S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Colley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas. Thank you for helping light
S3: up the lives of children who are blind or have
S3: low vision this Christmas. Merry Christmas.
S2: Welcome to this special Christmas episode of Talking Vision. You
S2: heard right. That was Santa there with a special message
S2: for Vision Australia Radio and Vision Australia more broadly for
S2: their work in 2024. And we wish everybody out there
S2: a merry Christmas as well from the team at Talking Vision. Envision. Today,
S2: we feature a couple of my favorite interviews over 2024,
S2: starting with Catholic O&M, who was the recipient of an
S2: Order of Australia for her work in the community radio
S2: sector over the past four decades. Let's hear from Kath now.
S2: Kath Lietch is a name familiar to many in the
S2: community radio sector, having been involved in community radio for
S2: over four decades now at stations in Perth and Melbourne,
S2: as well as nationally with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia,
S2: and is the recent recipient of an OAM for her
S2: services to community radio. In the spirit of World Radio Day,
S2: it's my great pleasure to welcome Kath now. Kath, welcome
S2: to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.
S4: Hi Sam. Nice to talk with you.
S2: Now, Kath, as I understand you've been involved with community
S2: radio for well over three decades now. So what sort
S2: of kicked it all off for you? Where did you
S2: get started?
S4: I started with a station called six Uvws, now known
S4: as RTR in Perth in the late 70s. So quite
S4: some time back now. And I had a range of
S4: friends and acquaintances that were involved in the radio station,
S4: and I came to it through that network. And uh,
S4: six Uvws was an educational station associated with the University
S4: of Western Australia, and at a sort of later stage, also, Murdoch,
S4: it's been through a number of changes, and it's a
S4: completely independent community based station now as RTR FM.
S2: And how did you sort of get bitten by the
S2: radio bug? What was the sort of thing that really
S2: sparked that off for you at a young age?
S4: I think it was largely out of a music interest
S4: at that time. RTI was a mixture of fine music
S4: because the university had a fine music department and talks,
S4: and what sounds rather quaint now was that a group
S4: of young people were interested in non-classical music of all
S4: kinds of genres, but contemporary music. And I think that
S4: was the starting point of my interest. It was an
S4: era when music was not so available to people in
S4: the way it is now online, and that was the
S4: sort of start of my engagement as a volunteer and
S4: being involved in a couple of different programs. As time
S4: went by, I became more and more interested in the
S4: kind of talks and conversation sides of radio, but certainly
S4: in those early years it was music that took me
S4: into it.
S2: And Kathe, well, fast forward now a little while, to
S2: a couple of the management positions that you've been involved
S2: with over the time with, you know, being the general manager,
S2: for example, of triple R for the best part of
S2: 15 years. So you would have seen so many, you know,
S2: changes over that time. So what was the biggest sort
S2: of or 1 or 2 of the biggest sort of
S2: changes that you observed in your time?
S4: I guess the really big change was computerization and digitization
S4: and the kind of introduction of the online world. And, um,
S4: you know, that has created very sort of significant changes
S4: in the production of radio, not necessarily the nature of
S4: radio itself, but certainly in the production and operations of
S4: radio stations. And of course, as various forms of online
S4: communications have developed. The advent of social media and the
S4: multiplication of a range of online communication. Points. So I think,
S4: you know, the technology changes have been the very significant changes.
S4: That I've observed over the time I've been involved, though interestingly,
S4: I think. Technology changes the processes and approach to some
S4: information but doesn't necessarily. Sort of change the heart of
S4: what you do.
S2: No, that's absolutely true. And Kath, you. Moved from triple
S2: R to more of a broader sector wide involvement with
S2: community Radio. If your roles at the Community Broadcasting Association
S2: of Australia. And also that sort of gave you the
S2: opportunity to, you know, have some more involvement with the network.
S2: One of which, the stations is, of course, Vision Australia Radio,
S2: where we're speaking today. So tell us a bit about
S2: your involvement with RP there.
