IMC UK Radio Page
IMC Radio Network | UK radio projects | Event based projects | Online archives | Resources and software | Other radio groups
The IMC Radio Network
Indymedia Radio is the Indymedia network's global radio site. Here you can find links to grassroots independent radio projects around the world, a live internet radio directory, an aggregated listing of sound files published to Indymedia sites around the world, and open publishing of radio and radio-related news and content: http://radio.indymedia.org
UK Radio Projects
There are a number of groups doing indymedia related radio projects in the UK not all of which are listed here. If you are part of an existing or emerging project and would like information added to this page, please write to the IMC-UK-Radio mailing list. The list is also a good place to start if you are interested in getting involved with a radio project or setting up a new one, but it would also be a really good idea to get involved in your nearest regional IMC collective as well.
Current radio projects:
Dissident Island (London) - A small republic off the coast of London. Inhabited by a motley crew of dissidents who spend most of their time playing with puppies and producing a radio show of some sort. We start at about nine every Friday. http://www.dissidentisland.org/
Radio Dialect (Bristol) - Internet broadcasting co-operative run by volunteers. Main activity is the weekly current affairs and arts magazine programme Dialect, which is recorded live at the British Empire and Commonwealth museum at Temple Meads then posted for download every Saturday. http://www.dialectradio.co.uk/
Riseup! Radio (Nottingham) - Riseup! Radio is a community based radio show from Nottingham, UK. Reports on stuff that didn't make other local media, music from local artists and bands and chatting about stuff that matters. We're currently working on a monthly show, downloadable from the first day of each month. Download, listen, distribute, comment and contribute! http://riseupradio.wordpress.com
Under The Pavement (Manchester) - In Manchester, for over 3 years, Under The Pavement has been providing reports from local activist communities and news from Indymedia. It is broadcast on ALL FM 96.9, a local community radio station, every other Monday from 9pm to 11pm. http://www.underthepavement.org/
Previous radio projects:
Indymedia Radio London started in November 2002 when the group was given a half hour slot on Resonance FM, which was shortly increased to one hour once a week. The show ran for three years. See wikipage and listen to 8 shows archived from Nov 05 to Jan 06.
Slow Small Peasants brought audio landscapes on social and ecological justice. The show evolved out of Diveristy Radio which disseminated the diverse views of participants and others during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002. They also covered the (COP6) Convention on Biological Diversity.
Cambridge Indymedia Radio linked up with 209Radio, a local community radio station for monthly shows.
Sheffield Indymedia got involved in their local community radio station in 2003.
RampART Radio began in September 2004 when a studio was created at the rampART social centre in London. The new alt- media production facilities were aimed at providing independent media coverage during the London European Social Forum held in October 2004. When the ESF finished the station continued, adding a variety of regular live programs, and putting out daily news and events listings.
Event Based Projects
Occasionally there are radio projects set up for coverage of specific events such as major protests or conferences etc. For example, the Indymedia Radio London group started by producing pre-recorded radio articles for the Brussels EEC protests in December 2001 and the New York WEF protests in Feburary 2002 and went on to produce a 13 hour live web stream radio commentary of the 2002 Mayday. They also did live coverage of the protests against the DSEi armsfair in 2003.
A week before the 2004 European Social Forum, newly established RampART Radio began to stream 24/7 coverage of ESF related information. Orginally the show was streamed via the UK's own indymedia internet radio server but on 8th October, two UK IMC servers (including the radio server) were seized by order of US authorities. However, within a few hours the show was back online after a quick switch to the global IMC radio server.
For the G8 mobilisation in July, a new group was formed called the Radical Radio Coalition which brought together radical radio makers from around the world. The result was a repositry of in-depth multilingual coverage about the protests and the issues. Plans to stream from the IMC set up in Edinburgh met technical difficulties but RampART Radio filled the gaps with five days of live up-to-the-minute coverage rebroadcast by stations around the world. Check out the archive of G8 related audio.
If you are interested in setting up a stream to provide coverage of an event in your area, contact the imc-audio mailing list. If you need help, contact the nearest radio project or join the imc-uk-radio mailing list.
Online archives
Audio Archives
INDYMEDIA.ORG.UK
It used to be possible to locate audio content on UK and the regional IMCs using the search engine. Currently however the search engine has been disabled and google is being used instead. You can try using and modifiying this search query to find audio content in the newswire.
Additionally, check out these prepared .m3u playlists of all mp3 uploads in any given month : Sept 2005 - Aug 2005 - July 2005 - June 2005 - May 2005 - April 2005 - March 2005 - Feb 2005 - Jan 2005 - Dec 2004 - Oct 2004 - Sept 2004 - July 2004 -
Notts Indymedia Audio
Online archive of audio posted to the Notts Indymedia site. Lectures, action reports and interviews. Check out the audio page for downloads and more..
