couple, I think it's coming out this week, and she's got the championships coming up in Finland, which is really cool. And then all the championships with the... para dancing as well, and just seeing it as really cool.

11:44 S2

And... we're about we're at are you at with your studies anyway? How far through are you?

11:49 S8

I'm in my final year at Murdoch.

11:52 S2

Oh, Murdoch. Nice university. I went to it myself. 

11:55 S10

Oh, really?

11:55 S6

It's interesting. We're talking about volunteering, Sam, because most of the people we talk to, even if they are in their paid position. And that's why we're talking to them. We're talking to them because they're giving back to their community, and mostly in a volunteering role, either in the sporting world or the disability advocacy world. And that's the type of thing we like to highlight. And it feels good to me to do this role as a volunteer. Yes. With Vision Australia, because I'm vision impaired. So I'm giving back to my community in that sense. 

But it's a role that I really value, and I don't do a lot of voluntary work these days, especially within the realms of the world that I am qualified to because I don't like volunteering, working for free when I think I should be getting paid. And I know volunteering in the disability sector can be quite tricky topic, because sometimes we get overused to do free work because people in this sector, in this society, rely on volunteering.

13:06 S2

What are you qualified to do, Simon?

13:07 S6

Oh, well, I've worked in and around the disability sector for most of my life. I would say I'm qualified as a disability support worker and an informal disability advocate, and I've worked in the admin roles within disability organisations and so on for many years. Sam. So I wouldn't work within the disability sector as such as a volunteer anymore because I've done that before and I don't need to do it anymore. And I think and I've also worked as a consultant as what they call as a... person with lived experience giving my expertise. And if they asking for expertise, I think it should be paid for.

13:49 S2

That's a valid enough thing. So but I mean, you're volunteering now, what would you say to others if they thought, Oh, this sounds fun, I'd like to do it myself? Would you say No, run away at full speed? Or give it a go?

14:05 S6

I would say give it... a go. Be aware of what you're doing. And like volunteering in this kind of capacity is a commitment. It is a job. It's an unpaid job, but it's a job nevertheless. And it can't be taken lightly. But it does give you a great deal of satisfaction. In this sense, we're getting satisfaction from from filling our role. We're learning as we go. We are meeting new people. We are contributing to our community. So it is very beneficial and it's beneficial on both sides. I always say volunteer is a very beneficial thing because it helps you in so many ways. So give it a go. Yes.

14:48 S2

Oh for sure. And I mean, and do you find it stressful at times.

14:52 S6

Yeah. Because it's a job. Any job. Every job is stressful, mate. Yes. Yeah, it can be.

14:57 S2

I do find it from time to time to be rather stressful, but I keep on thinking to myself, well, this is the job I've always wanted to do. So it's also has its rewards as well. All right, well, before we go, I might as well spruik your show. What's it called? When is it?

15:11 S6

It's called In Plain Sight. We go to air on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 on the local networks here in Perth and Melbourne. Not sure what time in Adelaide because Adelaide is different. And podcast is available on Wednesdays. And it's called In Plain Sight by Vision Australia Radio. And it's all about shining a light on those who would be otherwise hidden in plain sight.

15:35 S2

And all done for no pay whatsoever. Thank you, Simon and Abby.

15:38 S6

Thanks, mate.

15:39 S11

Thank you.

15:43 S1

This is Studio 1 on Vision Australia Radio.

15:49 S3

Sean., welcome back. Welcome back. It's so good to have you. Now, the reason we are talking to you today is because of your current status as a volunteer at Coast FM, producing live radio. So how did you get started in this? Like, what made you want to get back into radio?

16:06 S5

Well, I was already doing internet radio, which is in and of itself voluntary. So I'm no stranger to live radio or the, uh, the things that go into it. And somebody sent me an application form... was Dave Rankin. I think he sent me one that he had, and I decided to see if I could do something about it. And then I contacted the station because the PDF was not accessible. So, uh, the then one of the then trainers at the time, Phil Davis, got in contact with me, filled out the form, did all the necessary so I could partake in the Broadcasting Corp. 