S4: Well, in the 90s, while my working role was general
S4: manager at triple R in Melbourne, my voluntary role and
S4: as you'd be aware, Sam, there's a very high number
S4: of volunteers in the sector, about 20,000 nationally. I joined
S4: the CBA board and became CBA president in the mid
S4: 90s and continued an association with sector wide issues really
S4: since that point of time, and that brought me into
S4: a lot closer association with the sector much more broadly.
S4: And as you would know, it's an extremely diverse sector.
S4: So indigenous broadcasting, religious broadcasting, educational broadcasting, the radio reading
S4: sector with stations for print disabilities and youth stations and
S4: a very broad range of small regional stations, many of
S4: which are operated on a voluntary basis. And so from
S4: that period in the 90s, I had a much stronger
S4: association with a broad range of radio services. And certainly
S4: the RPA sector that Vision Australia is a part of
S4: and which has, you know, a very broad audience in
S4: the community, both with people who would identify as print disability,
S4: but also with people who enjoy the kind of radio
S4: reading services that are produced. Community radio services, I think,
S4: provide a range of really essential services within the community
S4: that engage and speak to communities of interest that are
S4: such a valuable part of the diversity in Australian communities.
S2: Definitely. No, that's absolutely 100% correct. And the way that
S2: these community radio stations do bring their communities of interest
S2: together is absolutely second to none. And I will come
S2: back to that later on, because there is so much
S2: to say about the power of radio as we celebrate
S2: World Radio Day this week. But before I get to that,
S2: I wanted to firstly congratulate you, Kath, on being the
S2: recipient of an Order of Australia medal for your services
S2: to the To the community radio sector. How does that
S2: sit with you to, you know, be recognised in such
S2: a way for all the crucial work you have been doing?
S4: Yes, it's certainly an honour to be recognised in that
S4: way and I think for everyone it's always a good
S4: feeling to have work acknowledged. And I think particularly in
S4: a sector that there are so many deserving people, so
S4: many people that have put very large parts of their
S4: life into being involved with a community radio station and
S4: broadcasting and being part of that community. And so I
S4: feel like it's a privilege to be recognised for my
S4: work in the sector when there are so many wonderful
S4: volunteers and deserving people. And I think that's, you know,
S4: the way in which people connect through community radio US
S4: stations is quite a special feature. It crosses over all
S4: sorts of ages and lifestyles in a way that often
S4: other community enterprises don't necessarily do, and I think it
S4: activates a sense of community and citizenship that's increasingly important
S4: in quite a fractured and complex modern world. And it's
S4: something that's important to everyone, regardless of what particular focus.
S4: And I think the way in which radio, as a
S4: sort of intimate medium, connects with people. And I think
S4: that was really clear, perhaps particularly in Melbourne during the
S4: sort of Covid period with such sort of lengthy lockdowns.
S4: And I had a lot of contact with the community
S4: stations in Melbourne over that time. And I know that
S4: there was a lot of feedback from people being able
S4: to tune in and kind of connect in this way
S4: as part of what's keeping me sane in lockdown. And
S4: I think there's an element of that in the nature
S4: of radio services and broadcaster as a kind of very
S4: accessible medium.
S2: That's certainly true. And with these days, like World Radio Day,
S2: that encapsulates all of those thoughts that you did express
S2: just there. And it is so, so true that, you know,
S2: community radio does offer something that in some ways, no
S2: other sort of medium really can get close to. And
S2: it is such a unique, such a, a long standing, but,
S2: you know, successful and wide ranging medium for sure. So
S2: what do those sort of days mean for you as
S2: somebody who has been involved in the sector for so
S2: long and seen just the positive impact that radio can
S2: have on people around the country?
S4: Yeah. So I guess those days sort of act as
S4: a reminder of the kind of uniqueness of radio in
S4: a sense. And, you know, I think it's an environment
S4: where there is so much information available to people, so
S4: many assumptions that we are all online all of the time.