IMC LONDON RADIO
A list of links to the audio archive of the London radio group can be found here and includes the weekly Newswire show broadcast on Resonance.
RADIO.INDYMEDIA.ORG
As well as providing links to loads of radical stations to listen to online, the radio.indymedia.org site contains a massive archive of audio content. It is searchable but not catagorised. You can also create you own customised podcasts from the archive and new submissions!
Also check out non indymedia archives:
- The A-Infos Radio Project was formed in 1996 by grassroots broadcasters, free radio journalists and cyber-activists to provide ourselves with the means to share our radio programs via the Internet. Listen online or download programmes fro re-broadcast.
- InterWorld Radio is a source of daily news bulletins and broadcast quality features for radio stations and online listeners. We commission local journalists all over the world to file reports on the critical global issues of our time - economics, human rights, environment, international trade, science and technology.
- G8 Radical Radio Coalition audio archive around the G8 2005 mobalisation, protests and background issues.
Software and resources
Anyone can produce and upload audio recordings, be it speeches, interviews, or their own reports. Audio recording is a much more established technology than say video or digital photograph and it is much easier and quicker to produce audio pieces than an edited video. Audio probably has bigger audiences as well, expecially in the age of podcasting. Sometime Indymedia UK provides a service that enables people to phone in their reports direct to the newswire, this may in the future become a permenent feature. However, more and more people are carrying around MP3 devices and mobile phones capable of doing digital voice recording and mini disc recorders are not too expensive these days. Even an old tape recorder or dictaphone can be fine.
If you are need help, or training or are interested in collaborating on creating and distributing radical radio programming, contact the IMC UK Radio list.
Audio Editing Software
- Audacity is a cross platform digital multi track editor. It is free and open source.
Audio Streaming Solutions (check out dynebolic for a quick no install solution)
- Windows: WinAMP + Oddcast plugin (all free)
- Linux/NIX: Muse Streamer or XMMS plus oddcast (all are free and opensource)
- Mac OS: icecast or dark cast (or nicecast, easy but $40)
Basic 'how-to' guides
Interview Techniques for Radio a free multimedia guide. BIG download. Interviewing for radio online BBC training modules- What Microphone Do I Get?
- Recording Audio - Good Location, Appropriate Microphone, Media Formats and Monitoring
- Making Waves mostly about pirate FM broadcast but has section on internet radio too
Our own Indymedia UK guide to audio production and radio is coming soon...
Other radio groups
Here is a short list of some significant radio projects around the world. Check out the global Indymedia Radio website for a more complete list.
To request a link please mail your recommendation with brief outline to imc-uk-radio@lists.indymedia.org.
- Blast Furnace Radio is operated out of the basement of the Duncan and Porter House of Hospitality and Resistance, which is shelter to who ever arrives at the door and provides fertile soil for activism in the Pittsburgh area. The station, constructed from all donated and found materials, features Catlin the Destroyer (a 2-yr old Web Jockey), songs played on a Fisher Price record player, and other kickass audio.
- OneWorld Radio offers services and networking for broadcasters and civil society organisations who are using radio for human rights, sustainable development and democracy. Here you will find radio programmes for exchange, news, training and funding resources, and a growing directory of community members who are using radio for change.
- AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement, with almost 3 000 members and associates in 106 countries. Its goal is to support and contribute to the development of community and participatory radio along the principals of solidarity and international cooperation
- Democracy Now is a US based, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 350 stations in North America. Part of the Pacifica Network , the program is hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez and produced out of the Downtown Community Television Center, a community media center in New York Citys Chinatown.
- Free Radio Santa Cruz freek radio pirate radio home of SkidMark Bob
- Prometheus Radio Project To help start a regional micropower association, which could eventually serve as a self-regulating association for low power fm analagous to the ARRL for HAM radio. Until this is formed, we will perform some of its future functions, primarily performing a coordinating and secretarial role to facilitate communications among existing stations.
- CKUT 90.3 FM McGill Radio Inc. is a non-profit campus community radio station that provides alternative music, news and spoken word programming to the city of Montreal and surrounding areas. We broadcast 24 hours a day, every day. Hear us at 90.3 MHz on your FM dial, or 91.7 by cable, or tune in by Real Audio over the Internet.
- UK Community Media - The CMA is the UK association for Community Media. The CMA supports people to establish and develop local media enterprises for community-based creatice and culural expresion, community development, information and entertainment. The CMA provides information, advice, training and consultancy. It produces publications and organises events, and it represents the interests of community media to Government, regulators, industries and the voluntary sector.
- DIYmedia includes a handy little audio archive with songs about pirate radio and revolution.
Remember, links to loads of radical stations online can be found at the radio.indymedia.org site
imc-uk-radio, 21.09.2005 23:00