September 28, 2022 • 13 mins
In this interview highlight, Peter Greco speaks to Conrad Browne, Manager Vision Australia Radio and Audio Services to learn of this year's 2022 listener survey and why Vision Australia Radio listeners and Vision Australia clients are being encouraged to take part.
to complete the survey and for a chance to win a great prize from station sponsor Amazon, visit www.varadio.org
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:09):
Well, it's tremendous to welcome to the program the manager
for Vision Australia Radio. In fact, he looks after all
the audio stuff that beats Australia doing. Conrad Brown So Conrad, welcome.
S2 (00:20):
Banks Peter, always nice to be on with you.
S1 (00:23):
Thank you. It's great to have you on and thank
you for all your support. I probably don't thank you
enough off air or on air, but it's very much appreciated. Yeah.
Conrad Speaking about support, we've had our radio phone, which
is very, very successful. And I guess another measure of
what people think of us is it's happening right now.
S2 (00:40):
That's right. Peter. Our Inyour radio listener survey is back.
So again, we're asking for people to get online or
give Vision Australia a call. The survey itself is between
five and 10 minutes and I'm all of the responses
that we get just really help us in terms of
(01:01):
our planning and just assessing what we're doing as a
radio network and ultimately help shape our radio and podcast
offerings into the future.
S1 (01:10):
Now we did one last year and I mean, without
being too critical, the timing wasn't great, was it? Because
I have a Christmas New Year, which obviously might have been, well,
maybe people have got more time to do it, but
maybe people get a bit distracted with other stuff that's
going on in their lives.
S2 (01:23):
Yeah, absolutely. It wasn't the best timing then. We were
always hoping to do it around September, so we've got
it right this year and we are hoping that we
get a few more responses. But in saying that the
people that did it for us last year, the feedback
in the comments that we got were really extremely helpful
and really did help us in a lot of our
(01:44):
planning and just reviewing of what we're doing ongoing as well.
S1 (01:48):
Well, Conrad, on that, I know that people may have
noticed a few changes to programs and the way things
are done in the last 12 months or so. And
a lot of that is in direct response to the
survey of last year. Yeah.
S2 (02:00):
And in some of our podcasts as well. Peter, is
it really I guess for us we are always doing
a lot and we don't expect people to always keep
up with everything that we're doing. But you know, there's
a lot of people that listen for our programs like
yours that are wonderful and we want to hear from
people about what they really like, what they would like
(02:21):
to hear more of, and even, you know, just areas
that we can improve on as well. All of that
feedback just makes it makes it easier for us to
be able to look at areas where we could potentially
look at new programs or rework current programs and and
try and figure out ways that we can just continuously
(02:42):
improve on what we're doing.
S1 (02:44):
And we're going around Australia over some BBC Australia radio
network through via radio dot org. But of course 1179
in Melbourne and Victorian country stations, 1197 in Adelaide and
996 in Perth. But if you don't listen in that
format or via the conventional radio, you can still take
part because you can still access these Australia radio programs.
S2 (03:05):
Yeah, that's right. You know, we have a lot of
people now are listening online through our streaming, so through
the Vision Australia website, they catching up on our podcasts
all the time through all the different places that you
like to listen to podcasts you can find us on Spotify, iTunes,
all of those good places as well. But we are
getting more and more people that are even using, you know,
(03:27):
their home speeches or streaming us on the community radio app.
There's just so many ways that you can listen to
content now and listen to it in your own time.
So we really want to acknowledge that. And the survey
itself really looks into how do you listen, when do
you listen and why do you listen? Plus, you know,
(03:48):
we dig a little bit more into some programs that
you really enjoy and we want to really hear from
people about what it is that they really get out
of the service. Because, you know, you and I know
it's a really important, vital service, but there's so many
opportunities for us to continue to do more.
S1 (04:06):
I know you talked about the ways that podcasts survive
or special shout out to Jeff, and he's done an
enormous job, but I'm pretty much it's pretty easy to
say where you can't get our podcast now rather than
when you can, because they are literally everywhere. I mean,
any podcast platform, you can access the podcasts.
