MORNING CONNECTIONS
ARE YOU A RESEARCHER INTERESTED IN RADIO?
Morning Connections is a brand new radio show that will be broadcast online and on air on Totnes’s Soundart Radio each morning. Community programme-makers will meet researchers and experienced people to discuss topics important to their lives and work. Morning Connections will explore a wide range of interesting themes from diverse perspectives. By blending research and citizen journalism, the programme will widen discussions on vital issues facing ourselves and society. It’s about personal experience, exciting research, and how they overlap – but most of all it’s telling fascinating stories. Themes include:
HEALTH AND SOCIETY
This topic will examine health information and social policy to address people’s everyday concerns and the effects of inequalities. Research topics will traverse health inequalities, effects of housing, social policy and environment on health and wellbeing, birth and death, the pharmaceutical industry, health policy and funding, anatomy, reproductive and sexual health, health misinformation, and disability rights.
HERITAGE
This area will investigate a broad and long view of human experience, from local heritage stories to debates on how history is made and whose voices are heard. We hope to hear from people with an interest in areas such as industrial heritage, folklore and cultural traditions, personal heritage, museum curation, and heritage decolonisation.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES AND STORIES FROM FURTHER AFIELD
We welcome stories from outside the UK, and also from those who have travelled here to the UK as refugees or asylum seekers. We welcome researchers working on climate change effects, stories from fieldwork, on the ground experiences of international issues and events, and experiences of migration and travel.
LAND, FARMING, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
This will tell the stories of our relationship with the land and water around us, our food systems, and who has access to the land, and why. Food production, conservation, ecology, water systems, history of land ownership, land and water policy, and the effects of climate change are all of interest.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
The community programme-makers will decide on a topic and work with a researcher who is relevant to their interest. You will work together to create audio content that explores the topic, which will then be broadcast on Soundart Radio. Skilled community radio practitioners Stellaria Media will be on hand to support you through the project.
No media training is required to participate. Forget what you know about engagement with traditional media; participating in Morning Connections is about having conversations. The format for Morning Connections will vary, but it is anticipated that your time commitment will be no more than an hour.
If you’re interested in taking part or finding out more then email us at contact@agile-rabbit.com
WHY TAKE PART?
As part of a pilot project called FUTURES on Air (2020), researchers told us it was a meaningful opportunity. They gained insights into the experiences of people related to their research, helping improve their work. Working directly with communities was a positive experience that saw an impact of their work.
Look at FUTURES on Air for more information about using community radio to engage public groups with research.
This project is in collaboration the Public Engagement Unit at the University of Bath, University of Exeter, community radio practitioners Stellaria Media, and Devon-based community radio station SoundArt.