S4: But there's perhaps not enough discussion of sort of breaking
S4: that down to sort of how you access information that's
S4: meaningful or important to individuals and particular areas of our community.
S4: And so I think it's a celebration, I suppose, in
S4: a sense of the nature of radio. And I think
S4: it's an incredibly resilient medium. You know, something like 60%
S4: of all audio listening in Australia is still listening to
S4: live radio broadcast services. And I'm someone who very strongly
S4: sort of supports the nature of free to air broadcasting. That,
S4: of course, doesn't mean that there hasn't been a lot
S4: of change in technology, and people access things in different ways,
S4: and radio services need to be wherever their audience is
S4: and however their audience chooses to access. But I think
S4: it's a different medium to the notion of sort of
S4: individual online content where you or I or anyone else
S4: that can be online and sort of talk about or
S4: espouse whatever our ideas or thoughts are, there's a different
S4: kind of collective responsibility in broadcasting where you're broadcasting to
S4: potentially an entire community. You have a set of responsibilities
S4: around that. And I think these are important distinctions in
S4: the nature of information and reliable information. That's an important
S4: part of our social cohesion and a kind of civic
S4: society that the vast majority of people wish to be
S4: a part of.
S2: Kath. We could speak for hours. There's so much there,
S2: so much to unpack. Absolutely. But unfortunately, I think we'll
S2: have to wrap up for now. I've been speaking today
S2: with Catholic, celebrating World Radio Day with me today, and
S2: speaking about just how powerful a medium radio really can
S2: be for people around Australia and the world, in fact.
S2: So thank you very much for your time today. It
S2: was a pleasure to catch up with you.
S4: Thanks, Sam. Lovely to talk with you.
S2: I'm Sam Cully and you're listening to this special Christmas
S2: episode of Talking Vision. I hope you enjoyed that conversation
S2: with Kath Letcher. And they're coming up now. It's my
S2: great pleasure to welcome back a favorite of ours on
S2: Talking Vision, Karen Negroni. He was the host of the
S2: Blind Australian of the year awards a couple of months ago,
S2: and I caught up with him just before he flew
S2: off to Brisbane to host the awards. Let's hear from Karen.
S2: The Blind Australian of the year Awards acknowledged the contribution
S2: that people with blindness and low vision make to Australian society.
S2: These awards bring acknowledgment and prizes for the recipients, taking
S2: place on the 26th of October in Brisbane this year,
S2: and to have a chat with us about the awards.
S2: It's my great pleasure to welcome back a favourite of ours,
S2: Karen Negroni, who will be the emcee for the night. Karen,
S2: welcome back to Talking Vision. Thanks so much for your time.
S5: This is home, so I will come back any time
S5: you ask me to come back. And once again, thank
S5: you so much for having me.
S2: No worries at all. But, um. Of course, today, Karen,
S2: we're here to chat about the upcoming Blind Australian of
S2: the year awards. So yes, we are. We are. Yeah.
S2: Very exciting. Could you give us a bit of an
S2: overview of the awards for our listeners out there?
S6: Absolutely.
S5: It's basically a night where we celebrate high achieving Australians
S5: that live with blindness. And as a blind person myself,
S5: it's just an incredible feeling to be in a room
S5: around such incredible talent. And, you know, you sort of
S5: feel so empowered because growing up as a blind person,
S5: I never knew that things like this existed. You know,
S5: we didn't know a lot of blind people. And now
S5: to be in a room where we're celebrating blind excellence
S5: from all across the country is just it's like a
S5: pinch me moment. Sometimes you sort of look around like, wow,
S5: this person has done this. You look to the right, wow,
S5: this person has done that.
S2: And, um, tell us a bit about your involvement in
S2: the event. You're quite central to Central to the proceedings.
S2: You've got a lot on your plate there.