S2 (04:24):
Absolutely. And I think that's really the nature now of
what people want and what you need to do really.
You know, it's always great to be able to just
flick on your radio or, you know, tune in on
whatever app you like to listen to. But people expect
to be able to access, you know, what you're doing
from wherever they want to do it. So being on
(04:45):
all of those different platforms and being, you know, being
able to be accessed online and and everywhere else is
just so important nowadays.
S1 (04:53):
Obviously, because Australia Radio generally based Australia provides services and
people are allowed to have low vision. But if you're
not blind or don't have low vision and you still listen,
we still wanna hear from you as well.
S2 (05:05):
Yeah, absolutely. Peter I kind of think of anyone who
listens to us as a. A quarter of ours as well.
But we get so many people that listen to our
services and end up becoming, you know, in some shape
or form, either like an ambassador for us. You know,
they tell people about it. They let people know when
they might need our service at certain times, when they
(05:26):
might not be aware of it. And, you know, as
we know, too, a lot of our listeners, as we
all get older, may need our services more than they
realize right now. But we do know that a lot
of people enjoy what we do for a variety of reasons.
And we want to hear about it. We want people
to do the survey and let us know what it
is that we're doing well and then what we can
(05:47):
perhaps improve on as well.
S1 (05:48):
Now, obviously programs like this are important, but I think
one of the real strengths of Western Australia Radio and
particularly our reading programs is the fact that, you know,
with the mainstream media, if you like, you get the
headlines and snippets of news, but if you want to
really dig down into the guts of the story, if
I can base, I create a lot of the programs
that we read, a lot of the papers and publications
(06:12):
that we read. They're doing just that, don't they?
S2 (06:14):
Absolutely. And, you know, it's quite hard. Nowadays, we've got
more options to get content than ever before, but to
get the full story can be quite difficult. And you
also need to sometimes go across multiple publications and get
a real sense or an idea of what's happening. And
a lot of the time those stories evolve really quickly.
(06:36):
So the way that we provide access to information and,
you know, read those stories in full, I think is
is probably the one thing that we do that is
always going to be appreciated and something that I think
is really important. It really provides an opportunity for a
listener to get all of the information and based on their,
(06:59):
you know, take from it whatever it is that they
want or continue to find out more about it. But
at least we know we're not leaving them with half
the story.
S1 (07:07):
And of course, some of those programs or some of
those publications, if you like, that conventionally you have to
pay for them. But yes, if you're on the radio,
the good old fashioned radio, you get it for free,
which as someone once said to me, anything free can't
be considered expensive.
S2 (07:23):
It's such a good book. You know, that's the point
of community radio to, you know, Peter, we're here to
serve our community. The people that deliver a lot of
our content are volunteers. They're part of our community of
interest as well. I think it's just, you know, so
wonderful that we have the opportunity to continue to deliver
this type of service in this way, but also use
(07:46):
all of the other, you know, opportunities and platforms and
technology to increase our audience as well. So I think
we do a pretty good job of covering all of
our bases.
S1 (07:57):
Now we're coming in. I was doing the survey earlier today.
I did it on my iPhone using voiceover China using voiceover.
So in terms of any thing on the screen, I
don't say I can't say it, and it is very,
very accessible. I also had a quick look with the
end VDI, the free screen reader with the Windows computer,
and that also comes up nicely. So in terms of accessibility,
(08:20):
there shouldn't be an issue there. And I'm a very
average computer user. Conrad So if I can use it,
most people should be able to excel at that. But
if people say, Oh, it's all right for you guys,
you've got a computer, so you like to use your
computer or your smart phones. I don't have one or
I don't I choose not to have one. There's not
for you as well. And you can still be involved.
S2 (08:40):
Yeah, absolutely. You can call in Australia's national call centre
and the number is one 800 422077. And they will
help take you through the survey. It takes between five
and 10 minutes depending on your answers. And the great
thing is for anyone who does a survey online or
over the phone and you also do get the opportunity
(09:03):
to sign up and go into the draw to win
one of team Amazon echo dots that have been provided
to us to give away is a bit of an
incentive for people to do the survey. Thanks to our
very good friends at Vision Australia radio sponsor Amazon.
