| PAW Radio Network | Radio content | DJ Requests |

PAW Radio Network

The Pintubi, Anmatjere, Warlpiri (PAW) Radio Network stretches over 14 communities in the Tanami area. With a coverage of over 450,000 square kilometres it covers an area larger than Tasmania and Victoria combined.

The Network itself started in 2001 and provides a community radio service to :

Radio content

PAW Radio is broadcast in four main languages : Warlpiri, Anmatyerr, Pintubi and English. We produce a range of content for radio including live shows and prerecorded content. The types of content we produce are:

• Music and request shows

Our music and request shows are a mix of local music and themed shows. Radio broadcasters are kept busy answering the radio phone to take requests dedicated to family members, friends and colleagues. Radio broadcasters such as Curtis Fry and Adam Gibbs have a large following in the communities and are known across the PAW Media area.


• News

We take National Indigenous News Radio Service (NIRS) on the hour for our news service.

• Radio documentary

We moved into radio documentary work in 2009 with the production of Yapa Patu Wangkami. This documentary recorded people's memories of pre-settlement and superintendent days of Yuendumu, as well as people's reponses to life under the NT Intervention. The documentary won an award at the 11th Remote Indigenous Media Festival in 2009. We followed up with a documentary in 2010 on gospel in Yuendumu. This also won an award at the 12th Remote Indigenous Media Festival in 2010. We are now in planning for a new documentary on the stories of Aboriginal stockmen.


• Audio books

As part of our language retention role, we regularly produce audio books based on Warlpiri readers from the Yuendumu Bilingual Resource Development Unit. Edited with sound effects, these have been a popular component of PAW Radio scheduling. Our Audio Books series won an award at the 11th Remote Indigenous Media Festival in 2009.

• Oral histories

Shorter oral history pieces are becoming a focus for our radio work in 2011. Our Radio Producer and senior radio broadcaster are travelling to PAW Media communities to gather stories and to train community broadcasters in field recording.

• Information campaigns

We work with commissioning bodies to produce targeted information campaigns in language. Examples of work include the Stop Domestic Violence campaign, commissioned by the Central Desert Shire Council and the STI Awareness campaign commissioned by the Dept of Health and Ageing. The Stop Domestic Violence campaign won an award at the 12th Remote Indigenous Media Festival.

• Community service announcements

Our radio broadcasters make community service announcements for local Aboriginal organisations on an ad-hoc basis. For organisations requiring guaranteed announcements over a period, we provide a sponsorship service. Please view our Radio Sponsorship page for more information.

DJ Requests

There is a lot in a request. Nearly anytime that you listen to PAW you will hear requests going out to people in all of our communities. When you are on the radio you get lots of phone calls from people asking for requests. The song they ask for might have a message in it for family or a loved one in a far away community or they might ask the announcer to put a message on the radio that is teasing someone. Sometimes we get requests from people that have important messages for instance people from Kintore might put a request for their family in Yuendumu before heading out to drive to Yuendumu saying to come and look for them if their car breaks down.