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Brisbane’s 98.9fm Murri radio celebrates 20th birthday
TIGA BAYLES - “We’re enacting our sovereign right to be able to communicate, to disseminate information, where we determine the policies, where we determine the news stories and the programming.” IMAGES: Callum Clayton-Dixon
by Callum Dixon
nganyaywana
98.9fm General Manager Tiga Bayles says First Nations media is “more than self-determination, its sovereignty”. “We’re enacting our sovereign right to be able to communicate, to disseminate information, where we determine the policies, where we determine the news stories and the programming.” Brisbane’s Murri radio station celebrated its 20th year on air yesterday, a milestone Mr Bayles attributed to “the commitment and the initiative of First Nations communities, we’ve done it ourselves”.
station has come a long way since its humble beginnings as the Murri Hour on 4ZZZ in the 1980s. 98.9fm is owned by the Brisbane Indigenous Media Association (BIMA). On April 6 of 1993, 98.9fm hit the airwaves making its mark for its unique blend of country and Indigenous music. Following in the footsteps of Townsville’s 4K1G and CAAMA Radio in Alice Springs, 98.9fm was also the first Indigenous radio station in a capital city. “We can articulate our own history, our own experiences and our own identity,” said Mr Bayles a Birrigubba man and First Nations radio pioneer.
“The station is here today because of the obvious void of not With a relatively new multimillion dollar home in West End, the being able to hear black voices, black music and black commentary. First Nations owned and operated April 6, 2013
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There needs to be more awareness and a better understanding of this country’s history, because the education system is still failing us today, all of us. If we’re to change attitudes within this country, and we must, the best vehicles to change attitudes in society are education and information. Black media plays a massive role in the decolonization process and resisting assimilation.” Mr Bayles is pushing for Black media to be recognized by the Australian Government as an essential service in the closing the gap strategy. “They [government] have never approached First Nations media to be a part of closing the gap for the role that we can play. They still don’t get how important First Nations media is.” 98.9FM is part of the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS), a satellite network of more than 120 community radio stations across Australia. NEWS
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