S1 (09:21):
And that's a fantastic point that you make. So we'd
like your time and obviously your feedback, but when you
give it with a little bit of luck, you said
you go into the running and your name might be
drawn out of the hat. Is that your hat that
we use?
S2 (09:35):
Oh, you know, my, my head's big enough, so yeah, definitely.
I can definitely hold all of the details, but we
use actually a little bit more of a method that
is can hold up under a bit more scrutiny.
S1 (09:48):
Okay. Oh that's, that's good on camera listening comment or
trouble because we love our licence, we love what we do,
so we don't want to jeopardise that. But on a
serious note, this past week, as a lot of people say,
I get off, I'm not much into technology, but those
smart speakers, I mean if you can talk, if you
can say Alexa play reached Australia, right? Red Light or
(10:10):
Supply Vision Australia, Radio Melbourne. The device responds and we
come on on the Speaker And why you guys say
it is literally as simple as that. And as I say,
I'm no wish with this sort of stuff, but I
mean that makes it just so accessible, you know, right
out of the box.
S2 (10:26):
Yeah, I love that. I love hearing that too. Peter
You know, technology can be a friend or foe at times,
I think. And, you know, we are overwhelmed sometimes by
all the different things that you can sign up to
and apps you can get and things like that. But
I 100% agree with you. I think, you know, to
have a device like that, if you're able to activate
(10:46):
it with your voice and it really does open up
a whole new world and it can make life a
lot easier, especially when you're wanting to just access something
that you love, like Vision Australia Radio as well.
S1 (10:57):
Mean That's a great point. And if you think, oh,
it's a little bit challenging to me. If you've got
a child or a grandchild or niece or nephew, I'm
sure they'd be able to help set you up. And again, yeah,
the great thing about radio, Conrad, is you sometimes hear
about the doctor. Well, radio is fantastic because you don't
use much data to hear radio, so don't worry about that.
It's streaming services that you pay big money for because
(11:20):
with radio, we're all going to say we're cheap, but
we're an expensive. That's a good one for.
S2 (11:25):
It's a nice way of doing it. Yeah, I totally
agree with you. That is the best way to put it.
I mean, and we're always there in some shape or form.
So and what I really am hoping to is that
we get people giving us a bit more feedback too,
about our podcast. You know, that's one area where we
would like to build on and do more in that
space and we're doing some fantastic new programs in there
(11:49):
and some limited series as well. We just did one
recently for This Girl Can, which is an initiative by
the government to promote inclusiveness in sport for women, and
we just did a fantastic series around that. So, you know,
we're putting out new things like that all of the
time on the radio, but also on podcasts as well.
(12:11):
So there's yeah, there's a lot there that we'd love
to hear from people about and to give us their feedback.
S1 (12:17):
Or we'll put a direct link to the survey on
our Facebook page when we put information up about the
program so people can check that out there. And I'll
put that up on the various email list that I'm
on as well. But if people prefer to call Conrad.
S2 (12:32):
Yes.
S1 (12:32):
Or commercial.
S2 (12:33):
Please. So just pick up your phone and call one
800 or double to zero. Double seven.
S1 (12:40):
Alright, we'll put those details up there as well. I
got to catch up and again officially and publicly, thank
you so much for the wonderful support that you give me.
I do appreciate and those of us that are involved
with this program, keep up the good work and well,
I think you've done okay. So we'll probably get you back.
S2 (12:57):
Thanks so much. I wrote back to update you on
your support and everything that you do for Vision Australia
Radio is always very much appreciated, so we hope a
few of your fans come out of the woodwork and
fill out that listener survey and let us know how
much they love you and your programs on on our
radio network as well.
S1 (13:15):
We better end this mutual admiration society right here in
our country. Great, great. Thanks for.
S2 (13:19):
That. She is Peter.
