Melbourne’s 3CR Community Radio will run its annual Radiothon over June 4-17 to keep its radical voice broadcasting.
“Fight for Your Mic” is the rallying cry for this year’s fundraiser, and it’s shows like Blaknoise Radio that will ask listeners to dig deep to support the station.
After two decades producing and broadcasting for mainstream radio, Blaknoise Radio producer and presenter Kerri-Lee Harding, aka Blak Betty, brings a wealth of experience to 3CR. “It’s so important that I broadcast Blaknoise out of 3CR because it’s a fiercely independent radio station.
“I feel like I’ve come back home to broadcast in a sense, I started here 20-something years ago, and now I feel like I’ve come full circle.”
Harding’s radio journey began in the late ’90s with a show about grunge music, as part of test broadcasts for 3KND Radio, broadcast live out of 3CR’s Studio Three. This was followed by time at JOY FM guesting on a show about technology and the internet.
With community radio experience under her belt, Harding’s 20-year stint at the ABC started with an 18-month Aboriginal broadcaster cadetship at what is now ABC Melbourne, but was then known as 3LO.
Looking into the future at 3CR, Harding said: “It’s really nice to come full circle in my radio career, and I hope that I can continue to work hard for my mob, and continue to keep my finger on the pulse to make sure that our very important stories are heard, whether it be about health or education or the arts or politics, or our children.”
Despite all that we know about the importance of representation, it is still a revolutionary act to put a mic in the hand of someone denied a voice. More than four decades after it began, 3CR Community Radio continues to do just that.
“Fight For Your Mic” captures the station’s ongoing commitment to fighting for a better world through the medium of radio. During our annual Radiothon fundraiser, we ask all our supporters to donate to shows like Blaknoise Radio so we can stay radical and independent.
“I like to hope that things will change if we keep talking, and I think that’s what it’s all about,” Harding said. “It’s all about conversation isn’t it? With anything, you wanna move forward you’ve got to talk with one another, and keep talking, and that’s what we need to keep doing on Aboriginal radio.’”
[You can donate at 3cr.org.au/donate. Listen to Blaknoise Radio online at 3cr.org.au on Thursdays at 2-3pm.]