Solidarity from The Air

“This song is requested by Budi Perdana and is dedicated to Sri Lestari in Green House. Enjoy your favorite song,” says Bowo Hadi in front of the microphone in a radio studio while reading a message from his mobile phone.

His colleague Bambang Dwi, sort out the music by pushing the numerous buttons and in no time the song is on the air.

The mobile phone never stops ringing as Bowo busied himself answering incoming 

messages. Occasionally, he cracks jokes and he and Bambang would explode in laughter.

Outside the studio, the voice of people talking fills the air resembling the humming of bees. Teenagers gather around the anchor of the radio program asking for songs to be aired or just having a chat with friends. On another side of the hall of this radio station, adult listeners discuss current issues, politics or otherwise. 

    

Radio Swadesi FM 107,9 is a popular radio station in Bantul, Yogyakarta, thanks to the radio chairperson Hendro Plered, who is also the (best-known local comedian) city’s best-known humorist who always sends his listeners giggling throughout his regular weekly program.

The radio came to birth as an emergency measure in mid-2006 earthquake in which 5,000 people died. The radio was credited with saving many lives for its early warnings in the follow-up quakes where people would rush to leave their houses before a quake shattered them to the ground. 

It also kept survivals up-to-date about the latest toll, the number of wounded people, the condition of an affected village and the time and place of food distribution from donors.

Community Radio Station

Community radio stations became popular in 2002 when the House of Representatives was deliberating the Broadcasting Bill. Such stations had existed since 1990 but were known as amateur radio. Community radio stations are developed by a community to provide information, education and entertainment. They often look for identities for selling points, such as peasant radio for peasants. They believe that a radio with an identity, particularly on Java where competition is stiff, can rake up a lot of money. The Broadcasting Law stipulated that community radio stations are not allowed to air commercial advertisement save from public service ads. Hence, radio stations have to be inventive in creating air programs, off-air programs and fundraising activities.  

The drawback of private radio stations is its ownership structure, power of radio and wide range of coverage area. The owner of community radio stations is the community. They share their money to buy transmitters and equipment, but sometimes they don’t have money to share, and would give whatever they have instead, such as tape recorders, VCD players or furniture. The important think is to realize their ideas of having a radio station. Sometimes, even a 50-Watt powered radio with a 2.5-kilometer area of coverage will do as long as it does not disturb other frequencies.

The community radio station stepped forward to change...

*) Menemukan tulisan ini saat masih belajar nulis, tahun 2009.