S1 (13:21):
Brown there from Vision Australia, encouraging us all to get
involved with that survey. So one 800 42077 or we'll
put the link up on our Facebook page. If you
go to radio dot vs Australia dot org, look for
the listener survey link. It's there right as you come
to it. And they're very accessible with the NBA and
also the iPhone.
Well, it's tremendous to welcome to the program the manager
for Vision Australia Radio. In fact, he looks after all
the audio stuff that beats Australia doing. Conrad Brown So Conrad, welcome.
S2 (00:20):
Banks Peter, always nice to be on with you.
S1 (00:23):
Thank you. It's great to have you on and thank
you for all your support. I probably don't thank you
enough off air or on air, but it's very much appreciated. Yeah.
Conrad Speaking about support, we've had our radio phone, which
is very, very successful. And I guess another measure of
what people think of us is it's happening right now.
S2 (00:40):
That's right. Peter. Our Inyour radio listener survey is back.
So again, we're asking for people to get online or
give Vision Australia a call. The survey itself is between
five and 10 minutes and I'm all of the responses
that we get just really help us in terms of
(01:01):
our planning and just assessing what we're doing as a
radio network and ultimately help shape our radio and podcast
offerings into the future.
S1 (01:10):
Now we did one last year and I mean, without
being too critical, the timing wasn't great, was it? Because
I have a Christmas New Year, which obviously might have been, well,
maybe people have got more time to do it, but
maybe people get a bit distracted with other stuff that's
going on in their lives.
S2 (01:23):
Yeah, absolutely. It wasn't the best timing then. We were
always hoping to do it around September, so we've got
it right this year and we are hoping that we
get a few more responses. But in saying that the
people that did it for us last year, the feedback
in the comments that we got were really extremely helpful
and really did help us in a lot of our
(01:44):
planning and just reviewing of what we're doing ongoing as well.
S1 (01:48):
Well, Conrad, on that, I know that people may have
noticed a few changes to programs and the way things
are done in the last 12 months or so. And
a lot of that is in direct response to the
survey of last year. Yeah.
S2 (02:00):
And in some of our podcasts as well. Peter, is
it really I guess for us we are always doing
a lot and we don't expect people to always keep
up with everything that we're doing. But you know, there's
a lot of people that listen for our programs like
yours that are wonderful and we want to hear from
people about what they really like, what they would like
(02:21):
to hear more of, and even, you know, just areas
that we can improve on as well. All of that
feedback just makes it makes it easier for us to
be able to look at areas where we could potentially
look at new programs or rework current programs and and
try and figure out ways that we can just continuously
(02:42):
improve on what we're doing.
S1 (02:44):
And we're going around Australia over some BBC Australia radio
network through via radio dot org. But of course 1179
in Melbourne and Victorian country stations, 1197 in Adelaide and
996 in Perth. But if you don't listen in that
format or via the conventional radio, you can still take
part because you can still access these Australia radio programs.
S2 (03:05):
Yeah, that's right. You know, we have a lot of
people now are listening online through our streaming, so through
the Vision Australia website, they catching up on our podcasts
all the time through all the different places that you
like to listen to podcasts you can find us on Spotify, iTunes,
all of those good places as well. But we are
getting more and more people that are even using, you know,
(03:27):
their home speeches or streaming us on the community radio app.
There's just so many ways that you can listen to
content now and listen to it in your own time.
So we really want to acknowledge that. And the survey
itself really looks into how do you listen, when do
you listen and why do you listen? Plus, you know,
(03:48):
we dig a little bit more into some programs that
you really enjoy and we want to really hear from
people about what it is that they really get out
of the service. Because, you know, you and I know
it's a really important, vital service, but there's so many
opportunities for us to continue to do more.
S1 (04:06):
I know you talked about the ways that podcasts survive
or special shout out to Jeff, and he's done an
enormous job, but I'm pretty much it's pretty easy to
say where you can't get our podcast now rather than
when you can, because they are literally everywhere. I mean,
any podcast platform, you can access the podcasts.
S2 (04:24):
Absolutely. And I think that's really the nature now of
what people want and what you need to do really.
