A radio project was born
In September 2010, our local radio station BayFM in Byron Bay was seeking applications for new radio shows, and we saw this as our chance to reach local families and the wider community. As a broadcast radio show, this marked an opportunity to bring awareness of the need to support mothers and their partners. For the first time, the listeners of our region - truck drivers, shop keepers, tradies, grandparents - would be hearing for themselves information that can make families healthier. You can read more about our history and the need we identified for alternative information to conventional media offerings.
In the year prior, many of our little team had been involved in presenting the Red Tent Festival - a Celebration of Women and Birth. (We held another festival in 2012 as well.) It was a massive effort and was widely appreciated in the community, but we had come to see this could only be an occasional event, especially as we had always run it on an entirely voluntary basis. However if we got behind a weekly radio show project on birth and parenting, we would be raising a virtual red tent every single week in which we celebrate women and birth and parenting as well.
In the year prior, many of our little team had been involved in presenting the Red Tent Festival - a Celebration of Women and Birth. (We held another festival in 2012 as well.) It was a massive effort and was widely appreciated in the community, but we had come to see this could only be an occasional event, especially as we had always run it on an entirely voluntary basis. However if we got behind a weekly radio show project on birth and parenting, we would be raising a virtual red tent every single week in which we celebrate women and birth and parenting as well.
Sean with Monique, radio show guest, May 2018
In the studio with Annie Bryant performing her Christmas Story live with young musicians, Dec 2015
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Lara, Sally, Erica (radio show guest) and Taneal, April 2014
Annalee in the studio after her interview with James Maskell for her "The Changing Landscape of Medicine" podcast.
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Auspicing support given by Maternity Coalition
This radio project was, and still is, run on an entirely voluntary basis. Our key resource was to be the passion and commitment given by the team each week, but we did still need some basic ongoing expenses to be covered. Sally, who was part of the founding team, was also the President of the Northern Rivers branch of Maternity Coalition, and under that banner had been involved in raising funds for women and birth at local film screenings and events. As the radio project would be another local venture for supporting women and birth, we sought, and received, the much needed auspicing support from Maternity Coalition to access our local branch funds for some radio project expenses*. (Since 2017, PBB Media has been auspiced by Mullum SEED.)
Editorial freedom for presenters
Already in the role of managing the project's funds and their auspicing by Maternity Coalition, Sally didn't want any more influence over the project, and felt it was important she have some personal distance from the mic. All along she wanted the project to represent the views of the community and didn't want to run the risk of it looking like her personal soapbox. She was learning so much from all the women who helped the various birth advocacy projects she was involved with, she felt she had much more to learn before she knew how to speak about the issues. So Sally held the role of ensuring all financial and administrative aspects of the radio show were covered, including finding the presenters. The project's radio presenters would have, and still do have, complete editorial freedom to present their own material without any sanction from a higher level of management. There would be no gurus in this project. Anyone from the community was, and is, welcome to join this project and share evidence-based information that gets little attention from conventional media sources.
Finding our first presenters
The final job before submitting our radio show application to BayFM was to decide who among us would actually step up to the mic. All of us were so keen for the project to happen, but no one was keen for that role! Fortunately, midwife and mother Nicole Foder put her hand up. "OK, I'll do it" she said "but I need my friend Anna with me - for moral support, and in case I have to attend a birth." Having a duo as a minimum has turned out to be the to keep the show sustainable, and that has how we have continued to operate (except for a period when Taneal Blake bravely held the mantle alone).
Vital support from BayFM
So, in spite of our complete lack of broadcasting experience, and most of us having very young children (our meetings were so chaotic! ;) we decided to throw our hat into the ring. Fortunately former President of BayFM, Roz Elliot and the management committee recognised the importance of reaching families in our local community, and they gave us our first one hour slot - 11-12 Mondays, and we're still at that same time slot. We paid our season fee, invested in some headphones and a portable audio recorder, and we were away! Our first show went to air on Monday 1 November 2010 and to this day, we continue broadcasting live each week from BayFM.
* We have also held numerous fundraising events over the years in order to meet most of our ongoing expenses. This has meant our Management Team have put up personal funds to meet our expenses and seek reimbursement from funds raised later, if available. Maternity Coalition (now Maternity Choices Australia) auspiced the Red Tent Festival events and continues to hold the balance of the funds raised in trust for the women of our region. (One of our reports to MC members can be read here - see page 5.)