Now coast FM is one of the ones that actually do a 6 to 8 week, if not a little bit longer broadcasting course. Yeah, right. So you have to at least have some knowledge of broadcast law. The codes of practice. Copyright law. How often you should report your playlist to APRA, and that's done on a quarterly basis. If I remember correctly, and there is usually a week in that quarter where every presenter that presents during that week has to fill out an APA sheet, which is then submitted to APRA so as to take care of royalties and and the like to be able to continue to play the music we play.

17:40 S3

So you said before that you used to volunteer on internet radio. How long were you doing that before you got the gig at coast?

17:47 S5

I started back in 2001. Wow. And I've been doing it for I still volunteer in some capacity because I'm a station manager on the station that I now volunteer for. So I've been in that game for around 24 years.

18:08 S3

And what sort of shows did you run?

18:11 S5

To start with? They were primarily music format. I then went on to a sort of free for all where I would talk to people and, you know, we some of the things you could get away with on internet radio, you can't get away with on live radio, let's put it that way.

18:30 S3

Indeed. I've heard some of your... internet radio shows and, yeah, you definitely wouldn't get away with broadcasting that on the AM or FM band.

18:38 S5

Oh, you might, depending on the time of day. There is such a thing as watershed.

18:42 S3

That's true.

18:43 S2

So the current gig you're in at the moment. So what? Maybe describe... what your time there would, would consist of, say, on a normal afternoon or evening.

18:54 S5

Okay. Well, I usually do late nights because there's a lot less moving parts. So it's getting to the studio. Sign in and set up and... after. So how how it works. You also do some training hours. You got to do 45 hours of training hours. And that's usually between midnight and 3 or 3 and six of a Sunday morning. Now that we do actually have a solid show on a Sunday morning between midnight and three. 3 to 6 is when most of the trainee broadcasters go in, uh, either with their mentor or when they've had enough hours on their own and do a live show. So it's go in, set up, check your levels, and make sure that your, uh, your playlist works. 

And after a certain amount of time, you can request to use... Station Playlist Studio as you play out. I was given a dispensation considering my disability, to do so. And I still learnt, however, how to use the... turntables and the the CD players just in the event that the computer does a thing and goes off on a holiday.

20:10 S2

Now, now, dear listener, I will explain here. Sean is actually totally blind, or at least so he claims to be.

20:16 S3

I think he's just saying that so he can get the pension though. Yeah, much like myself.

20:20 S5

Are you giving away my secrets?

20:21 S4

Oh, no.

20:22 S5

No. Rude.

20:23 S4

Sorry.

20:26 S5

Now, what we have done at the studio, and they were quite happy to do it. We got a we got a whole set of lock dots and we put them up. This is a reference that Sam would get. We'd put them at the the zero point of the fader so that I can just push the fader up, line it up with the dot, and I'm at zero DB.

20:49 S3

That's pretty good. Yeah, I'm my next question was going to be, what sort of accommodations did they make for you so that you were able to volunteer?

20:57 S5

Mm. And the other thing we do too is when there's cards to be played, I usually get them a few days in advance so that I can load them up in the station playlist because they use Netgear. And as far as I know, Netgear is not particularly blind friendly. And if it is, I've yet to find a way to get at it... the only... blind person I know that does actually use Netgear is, of course, Nas Campanella, who reads the news on the ABC.

21:30 S3

So do you have jaws on those, on the station computers? And what other accommodations did they make for you?

21:37 S5

No, we don't have jaws on the station computers because they don't take care of their own. It they outsource that. And... they're a little reluctant to to do anything like that. I have Nvda on my computer. I can do one of two things I can usually ask the broadcaster before me. I had to do it this this time. Normally I don't. I had to ask them to to pull the weather sting into Netgear for me so that when I finished my show I could play the weather sting in the next broadcast, could come up and do his thing. But normally I don't have to do that. I just play out and the next broadcaster will have set up his... run of cards, including the weather sting. And, you know, we just... change off and go from there.

22:24 S2

It fascinates me that you're still using cards. That's...

22:27 S5

Well, when I say cards, Nitya is all completely software based. So you have you have card stacks. Um, so they're virtual cards more than anything, right? And not those... things that you and I used to play with back in the day. Sam. Oh, yes. I remember having to organise those, too. What a pain.

22:51 S3

So, what would you say are the benefits of volunteering?

