Susanna Freymark
Two visitors from the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia were thrilled to see all the cow ornaments displayed at COW FM studio today, Tuesday, October 15.
CBAA station development manager Eleanor Zurowski and project officer Megan Williams had already visited community radio stations at Scenic Rim, Warwick, and Tenterfield.
After visiting COW FM, they were going to Nimbin, Lismore, Byron Bay and Ballina.
Their final destination is the Gold Coast where a CBAA conference is being held this Saturday, October 19.
COW FM president Kevin Dodd is attending the conference as a CBAA conference scholarship recipient. He’s looking forward to meeting other community radio broadcasters to gain information and ideas for COW FM’s future progress.
IndyNR.com editor Susanna Freymark is on a panel at the conference discussing how community news breaks local stories and engages with audiences.
Find out more about the conference here.
At the Casino studio, presenters Margaret Rollings, Merle Summerville, Nanette Dodd and Graeme Rooney met with Megan and Eleanor.
One of the common issues facing all community station is getting volunteers, Eleanor said.
Margaret is a new COW FM presenter. She started 10 months ago.
She was interviewed on Merle’s show, and then Kevin asked if she’d like to present.
“It took me three months of training before I went totally live,” Margaret said.
Learning the technology was challenging.
“Anything can go wrong – and it did,” she said.
“I’m 80% confident of being by myself in the studio.”
Margaret spends time outside the studio collating music for her show.
“I play 80s to now. I’m very upbeat.”
She plays artists such as Meatloaf, The Clash, Jimmy Barnes and Sabrina Carpenter.
“I like to intersperse it with some Spanish and a bit of opera,” Margaret said.
Find out more on the COW FM website.