This radio project was, and still is, run on an entirely voluntary basis. Our key resource was to be the passion and commitment given by the team each week, but we did still need some basic ongoing expenses to be covered. Sally, who was part of the founding team, was also the President of the Northern Rivers branch of Maternity Coalition, and under that banner had been involved in raising funds for women and birth at local film screenings and events. As the radio project would be another local venture for supporting women and birth, we sought, and received, the much needed auspicing support from Maternity Coalition to access our local branch funds for some radio project expenses*. (Since 2017, PBB Media has been auspiced by Mullum SEED.)
Editorial freedom for presenters
Already in the role of managing the project's funds and their auspicing by Maternity Coalition, Sally didn't want any more influence over the project, and felt it was important she have some personal distance from the mic. All along she wanted the project to represent the views of the community and didn't want to run the risk of it looking like her personal soapbox. She was learning so much from all the women who helped the various birth advocacy projects she was involved with, she felt she had much more to learn before she knew how to speak about the issues. So Sally held the role of ensuring all financial and administrative aspects of the radio show were covered, including finding the presenters. The project's radio presenters would have, and still do have, complete editorial freedom to present their own material without any sanction from a higher level of management. There would be no gurus in this project. Anyone from the community was, and is, welcome to join this project and share evidence-based information that gets little attention from conventional media sources.
Finding our first presenters
The final job before submitting our radio show application to BayFM was to decide who among us would actually step up to the mic. All of us were so keen for the project to happen, but no one was keen for that role! Fortunately, midwife and mother Nicole Foder put her hand up. "OK, I'll do it" she said "but I need my friend Anna with me - for moral support, and in case I have to attend a birth." Having a duo as a minimum has turned out to be the to keep the show sustainable, and that has how we have continued to operate (except for a period when Taneal Blake bravely held the mantle alone).
Vital support from BayFM
So, in spite of our complete lack of broadcasting experience, and most of us having very young children (our meetings were so chaotic! ;) we decided to throw our hat into the ring. Fortunately former President of BayFM, Roz Elliot and the management committee recognised the importance of reaching families in our local community, and they gave us our first one hour slot - 11-12 Mondays, and we're still at that same time slot. We paid our season fee, invested in some headphones and a portable audio recorder, and we were away! Our first show went to air on Monday 1 November 2010 and to this day, we continue broadcasting live each week from BayFM.
* We have also held numerous fundraising events over the years in order to meet most of our ongoing expenses. This has meant our Management Team have put up personal funds to meet our expenses and seek reimbursement from funds raised later, if available. Maternity Coalition (now Maternity Choices Australia) auspiced the Red Tent Festival events and continues to hold the balance of the funds raised in trust for the women of our region. (One of our reports to MC members can be read here - see page 5.)
Our first team of radio presenters: November 2010 - June 2011
Nicole was part of our founding team when we first dreamed up this crazy idea of starting up a radio show, back in September 2010. When Nicole took the courageous step of stepping up to the mic, she knew straight away she would need her own personal 'doula' to walk beside her. Learning to operate the panel and planning the programming is a huge process and Nicole saw would need backup if she was to find herself at a birth, or needing to meet family commitments. So, she asked her dear friend Anna Aranci, who was fortunately up for the challenge. They both birthed the "Pregnancy Birth and Beyond Show" on 1 November 2010.
Nicole Foder
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Anna Aranci
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Taneal: 2011
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Taneal Cadou-Blake
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Lara and Hunna: August 2011 - October 2012
Our radio project is very much a part of our community, so being a member of the team brings opportunities to get involved in related projects. During this period, our radio team contributed to other community events such as a screening of "Birth Day", the events Red Tent Festival, "An Afternoon in the Red Tent", and the screening of "Freedom for Birth", as part of the film's global premiere, and information sessions on local birth choices. We also organised a local group of supporters to welcome Marg Phelan to Byron Bay in February 2012 during her epic bike ride around Australia to raise awareness about the need to improve birth.
The activity and discussion emanating from the radio show also lead to more support services for pregnant women starting up. Taneal launched the Mullumbimby Homebirth Group with the radio team's support, and Lara started hosting regular childbirth education classes.
The team also started uploading podcasts of our shows. These early episodes were unedited recordings of the complete one hour live shows, giving the listener a real 'time capsule' experience, with great information at the same time. (We now edit our podcasts down to 27'50" duration. You can read more about our podcasts here.)
The activity and discussion emanating from the radio show also lead to more support services for pregnant women starting up. Taneal launched the Mullumbimby Homebirth Group with the radio team's support, and Lara started hosting regular childbirth education classes.
