‘Everyone was completely caught off guard': FBi Radio's future unclear as station launches emergency fundraising campaign

The Guardian

5 days ago

In February the Sydney community radio station FBi sent out an email to its entire volunteer base, and its few staff members, to attend an emergency meeting at the station that evening.
At the meeting, 10 permanent staff – roughly half of FBi's employees – announced that their jobs had been cut, due to the organisation being in extreme financial distress.
'This meeting was very chaotic, they were all crying, talking about how they needed to cut their jobs because most of the money [was] going towards salaries and we couldn't sustain that,' says Bec Cushway, the executive producer of FBi's Walkley-nominated news and current affairs program Backchat. 'Everyone was completely caught off guard by this, no one knew there were any money issues going on.'
FBi Radio is regarded by the industry as a cornerstone of the Australian music scene. Based in Redfern since 2003, it has championed some of the country's most successful musicians, from Flume to the Presets, Montaigne and Julia Jacklin.
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The community station has prided itself on broadcasting 50% Australian music – half of that from Sydney – reflecting its roots as an independent and not-for-profit organisation, run largely by passionate volunteers.
At the emergency meeting on 19 February, according to Cushway, staff explained that the station would need to 'raise $1m to survive, and $2m to thrive' – ideally by July.
While many of his friends and colleagues were departing the station, the former FBi radio presenter Tyson Koh was asked to join the board. By April Koh had been made managing director.
'We would always love to have a million dollars,' Koh says. 'Certainly, if we had a couple million dollars we would thrive, but that was true five, 10, even 20 years ago.'
On 17 June, FBi held a town hall to outline its situation to the broader arts and cultural sector.
Koh's presentation laid out operating costs – $1m a year – and the breakdown of the existing revenue stream; 47% sponsorship, 41.2% membership and 11.8% philanthropy.
FBi's immediate plan is to increase philanthropy and seek government funding, a process that Koh says is under way. Long term, however, FBi wants to return to a place where it can meet its revenue needs through sponsorship and membership alone.
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'I see the role of benefactors and government support as being ways in which the station can build upon what we already do rather than just keep the lights on,' Koh says. 'I really think it is up to our sponsors and our listeners to keep the station going.'
In the short term, Koh says he believes philanthropists and the government could play a role in helping the station to nurture developing musicians and journalists, and grow special programs such as Backchat, FBi's storytelling program All the Best and its nationally syndicated program Race Matters.
Cushway says FBi's volunteers should be given some of the reins for fundraising, as many have been expressing their desire to hold events in support of the station.
'I think FBi was founded on a 'move fast break things' kind of mindset and I think that is what we need to remember,' Cushway says. 'I think we're a bit tied up in this consistent messaging and trying to seem like a professional business, which is important, but also I think we've forgotten that people power does make a difference.'
An invite-only donor benefit will be held on Thursday 26 June to engage past supporters and volunteers, many of whom have gone on to reach impressive heights in their careers, and hopefully reignite their relationship with the station, Koh says.
'We can't expect people to just turn up and open their wallets,' he says. 'We have a responsibility to tell our story, to let people know what we do and prove our value in Sydney and broader New South Wales.'