22:54 S5

Well, you're putting yourself out into the community, particularly with... live radio. You're... talking to your listener. You're educating them with your music tastes. And sometimes you get, you know, get some feedback or you're playing some good music there, or...

23:13 S12

Oh, can I have a little more Slim Dusty?

23:17 S5

Yeah. You know, I'll see what I can do.

23:20 S3

Yeah. What about when you were volunteering at Beyond Blindness? Could you see the impact that your volunteering made on on other people in that community?

23:28 S5

Yeah. And it's very immediate gratification in that sense because... more often than not, I had people coming up to me wanting their computers sorted out, and there was a couple of times I've had to go to people's homes to help them with their phones and their, their technology, and they're usually quite thankful that somebody has come to do it for them because they haven't got a clue. Their family ain't got a clue. USometimes others that say they've got a clue don't necessarily have one.

24:01 S2

Yeah, well, I mean, technology is it's becoming more and more important as we go along now. I mean, I don't think anyone nowadays could cope without some degree of electronics or something like that. It's...

24:13 S5

Yeah.

24:13 S2

But anyway, moving right along because, as Lizzie... hinted at earlier, you're not the only volunteer in this room. Both of us volunteer in some way or shape. And, in fact, Lizzie's been doing a... you've been doing a course?

24:29 S3

Yeah. Oh, it's been so much fun. So I'm currently engaged in the Audio Ability course, which is run by the CMTO or Community Media Training Organisation, which is a national organisation, I suppose. And this course basically trains people with disabilities in the skills necessary to become independent broadcasters. So it's a 16 week course I've been going through. I'm nearly at the end. In fact, I've got my assessment all next week, I think. And, um, as part of that, I've had to receive some mentoring from... somebody down at Radio Adelaide. So I've actually been, uh, like last week I did my first live show. 

So... my radio mentor there hosts a show that deals specifically with fresh Australian music and artists that have come hot off the press and things like that. And yeah, I got to go behind the boards last week and do some panel operating and forward, announce and backing out some songs and introduce myself on air. And they are possibly thinking about giving me my own show.

25:32 S5

So look out.

25:33 S2

Did you make any major mistakes? Uh, did you... turn on the wrong mic or... actually to the studio or something?

25:38 S3

You know, what I did do was I had the wrong headset on, and I went to... I turned the right mic on, I turned the right mic on, but I couldn't hear myself.

25:50 S2

So I think that's a benefit. That shouldn't be too bad.

25:53 S3

Oh thanks, Sam. So listeners would have heard.... Ah. Hey. Yeah. This is Lizzie Eastham. Um, not. Yeah. Okay, good. Uh, so we just heard this song... and I sort of stumbled over myself. But after I got the right headset, I was fine. It was good. I fixed it up.

26:09 S2

So do you know what I tend to do? In fact, the vast majority of my work for Vision Australia Radio is actually Peter Greco producing. So he... has a one hour show on Wednesdays and a 1.5 hour show on Saturdays. And the reason why we didn't drag Peter in today is because, well, he's got the show directly before us. And, yes, you can have too much of one person.

26:33 S3

Absolutely. And, you know, he's pretty popular. You know about him?

26:39 S2

Yeah. Hopefully, if you're listening to this radio station, then yes, give his work a go, because he's got a very good producer.

26:45 S3

Yes. Yeah.

26:46 S2

Great. Anyway, that is a wrap for this week. A big thank you to Simon Abbey and Sean.

26:54 S4

Thank you.

26:55 S3

And of course, a big thanks to you for listening. And that includes our listeners on the Reading Radio Network. You can find a podcast of this program, including some extra content on Apple, Spotify, Google or your favourite podcast platform.

27:09 S2

Next week, we are talking to two support workers who coincidentally have the same name. The two megans talk about their backgrounds, what got them involved in the NDIA, and where things are going from here.

27:22 S3

But between now and then, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have any experience of the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio 1, or if you think there's something we should be talking about. You never know. Your story and insight may help someone who's dealing with something similar.

27:37 S2

Our email address is studio1@visionaustralia.org - that's studio number one at Vision Australia dot org.

27:42 S3

Or of course you can find us on all the good social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram by searching for VA Radio Network. We want to hear from you.

27:53 S5

This program was made possible with the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find out more at cbf.com.au  ...