You know, it's always great to be able to just
flick on your radio or, you know, tune in on
whatever app you like to listen to. But people expect
to be able to access, you know, what you're doing
from wherever they want to do it. So being on
(04:45):
all of those different platforms and being, you know, being
able to be accessed online and and everywhere else is
just so important nowadays.
S1 (04:53):
Obviously, because Australia Radio generally based Australia provides services and
people are allowed to have low vision. But if you're
not blind or don't have low vision and you still listen,
we still wanna hear from you as well.
S2 (05:05):
Yeah, absolutely. Peter I kind of think of anyone who
listens to us as a. A quarter of ours as well.
But we get so many people that listen to our
services and end up becoming, you know, in some shape
or form, either like an ambassador for us. You know,
they tell people about it. They let people know when
they might need our service at certain times, when they
(05:26):
might not be aware of it. And, you know, as
we know, too, a lot of our listeners, as we
all get older, may need our services more than they
realize right now. But we do know that a lot
of people enjoy what we do for a variety of reasons.
And we want to hear about it. We want people
to do the survey and let us know what it
is that we're doing well and then what we can
(05:47):
perhaps improve on as well.
S1 (05:48):
Now, obviously programs like this are important, but I think
one of the real strengths of Western Australia Radio and
particularly our reading programs is the fact that, you know,
with the mainstream media, if you like, you get the
headlines and snippets of news, but if you want to
really dig down into the guts of the story, if
I can base, I create a lot of the programs
that we read, a lot of the papers and publications
(06:12):
that we read. They're doing just that, don't they?
S2 (06:14):
Absolutely. And, you know, it's quite hard. Nowadays, we've got
more options to get content than ever before, but to
get the full story can be quite difficult. And you
also need to sometimes go across multiple publications and get
a real sense or an idea of what's happening. And
a lot of the time those stories evolve really quickly.
(06:36):
So the way that we provide access to information and,
you know, read those stories in full, I think is
is probably the one thing that we do that is
always going to be appreciated and something that I think
is really important. It really provides an opportunity for a
listener to get all of the information and based on their,
(06:59):
you know, take from it whatever it is that they
want or continue to find out more about it. But
at least we know we're not leaving them with half
the story.
S1 (07:07):
And of course, some of those programs or some of
those publications, if you like, that conventionally you have to
pay for them. But yes, if you're on the radio,
the good old fashioned radio, you get it for free,
which as someone once said to me, anything free can't
be considered expensive.
S2 (07:23):
It's such a good book. You know, that's the point
of community radio to, you know, Peter, we're here to
serve our community. The people that deliver a lot of
our content are volunteers. They're part of our community of
interest as well. I think it's just, you know, so
wonderful that we have the opportunity to continue to deliver
this type of service in this way, but also use
(07:46):
all of the other, you know, opportunities and platforms and
technology to increase our audience as well. So I think
we do a pretty good job of covering all of
our bases.
S1 (07:57):
Now we're coming in. I was doing the survey earlier today.
I did it on my iPhone using voiceover China using voiceover.
So in terms of any thing on the screen, I
don't say I can't say it, and it is very,
very accessible. I also had a quick look with the
end VDI, the free screen reader with the Windows computer,
and that also comes up nicely. So in terms of accessibility,
(08:20):
there shouldn't be an issue there. And I'm a very
average computer user. Conrad So if I can use it,
most people should be able to excel at that. But
if people say, Oh, it's all right for you guys,
you've got a computer, so you like to use your
computer or your smart phones. I don't have one or
I don't I choose not to have one. There's not
for you as well. And you can still be involved.
S2 (08:40):
Yeah, absolutely. You can call in Australia's national call centre
and the number is one 800 422077. And they will
help take you through the survey. It takes between five
and 10 minutes depending on your answers. And the great
thing is for anyone who does a survey online or
over the phone and you also do get the opportunity
(09:03):
to sign up and go into the draw to win
one of team Amazon echo dots that have been provided
to us to give away is a bit of an
incentive for people to do the survey. Thanks to our
very good friends at Vision Australia radio sponsor Amazon.