The team also started uploading podcasts of our shows. These early episodes were unedited recordings of the complete one hour live shows, giving the listener a real 'time capsule' experience, with great information at the same time. (We now edit our podcasts down to 27'50" duration. You can read more about our podcasts here.)
Lara Martin
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Hunna Ovcar
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Lara and Taneal: November 2012 - March 2014
Taneal returned to the show in November 2012 and teamed up with Lara to run the show. During this period Lara and Taneal also worked with Sally to:
- co-ordinate the Gold Coast chapter of the international action "Rally to Improve Birth" in September 2013
- co-present a screening of "Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives" with the Mullumbimby Birth Centre in celebration of International Day of the Midwife on 5 May 2014
- establish Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond Professionals of the Northern Rivers - a networking group for those who serve local families with a similar dedication and passion we in the radio team recognise and want to support. Our team hosted a series of meetings with local professionals in this period, and we have plans to reinvigorate this group in the future.
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As radio hosts, Lara and Taneal worked tirelessly together, week in, week out, alternating weeks in the same way as Lara worked with Hunna. This halved the weekly load for them both and allowed them to cover each other for holidays or illness. Yet it was a huge commitment, not just from them, but their families also, and one this project owes a debt to.
Lara and Taneal also both trained Sally, who moved into Taneal's position, as Taneal was preparing to head overseas with her family for an extended period away. Our doors will always be open to Taneal and her boundless wisdom and deep understanding of human nature. Side projects for Lara and Taneal during this period also included running childbirth education workshops. |
Lara and Sally: March 2014 - April 2015
Side projects for the radio team and supporters during this period include:
- presenting the "Baby! Film Festival", a fundraiser for BayFM in April 2014
- co-presenting with the Mullumbimby branch of the Australian Breastfeeding Association a screening of "The Milky Way" at Southern Cross University for their midwifery students in August 2014.
- co-presenting with Maha al Musa from Bellydance for Birth the film "Microbirth" in September 2014. The film was followed by panel discussion with local neonatal paediatrician Dr Howard Chilton, naturopath Reine du Bois and a local woman who shared her experience of recovery from multiple schlerosis through focusing on gut health.
 Lara & Sally (taken by Annalee at the Milky Way film screening).
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With Taneal heading overseas, Sally knew she had to find a partner for Lara. Once a fortnight is do-able, but every week is too much for any mum with young children. So once again, Sally found herself on the search for someone from the boundless reserves of talent in this region. But the timing wasn't right for any of the likely presenters she approached.
With time running out until Taneal's departure it occurred to Sally that perhaps this was her time to step up to the mic. "I couldn't really encourage someone to join the team, if I didn't have first hand knowledge of it myself." So... with more than a little trepidation, and lots of support from Lara, she stepped up. And it is a role she is so very honoured to be filling to this day. Lara and Sally tag-teamed through the weeks seamlessly, with highlights including covering the Midwifery Today 2014 conference in Byron Bay (lots of interviews from that time with Sarah Buckley, Rachel Reed, Gail Tully, Patricia Edmonds and so many more in our podcast catalogue.) You can read more about Sally here. They also covered the Conscious Parenting and Natural Learning Conference, where they interviewed speakers such as Robin Grille, Scott Noelle and many more. Lara then needed to take a break for her ongoing studies into supporting mothers with the Aust. Breastfeeding Association, and to commence her midwifery studies, so the search was on again to find a new presenter. |
Sally, Annalee and Caroline: May 2015 - April 2016
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In late 2014, when Sally was looking for a co-presenter to fill Lara's place, she was working closely with Annalee (who she also met at the same playgroup she met Lara and Hunna in 2011) on a presentation they made together with midwife Mira Stannard and Dr Oscar Serrallach on birth and parenting for the 2014 UPLIFT Festival. This collaboration led to many inspiring and ongoing conversations covering vast terrain - and led Sally to invite Annalee and Oscar's wife Caroline to join the team. They started training in February 2015 and officially joined as presenters in May 2015.
During this period, our radio team also presented the series of "Mini Mama Workshops" to support new mothers in November 2015. |
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Annalee Atia
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Caroline Cowley
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As mentioned above, Annalee was already well-known to our team as a local mother with a keen interest in improving conditions for families in their vital work of birthing and raising children. Annalee was part of the supporting team for the Baby! Film Festival and the Milky Way screening we had presented in the previous year, but with her children still so young then, the time wasn't right to jump into the radio project until now.