S5: I'm going to be the emcee, so I will do
S5: my best to do these guys justice, because it's going
S5: to be an incredible event and I just hope that
S5: I can live up to it. But that's the plan is,
S5: I think what I'm going to love the most about
S5: this is that I can make blind jokes, and the
S5: blind people will get it and we'll all laugh together.
S5: So I'm really looking forward to that. I've got all
S5: my dad jokes lined up that are blind related, so
S5: I will be on a roll.
S2: Well sounds fantastic. And could you give us some of
S2: those details for people out there where and when the
S2: awards will be happening?
S5: Absolutely. So the awards are going to be held in
S5: Brisbane on Saturday the 26th of October at the Moura Hotel.
S5: So that's not too far from here. I mean, not
S5: too long now. It's like less than two weeks, if
S5: I'm not mistaken. There will be a red carpet meet
S5: and greet with two time Big Brother winner Reggie Sorensen.
S5: And of course, we've got the incredible Rachael Leahcar, who's
S5: a good friend of mine and probably one of the
S5: best singers out there who will be performing live. So
S5: we've got this little red carpet thing happening before the
S5: awards at about 6:00. And then seven is when the
S5: formal proceedings start and there'll be dinner, drinks, dancing and
S5: a lot of networking.
S2: Oh, wonderful. And how are you feeling about the flight
S2: up to Brisbane? Is that something you're looking forward to?
S2: What sort of a flyer are you?
S5: What sort of a flyer am I? Yeah. Well, I
S5: you know, this is a funny thing because a lot
S5: of blind people have complained to me about Qantas, whereas
S5: I actually find Qantas the best airline. As a blind person,
S5: I just feel like their staff are really, really nice.
S5: They're so well trained. And, you know, if there's something
S5: that happens where they've messed up, they will go above
S5: and beyond to fix it. So traveling is not I mean,
S5: in my role as a speaker, I do travel a lot,
S5: like just just this year I've sort of been all
S5: over the country. Last week I was in Canberra, the
S5: week before I was in Darwin. Before that I was
S5: in Sydney. So I'm traveling a lot by myself, and
S5: I love Qantas because I feel like they take really
S5: good care of me. And no, they did not pay
S5: me to say this.
S2: All right. That's very important for people out there. This
S2: isn't a paid message, so please don't yell at us.
S5: Not at all. Not at all. I'd love for it
S5: to be a paid message, but no, it's not.
S2: No, unfortunately. But that's that's great to hear because I
S2: have had discussions with people about, you know, they've been
S2: booking a flight and they get to the end and
S2: they say, oh, look, I need various bits and pieces.
S2: They tick the box to say, yes, I am blind
S2: or I have low vision. So, you know, can we
S2: sort something out? And then there's like a little box
S2: that pops up and says, we cannot accommodate this, and
S2: this flight may not be able to suit your needs
S2: and blah, blah, blah. And then it kicks them off
S2: the page or something, and then they aren't sure if
S2: they've actually like, the flight's gone through or not.
S5: Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. Traveling alone as a blind
S5: person can be quite exhausting. Because, yes, I'm using my
S5: cane to be as independent as I can be. And
S5: I don't know why I do this, but even if
S5: someone offers me help, I'm like, no, no, no, I'm
S5: okay with my cane. I like to be as independent.
S5: But what that does is by the end of the trip,
S5: I'm so exhausted because my eyes have overstrained to the
S5: point where I just want to sleep for days now.
S5: But Brisbane will be different because I'm flying there with
S5: my husband, David.
S2: Oh, lovely.
S5: Yeah, yeah, so super excited. Yeah. His family actually lives
S5: in Brisbane, so it's going to be a good chance
S5: to catch up with them as well.
S2: Oh, that'll be wonderful. And you know, people out there
S2: might be thinking hang on. I thought we were talking
S2: about the Blind Australian of the year awards. What the
S2: hell are they going on about? They're talking about, you know,
S2: planes and travelling. But there's a very good reason, Karen,
S2: that we are talking about this sort of thing. And
S2: it's just a nice dovetail into your advocacy work. So,
S2: I mean, tell us a bit about that. Give us
S2: a bit of a highlight package. There's been quite a
S2: few things happening in that space.