S1 (09:21):
And that's a fantastic point that you make. So we'd
like your time and obviously your feedback, but when you
give it with a little bit of luck, you said
you go into the running and your name might be
drawn out of the hat. Is that your hat that
we use?
S2 (09:35):
Oh, you know, my, my head's big enough, so yeah, definitely.
I can definitely hold all of the details, but we
use actually a little bit more of a method that
is can hold up under a bit more scrutiny.
S1 (09:48):
Okay. Oh that's, that's good on camera listening comment or
trouble because we love our licence, we love what we do,
so we don't want to jeopardise that. But on a
serious note, this past week, as a lot of people say,
I get off, I'm not much into technology, but those
smart speakers, I mean if you can talk, if you
can say Alexa play reached Australia, right? Red Light or
(10:10):
Supply Vision Australia, Radio Melbourne. The device responds and we
come on on the Speaker And why you guys say
it is literally as simple as that. And as I say,
I'm no wish with this sort of stuff, but I
mean that makes it just so accessible, you know, right
out of the box.
S2 (10:26):
Yeah, I love that. I love hearing that too. Peter
You know, technology can be a friend or foe at times,
I think. And, you know, we are overwhelmed sometimes by
all the different things that you can sign up to
and apps you can get and things like that. But
I 100% agree with you. I think, you know, to
have a device like that, if you're able to activate
(10:46):
it with your voice and it really does open up
a whole new world and it can make life a
lot easier, especially when you're wanting to just access something
that you love, like Vision Australia Radio as well.
S1 (10:57):
Mean That's a great point. And if you think, oh,
it's a little bit challenging to me. If you've got
a child or a grandchild or niece or nephew, I'm
sure they'd be able to help set you up. And again, yeah,
the great thing about radio, Conrad, is you sometimes hear
about the doctor. Well, radio is fantastic because you don't
use much data to hear radio, so don't worry about that.
It's streaming services that you pay big money for because
(11:20):
with radio, we're all going to say we're cheap, but
we're an expensive. That's a good one for.
S2 (11:25):
It's a nice way of doing it. Yeah, I totally
agree with you. That is the best way to put it.
I mean, and we're always there in some shape or form.
So and what I really am hoping to is that
we get people giving us a bit more feedback too,
about our podcast. You know, that's one area where we
would like to build on and do more in that
space and we're doing some fantastic new programs in there
(11:49):
and some limited series as well. We just did one
recently for This Girl Can, which is an initiative by
the government to promote inclusiveness in sport for women, and
we just did a fantastic series around that. So, you know,
we're putting out new things like that all of the
time on the radio, but also on podcasts as well.
(12:11):
So there's yeah, there's a lot there that we'd love
to hear from people about and to give us their feedback.
S1 (12:17):
Or we'll put a direct link to the survey on
our Facebook page when we put information up about the
program so people can check that out there. And I'll
put that up on the various email list that I'm
on as well. But if people prefer to call Conrad.
S2 (12:32):
Yes.
S1 (12:32):
Or commercial.
S2 (12:33):
Please. So just pick up your phone and call one
800 or double to zero. Double seven.
S1 (12:40):
Alright, we'll put those details up there as well. I
got to catch up and again officially and publicly, thank
you so much for the wonderful support that you give me.
I do appreciate and those of us that are involved
with this program, keep up the good work and well,
I think you've done okay. So we'll probably get you back.
S2 (12:57):
Thanks so much. I wrote back to update you on
your support and everything that you do for Vision Australia
Radio is always very much appreciated, so we hope a
few of your fans come out of the woodwork and
fill out that listener survey and let us know how
much they love you and your programs on on our
radio network as well.
S1 (13:15):
We better end this mutual admiration society right here in
our country. Great, great. Thanks for.
S2 (13:19):
That. She is Peter.
S1 (13:21):
Brown there from Vision Australia, encouraging us all to get
involved with that survey. So one 800 42077 or we'll
put the link up on our Facebook page. If you
go to radio dot vs Australia dot org, look for
the listener survey link. It's there right as you come
to it. And they're very accessible with the NBA and
also the iPhone.
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