Summary by Country
Questionnaire basic training in community radios – Summary by Country
We received feedback from 20 radios/institutions: 8 in Austria, 4 in Switzerland, 2 in Hungary, 1 in Ireland, 5 in Germany
Switzerland: Radio School klipp+klang, Radio Bern RaBe, Radio Kanal K und Radio X
- Context and formal aspects
- There are on average 4 basic trainings per year per station
- The target groups are mostly young people who want to do radio shows on a volunteer basis. Trainees of the daily news department also take part in the courses. The background doesn’t matter. People without knowledge in German language are welcome
- Most of the trainings are organised by the radio school klipp+klang. Each radio station distributes the brochures of the school, sends e‑mails to the new radio participants and newsletters to people who might be interested. The trainings are announced on the website of radio and on www.klippklang.ch. People who are responsible for trainings at each radio also inform the new radio participants about the basic trainings
- The trainings are financed by the radio station itself, by the government and in a few cases also partly by the participants themselves
- The trainers are paid for their work
- There is no regular training for trainers: they are qualified journalists, who already do their job for many years. Trainings for trainers are organised according to specific needs.
- The trainers are normally chosen by the Radio school klipp+klang. Except for the introduction to radio techniques trainers are usually from outside, e.g. from another community radio. This fosters exchange among community stations and has the advantage that the trainer isn’t a person in charge at the radio station and therefore neutral.
- Before going on air participants should visit 2.5 to 4 days of training
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After the basic training participants can require further training. The responsible person for the trainings at each radio organizes group feedbacks together with klipp + klang (at “3‑Fach” there are individual feedback-hours: one hour in 6 month). Daily support is different in every station: at some of them the radio-crew is always there for answering questions, others can only offer minimal support.
- The total amount of hours varies between 15 and 18 hours. The training units last from 3 to 6.5 hours. The time span between the units lasts from 2 to 7 days.
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Objectives
- Developing interest in community radio and radio in general
- Learning basics the about radio journalism
- Knowing about the media-situation in Switzerland
- Being able to write a concept for a radio show and to implement it after the training
- Creating radio content
- Getting to know the radio they work at
- Getting to know other people who are interested in radio
- Learning how to receive feedback and give feedback to other participants
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Topics of the training
- Media landscape in Switzerland (including community radios)
- The organisation of the radio station
- Mixing desk of the radio studio
- Field recording, editing audio material
- Journalistic attitude
- Writing for broadcasting
- Interview
- Research
- The role of the moderator/presenter
- Recording a trial radio show
- Feedback
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Training structure and schedule
- Trainers work mostly with the official handbook from Radioschule klipp+klang, handouts and flip charts
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The trainings are structured in three parts:
Day 1: Topics: community radio, recording, editing, studio techniques, feedback (mostly practical work). Method: problem-based learning: first let the participants try and find out themselves, then explain. This works especially good in the studio.
Example of structure:
1. Introduction
2. Theory about recording
3. Recording in the studio
4. Field recording
5. Cutting
6. Putting edited audio material together
7. Listening, feedback
8. Enhancing
9. Export to an air-ready media-file
Day 2: Morning: presentation and speaking on-air, including an exercise and feedback. Afternoon: research, redaction meeting, where everyone decides what he/she wants to do for the show on the 3rd day, then do first researches on the projects in groups.
Day 3: Give more input on topics not covered so far, depending on the needs of the participants (interview, presenting), then work on the projects. Producing a radio show, listening and feedback of the show and the course.
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Evaluation
- The final project on the 3rd day and the oral feedback work as a “lesson learned check”
- There is a feedback round at the end as well as standardised forms for course evaluation.
Austria: Radio ORANGE 94.0, Radio FRO, Radio Helsinki, Freies Radio Innsbruck (FREIRAD 105.9), Proton — das freie Radio, Freies Radio Freistadt, Radio op, Freies Radio B138
- Context and formal aspects
- 4 radios mention to run 5–8 basic trainings per year, 3 run more than 12 basic trainings and others between 9 and 12 basic trainings per year
- Target groups are people who are interested in doing radio, especially cultural and ethnic minorities and people who have little access to mainstream media, but also:
- school classes and teams from NGO’s who want to broadcast
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students
- the queer/feminist community, for women only, and for people with special needs
- environmental or social activists
- People are invited to trainings through flyers, advertisement on the Website, newsletters, mailing lists, word by mouth propaganda, personal networks, ads in local newspapers, radio spots, facebook and other social networks.
