Brisbane will have a new radio station this weekend for World Press Freedom Day events at the UQ St Lucia campus.
World Press Freedom Day events at the UQ Centre, St Lucia will be broadcast live on Sunday, May 2 and Monday, May 3 through an innovative “Radio In A Box” radio transmitter.
The University has obtained a special events community broadcasting licence to transmit conference proceedings on an FM frequency (94.3MHz) to the University campus and neighbouring suburbs and will be demonstrating the technology to interested media professionals and conference delegates.
The portable “Radio In A Box” is a compact and mobile radio transmitter, which can be used to broadcast messages in post-disaster situations in Asia and the Pacific.
Given recent tsunami events, cyclones and earthquakes in several nations of the Asia-Pacific region, the practical application of the technology is self-evident.
It’s a UNESCO product designed by an engineer, Rukmin Wijemanne, at the Kuala Lumpur-based Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). The ‘box’ contains a 30 watt FM transmitter, a small computer, microphones, CD/cassette player, digital audio recorder (option) and all the other essentials needed to set up a radio station in an emergency situation or disaster area.
It is now built by In a Box Innovations based in Melbourne, Australia.
14 UQ journalism students learning their craft at the UQ School of Journalism and Communication’s JACradio http://www.jacradio.com.au/ will be helping transmit from the World Press Freedom Day conference.
Vision and sound of World Press Freedom Day activities will also be streamed live via http://www.livestream.com/wpfd2010
For more information about World Press Freedom day visit www.wpfd2010.org
Media: For further information contact:
• John Austin. School of Journalism and Communication, The University of Queensland, phone 07 3346 8237. Mobile: 0431806353
• Marsali Mackinnon. WPFD Project Manager. 07 3346 8262
• Jan King 07 33654 1120, Mobile 0413 601 248