Annalee recognised the vast potential in our radio project and immediately shared her enthusiasm and ideas for reaching wider audiences and consolidating the many efforts being made in our community to support parents during their transition into parenting and communications between the stakeholders of maternity care. As a humble weekly live radio show, Annalee's entrance into the project marked a significant change in mindset and confidence to the contribution we make to informing families and professionals. In the first 12 months of joining the project, Annalee initiated our first radio show fundraiser in March 2016: "Arabian Nights: Honouring Birthkeepers, Honouring the Feminine" and "Stepping Up, Stepping Out: The Power of using your Voice for sustainable social change" in November 2017. You can read more about Annalee and her vast contribution to our project here. Annalee shared her perspective on the importance of building community around our parenting journeys with Sally in this Pearls of Parenting Wisdom podcast series. |
Caroline brought her extensive experience in birth and parenting as a mother to three children, yoga teacher (specialising in perinatal yoga) and budding kirtan musician.
Each new presenter brings their unique gifts and perspectives and we are honoured to have Caroline's contribution in our podcast catalogue, which include using Ayurvedic herbs in the perinatal period with Jacinta from Mullum Herbals, "Moving with the Moon" - a feminine approach to yoga with Ana Davis, kirtain singer Prem Williams' approach to motherhood, spiritual birthing with Anna Watts, and motherhood as a transformation with Lisa Fitzpatrick. Caroline shared her perspective on surviving life with three children with Sally in this Pearls of Parenting Wisdom podcast series. You can catch recordings of some of Caroline's shows here. |
Lara, Annalee, Caroline and Sally: May - October 2016
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Lara rejoined our team and we continued to consolidate our methods and build momentum that resulted in a series of new projects that were implemented in 2016-2017. We also hosted a series of premiere screenings of sessions from the Healthy Birth, Healthy Earth Conference in Findhorn, Scotland in September 2016. This marked the beginning of consciously linking our work in support for birth and parenting and the environment, leading to more on-air discussions of the importance of nature connection and the links between protecting a mother's ownership of the birth process (in all its forms) and protection for the environment. This would ultimately lead us to join Mullum SEED in October 2017 as one of their projects to have their administrative support.
With mixed emotions we bade Caroline farewell from the project as she decided to put her energies into breathing life into her album "Nothing but Blue Sky" and to support her partner Dr Oscar Serrallach in the completion of his book "The Postnatal Depletion Cure". |
Lara, Annalee and Sally: November 2016 - October 2017
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We received a Community Broadcasting Fund content grant to put more of our time into improving the quality of our podcasts, and to develop this website. We also standardised the duration of our podcasts and procedures for producing them. This grant was also the first and to date only time we received any payment for our work. We produced 16 special features and 27 interview format podcasts, all of which are available in our podcast catalogue, including "Breastfeeding after Breast Cancer" and "Midwife - With Woman" by Lara "The Changing Landscape of Medicine: Part 1 and Part 2" by Annalee and "As Long as the Baby is Healthy: Part 1 and Part 2".
The quality of these podcasts led to our inclusion in the national Community Radio Network's weekly schedule as of November 2016 (on Fridays at 1:30pm). We were also long-listed for the 2017 Walkley Awards Incubator Program, and became finalists in the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's 2017 awards (Excellence in Digital Media). We continued to develop more ideas for reaching wider audiences, making us see we wanted to be more than just a weekly radio show. This led us to register the business name PBB Media and seek auspicing support from Mullum SEED. Our ideas needed more support to make them happen though, so we reached out for more involvement from our local community. This led to two new radio presenters and a host of other vital contributors to join us in this journey! |
Lara, Annalee, Sally, Kimberley and Sean: October 2017 to October 2018
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Our team of presenters grew to 5 and marked another rewarding period of growth and learning for us all, resulting in further diversification of our content that reaches further into the fertility and conception spectrum with Kimberley and out into the later reaches of parenting, and fatherhood with Sean.
This period started off with a bang with our second fundraiser event: "Stepping Up, Stepping Out: The Power of using your Voice for sustainable social change". We also branched out into presenting live events - PBB Talks, with our first one in November 2017: "PBB Talks with Milli Hill" from the Positive Birth Movement in Mullumbimby and the Gold Coast. Our second PBB Talks series was held in April 2018 at Gold Coast University Hospital in partnership with Griffith University/GCUH featuring Dr Bec Jeninson: "A Close Look at Informed Consent". We have published the audio recording of this event in a free four part podcast series, which is available when you sign up to our newsletter at our home page. This period has also seen the launch of our campaign to seek crowd-funding support via Patreon. |
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Kimberley Lipschus
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Sean Tonnet
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Find out more about our current team here...
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