S5: Look, there's been so much happening. I feel so blessed sometimes.
S5: There have been times I've actually pinched myself, you know,
S5: because people find it funny. Because they say, oh, you're
S5: so happy for a blind guy. And I actually say,
S5: you know, other than being blind, I have no complaints
S5: because life has been really kind to me when it
S5: comes to work. You know, I've traveled all around Australia
S5: to talk as a keynote speaker about my lived experience,
S5: and my style of raising awareness is quite different. I
S5: use a lot of humor because I feel like disability
S5: can be a heavy subject sometimes for people, so I
S5: feel like if I talk about it and, you know,
S5: add some humor to it, it lightens the mood. And
S5: the best thing about speaking at events are honestly the
S5: candid conversations that happen after, which is when I've spoken
S5: and people come up to me one by one and,
S5: you know, say, you know, I know someone who's living
S5: with this condition and thank you for sharing that. Or
S5: I didn't know this, and you just told me about
S5: this today and this is fantastic. So that is one
S5: thing that I love doing. I guess other than that
S5: I've been doing my usual thing that's, you know, that
S5: led to everything which is creating content on social media.
S5: And there was this list that came out recently, and
S5: I didn't even know a thing like this existed. And
S5: normally if someone called me an influencer, I would honestly
S5: throw up because I hate that word. And I there's
S5: a lot of negative connotation where influencers are concerned, but
S5: there was a list that was released with the top
S5: 40 blind influencers around the world, and I'm number 29.
S5: And I was like, whoa! And I think I'm the
S5: only one from Australia on there. So that was quite
S5: a quite in my head, quite an achievement because here
S5: I'm thinking, you know, no one's really, you know, because
S5: when you're putting when you're putting content out there on
S5: a daily basis, you sometimes start to think, oh, people
S5: are going to get bored, or, you know, how many
S5: times can you say the same thing about blindness being
S5: a spectrum? But then when lists like that come out,
S5: it makes you feel like, okay, so there are people
S5: that are listening out there.
S2: That's a huge achievement. I definitely would agree with that wholeheartedly. But, um,
S2: you mentioned in there the content creation and people might
S2: be really interested to hear here about the fact that
S2: you're a graphic designer and you're doing that with your
S2: lived experience of blindness, and people might just their head
S2: might be spinning and thinking, wait, how the hell does
S2: that work? So yeah.
S5: It's definitely a head scratcher. I get a lot of
S5: strange looks when I tell people I'm a graphic designer. So, Sam,
S5: I was born with Usher Syndrome, which is a degenerative condition,
S5: as you would know. So I was born with normal sight.
S5: And whilst my sight was still normal, I studied filmmaking,
S5: graphic design, marketing, public relations and all of that. So
S5: whilst I could see I did all of that professionally,
S5: but then a stage came where my sight had deteriorated
S5: so rapidly that I could no longer do that professionally.
S5: So I said, you know, I just sort of basically
S5: said to myself, instead of wasting those skills, why not
S5: use it now to create content, to let people know
S5: what it is that blind people see? So that's how
S5: it started. And that is when my heart's full of
S5: pride and joy. You know, when I look at my
S5: content out there and people can't believe it's not. This
S5: is pretty good for a blind guy. It's. Whoa! I
S5: can't believe a blind guy made this.
S2: Exactly.
S5: And that's what gives me a high. And I love.
S2: It. Yeah. No, it's definitely something to really be so
S2: proud of. Thank you. But, you know, how do you
S2: deal with all those comments, those backhanded compliments when people go, oh,
S2: you know, that's pretty this and that for a blind guy.
S2: Dot dot dot. Like hello.