- The trainings are mostly financed by the radio stations, public funding and by the participants themselves
- The trainers are paid for the trainings, but sometimes they work as volunteers.
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There is training for trainers, offered for example by COMMIT and VFRÖ.
- The trainers are often chosen by the managing director, at Radio Helsinki trainers volunteer to participate in the instruction team
- Before going on air, participants should visit between 0.5 and 4 days of trainings
- After the basic training participants are supported individually at Radio ORANGE and Freies Radio Freistadt. At other radio stations there is support when required, e.g. Radio FRO, Freies Radio Innsbruck, Proton. At B138 employees support participants during their first show, because the basic training is very short. At Radio op there are regular trainings after the first basic one.
- The total amount of hours varies between 8 and 24 hours. The training units last from 2 to 8 hours. The time span between the units varies from 1 day up to one moth.
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Objectives
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Teaching basic journalistic and technical skills
- To Motivate participants
- Fostering the understanding of the own radio station
- Media law
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Content
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History of community radio in Austria
- Austrian media law
- Introduction to technical equipment of the radio studio (digital recording, studio technique)
- Introduction to radio journalism (speaking, research, interview, editing, news, moderation)
- Copy right
- Planning a radio program
- Crossmedia production
- Publishing
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Training structure and schedule
Radio Fro
Day 1, 8 hours: Basics about Community Radio Stations, introduction to media law, studio techniques and working at the radio station in general, production of a live-show
Day 2, 4 hours: Show design and different radio formats, interview
Day 3, 4 hours: Journalistic work (research, media law), Cross Media Publishing
Day 4, 4 hours: Preproduction, audio editing, studio techinques
Day 4, 4 hours: Live on air, planning and production of a live-show
Radio Helsinki
Day 1: law and history, theoretical aspects
Day 2: studio, recording devices, practical aspects
Freies Radio Innsbruck
Day 1: introduction, community radio in Austria and techniques
Day 2: Information about Freirad and live show
B138
The 5‑hour training contains community radio, media law, show formats, live show, feedback.
Radio Proton
Part 1: Historical overview and charter of community radios, media rules, studio techniques
Part 2: recording devices, microphones, studio techniques revisited
Freies Radio Freistadt
One Day Training:
Morning: introduction and theoretical aspects
Afternoon: choosing topic, plan and prepare a show (including recording and editing interviews, texting moderation), live-show, feedback round
Radio op
Learning by doing, air-checks, feedback through listening
Radio ORANGE
Day 1: practical introduction
Day 2, evening session: preproduction
Day 3, evening session: media law and media ethics
Day 4, evening session: live-show
There is a scheduled basic structure, but trainers are free to choose their favourite methods.
All of them use handbooks and handouts.
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Evaluation
Feedback is conducted orally and written. The radio show at the end of the training proves the level of skills acquired. All the trainers will be informed about the results of the project.
Hungary: Civil Radio/ Federation of Hungarian Free Radios
- Context and formal aspects
- Civil radio organises 5–8 trainings per year
- The most important target groups are senior citizens and students. Civil Radio is open for “people who are open to the world, willing to do something for their own neighbourhood and have something to tell to the others”.
- Civil radio makes advertisement through professional mailing lists of NGOs, local newspapers and radios, website and on free social networking websites (like facebook).
- The trainings are financed by the radio station itself.
- The trainers are not paid for their teaching.
- There is no formalised training process for the trainers: trainers learn through experience and from each other.
- Before going on air participants should visit 1 to 4 days of training.
- After the basic training, the trainers at Civil Radio try to follow the presenter for about six weeks and gives feedback to his/her own shows. Trainers are also there if they need any sort of help.
- The total amount of hours varies between 24 and 30 hours. The training units last from 1 to 8 hours. The time span between the units lasts from 1 to 7 days.
- Objectives
Develop general communicational skills. Learn new media technologies and tools, develop radio journalist skills (techniques of questioning, making an interview, editing, etc.). At the end, the newcomer should be able to do a show on their own, either live or recorded.
- Content
Research, writing, interview, editing, technics, free media tools (online tools, like blogs, facebook, netradio, etc.).
- Training structure and schedule
- General communicational skills/importance of media/ media history
- Public media, commercial media, community media (analysing media materials)
- Introduction to new media tools
- Practices (how to write news about our activities, how to invite someone to our radio show, how to ask, how to catch the attention of the listeners/readers, etc.)
Tools: Handouts
- Evaluation
Evaluation occurs through participant’s oral feedback after the training. The “lesson learned check” is to produce the own show.
