SYN, an acronym for the Student Youth Network, is a fantastic organisation that Melbourne should be…read morevery proud of. A radio station that gives young people the opportunity to have their own spots should be applauded and lauded across town. If you are under 25 and would like to have your very own media career or radio show for that matter then make sure you get in touch with SYN. Each semester (they are closely affiliated with RMIT and other local univerisites) they offer radio training for a small fee - after all they have bills to pay. You'll get studio time, practice on the decks and lessons in producing a radio show. Once you have completed that, you can apply for the different slots and get your own show - free reign pretty much! I used the studios for a podcast before I got too old :( and loved every minute of it. So much fun. If you are more into TV then go and find out about close relation Channel 31. They have close links.

Sick of listening to radio announcers who are YELLING down the microphone at you? Sick of listening…read moreto moronic advertisements? Want to hear someone YOUNG and COOL talk to you about what's important to them? Thank God for SYN. This youth media company (all presenters and producers are under the age of 25) is renowned for its refreshing, youthful voice and quirky shows. Quirky? Well, on their radio station 90.7fm, there is a whole night dedicated to Asian Pop Music, during the day school kids take over the air and on Sunday nights you can get some sex and relationship advice. Most importantly, SYN provides a platform for young people to learn about the media and to make new friends. So if you are under 25 and keen to get your thoughts out to Melbourne, give these guys a call!

PBSFM has been championing "Little Heard Music" since 1979…read more With a variety of hosts taking hold of the airwaves 24 hours, 7 days a week, you can hear pretty much any style of music depending on what time you tune in. Each presenter is a volunteer, and the music played is from their personal record collection. This means that what you hear is not being pushed by large record companies, who pay the major radio stations to play their artists. A little station with a hell of a lot of heart, PBSFM survives by donations and yearly fund raising drives to keep it on air.

98.9 North West FM is a local community radio station with a full time license based in Glenroy in…read morethe northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station is dedicated to providing service, communication, information and entertainment to members, supporters and to the people of the community. I found the comedy shows quite funny and the wide range of music and talk back are fun!

We are blessed in Melbourne with nothing short of the best community radio in the world. It's a…read morebold statement, but it's true. Triple R stand at the forefront of public broadcasting. They offer open, accessible radio in a format that allows the community to be involved in the discussion of all issues, large and small, local and abroad, and they wrap it up in killer tunes delivered by many of Melbourne's top music nerds and DJs. The coolest thing about RRR is that anybody can drop by, say giddy and the folk there are cool as shit. The survive on subscriber funding (it's $75 to join) and they offer a shitpile of prizes and cool stuff for your money - outside of the every day prize of gifting us all amazing INDEPENDENT radio. They take no funding from government, so they can say whatever they like. If you don't already, you should subscribe. This is a Melbourne institution of such enormous importance, we must keep it alive. The end.

Thursdays are one my favourite RRR days, so how very fitting that I write this review on a…read moreThursday. I start the morning with Richard Watts' SmartArts program, which starts at 9am and goes on till noon. This man knows the Melbourne arts scene inside and out and his regular guests of industry peeps, each knowledgeable in their area of the local arts environment, fatten out the program and makes it essential listening for anyone interested in knowing what's on offer in the thriving and abundant Melbourne arts community. SmartArts is smoothly followed by Chris Gill's funk and soul program, Get Down. From noon till 2pm, he'll have you shakin' what you've got all the way through your lunch break. At 4 o'clock, Karen Leng tickles your eardrums with her Kinky Afro, playing an eclectic mix of mostly new releases with the occasional oldie-but-goodie favourite thrown in. I always end up with a list of albums I need to buy after listening to this program. RRR and PBS together make Melbourne radio a pleasure to listen to. If you love your community radio stations, support them and become a member. There are loads of perks with becoming a member, but the greatest one of all is knowing that you're helping to keep what the people truly want to hear on the air.