S5: Yeah, yeah. Look, if there's one thing I've learned, it's
S5: to pick your battles. Yeah. If I'm having a good
S5: day and I'm feeling really confident, I will not fight back,
S5: but I will sort of clap back and be like, okay,
S5: that's just ignorant, because, you know, this, this, this, this, this.
S5: But there are days where I am quite tired. You know,
S5: there are days where, of course, I'm a human being.
S5: My deteriorating eyesight is going to get to me. That's
S5: when I'm like, you know what? I'm just not going
S5: to respond. Or what I do is I disable comments
S5: because I don't have the energy that day to respond
S5: to the comments. So you've got to pick your pick
S5: your battles. It's on a on a day to day
S5: basis for me, but by and large I try and
S5: tackle them head on.
S2: Yes. Oh it is, you know, definitely something a lot
S2: of people out there I'm sure can relate to. It
S2: is quite exhausting on a daily basis to be at
S2: the front line, dealing with all of that sort of thing,
S2: especially when you're such a public figure as you are.
S2: Not everybody's, you know, top 40 Blonde influencer of the year. But,
S2: you know, there's definitely a lot of things for people
S2: to relate to there.
S5: Also, another thing that I've learned is the way you
S5: respond back makes a big difference. So if someone's angry
S5: and you're angry in return, it doesn't solve anything. So
S5: if someone said something really nasty about me, I will
S5: respond with a lot of kindness and I'll be like,
S5: you know, I'm so glad you brought this up because,
S5: you know, so many people think that, but that's actually
S5: not true. Then I go on and on and on,
S5: and then, you know, they actually melt and they respond
S5: in a positive manner. I'm not a perfect human being.
S5: There have been times when I'm in a really bad
S5: mood and someone said something really awful and awful, and
S5: I've just gone right back at them and that's gone nowhere.
S5: And so this is one thing that I've learned, and
S5: this is why I sort of said to myself, okay,
S5: if you can't respond in a nice manner, no matter
S5: how awful the other person is, disable the comments or
S5: don't do it today. Do it tomorrow.
S2: Yeah. No, that's very important messages there. But yeah, we're
S2: very excited to hear how the Blind Australian of the
S2: year awards go. And a lot of people can look
S2: forward to seeing you up on the stage as the emcee.
S2: So that of course. Yeah. That's, um, that's coming up.
S5: I just need to say that tickets are selling out
S5: quite quick. I think that's what the CEO Terry, said
S5: to me. So if you are looking at booking because
S5: they've got corporate tables as well, and tables are limited
S5: because there's limited seating. So if you're looking for I
S5: think the tables go for 990 for a table of ten,
S5: and the tickets start at $75. For people that are
S5: companions or hold a concession card. And if you're looking
S5: for tickets, please go to Blind Australian of the year. Com.au.
S2: Perfect. That's blind. Australian of the year. Com.au. If you're
S2: looking for tickets or you'd just like to find out
S2: a little bit more about the Blind Australian of the
S2: Year Awards, I've been speaking today with Karen Nagrani, emcee
S2: for the Blind Australian of the Year awards, coming up
S2: in Brisbane on the 26th of October. Karen, thank you
S2: so much for your time today. Always great to chat
S2: with you and all the best on the 26th.
S7: Thank you.
S5: Sam. And once again, thank you for pronouncing my name right.
S7: No problem at all.
S5: Appreciate it. It's quite rare. So when you did it
S5: I was like, oh, good on you, Sam.
S2: Oh, it's very important. You know, get people's name, right,
S2: I think.
S7: Yeah. Yeah, sure. Thank you.
S5: So much. Thanks for having me.
S2: And that's all the time we have for this week
S2: on this special Christmas episode of Talking Vision. Thank you,
S2: as always, to everybody involved in putting the show together.
S2: And remember, we love hearing from you. So please feel
S2: free to get in touch anytime on Talking Vision at
S2: Vision Australia. Org. That's talking Vision Australia. But until next
S2: year it's Sam Colley here. Wishing you all a very
S2: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 7486
S1: or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision australia.org.