All the trainers will be informed about the results of the project.
Ireland: near fm
- Context and formal aspects
- Near FM organises between 9 and 12 trainings per year
- The target groups are new volunteers, staff and third country nationals.
- Near fm receives requests about how to become volunteers. People are also recruited through unemployment office. Third country nationals are invited to apply for training through advocacy organisations.
- The trainings are financed by the radio station, participants, the Department of Adult Education, the European Integration Fund and the national agency Pobal
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Some trainers are paid, some work on a voluntary basis.
- trainings are organised by Near FM itself
- Trainers are trained by external agencies who are specialists for this kind of training.
- Before going on air participants should have visited between 3 and 4 days training.
- After the basic training there is individual coaching delivered in specific areas (digital editing, sound engineering, etc). “New volunteers are required to shadow a live programme for at least 4 hours, so they can understand the live broadcasting process. There is a person on studio duty to support them from 9am-7pm, after this time, if required, technical assistance can be organised.”
- Basic training lasts 20 hours in total. The training units last from 1 to 2 hours. The time span between the units lasts from 2 to 7days.
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Objectives
To understand the ethos of community radio and Near FM: how we interview, research and produce radio programmes
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Content
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Introduction to community radio (ethos)
- Networking
- Interview and research (links with community and voluntary organisations)
- Studio protocol
- Portable recordings
- Sound engineering
- Production values
- Promote your programme
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Training structure and schedule
Modules of the basic training:
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Introduction to Community Radio
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What is Media Literacy
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Law and Media
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How to use the radio Studios and portable recorders
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How to do Research and Interviewing
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How to put a programme together
Additional add-on workshop in the studio:
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The do’s and don’ts of interviews
- Recording interviews in pairs
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Playback and feedback
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Copy of interviews.
Tools: Handbooks and handouts
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Evaluation
Evaluation occurs through evaluation forms (mid training and at the end for certified training)
Germany: Radio Corax, Pi Radio Berlin, FSK Hamburg, Radio Unerhört Marburg, Radio Frei Erfurt
- Context and formal aspects
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The German Stations organise between 1and 8 trainings per year. Pi Radio has no basic training, but offers a introduction to the studio equipement
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The target groups are radio beginners, volunteers that want to do their own show and at Radio Corax also interns.
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Advertisement is conducted through website, broadcasting, program brochure and flyer. One station only uses the internal network.
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FSK Hamburg receives funding from the Medienanstalt, Radio Corax from the Youth Welfare Office, the other trainings are fully financed by the radio or by the radio and the participants. Only at one stations, the trainers are paid.
- Some trainers are paid, some work on a voluntary basis. They are chosen within the radio station according to experience. There a only very few train-the-trainer workshops, trainers usually train from other trainers.
- Before going on air participants should have visited between 0.5 and 3 days training.
- After the basic training support from experienced staff is available at most stations. At FSK Hamburg the trainees are integrated in an existing editorial board. Only Radio Frei Erfurt mentions further training units.
- One Basic training lasts 5 hours, the others between 15 and 20 hours. The training units last from between 2 and 8 hours. The trainings take place Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday.
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Objectives
- Getting to know how radio journalism works in community radio
- Giving volunteers the competences they need to do their own radio broadcast
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Content
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Finding a topic,
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Research
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Recording
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Interview
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Editing
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Planning a programme
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Speaking
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Hosting a show
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Community radio philosophy
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Medialandscape
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Internal guidelines, structures
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Media law
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Radio transmission
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Training structure and schedule
Radio Corax
Day 1: Doing a regular production starting with brainstorming about the topic that should be worked on, philosophy of community radio, media landscape,
Day 2: Finding partners for interviews, recording the interviews
Day 3: Editing the recordings, writing texts for speaking, putting it into a report and finally putting all together in a show. The whole process is done by a short theoretical input to each step and the guided practical doing directly afterwards.
FSK Hamburg
Day 1: Two persons are giving lectures on the topics step by step guided by a keyword catalogue
Radio Unerhört
The 2 to 2.5 day long training is structured in 5 units, from listening to broadcasting, at the end the participants are putting a radio show together
Radio Frei Erfurt
Methods used are theoretical input, step by step learning by doing in simulated situations (studio, interview)
Almost all Radios use handbooks and handouts, Radio Frei Erfurt has a internal wiki
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Evaluation
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Lesson learned check: will be heard, once the volunteer go on air with their own show. Radio Corax produced a show at the end of the training.
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Evaluation is conducted with feedback round at the end of the workshops
