As the windows lining a quiet Bendigo street went dark one by one late into a balmy January night, a lone house remained lit up into the wee hours of the following morning.
Its lights finally dimmed around 2am as KLFM acting manager Bill Murray left his post by his computer, where he’d sat on guard for emergency updates on the bushfires that had been burning through regional Victoria for days.
KLFM, a Bendigo-based radio station which services a large part of central Victoria, has been one of the state’s official emergency radio broadcasters since 2014.
This means the largely volunteer-run station must interrupt normal programming to transmit emergency notices ranging from ‘Watch and Act’ to ‘Recommendation to Evacuate’.
After a career working in technical roles with major telcos, followed by a few years as an electorate officer in Bendigo, Murray has spent the last nine years of his “retirement” working with KLFM.
Murray says he and his KLFM colleagues are “critically aware” they have a “role in keeping people alive”.
This is why he spent hours monitoring his inbox for emergency notices at home, long after his KLFM presenting shift ended.
During emergency situations, dozens of notices could be broadcast throughout a single day; during Victoria’s 2022 floods, KLFM broadcast more than 3000 emergency messages, Murray says.
Trust from audiences is a necessity during these events, both from those directly in the path of destruction, and from others trying to safely navigate around those situations.
“One of our broadcasters works with a bus company that takes people from Bendigo to the airport … and he said they were trying to work out where to send their buses, how to get them there [during the January bushfires],” Murray tells PIJI.
“In the end, they just listened to me. Because I was putting out the reports of where the fires were, they used my reports – which are the Victoria Emergency reports – to guide where they sent the buses.
“So I think people trust what we’re doing … Knowing that people rely on us means we take this whole thing extremely seriously.”
Murray says KLFM’s listeners “tend to be richer in years”, and presenters often feel like companions to those who may not hear many other voices throughout the week, building up a sense of trust.
This connection between local presenters and regional audiences is similarly important for Australia’s national public broadcaster, ABC acting managing editor for VIC, SA, QLD and TAS Mark Davies tells PIJI.
Service does not go unnoticed
The ABC emergency broadcasting team provides 24-hour coverage, and Davies says there is always someone on call to break into programming in the event of an emergency alert.
He says the public recognises the service reporters provide during emergencies, referencing instances in NSW where notes of thanks were left on the windscreens of ABC vehicles following floods and fires.
“People do value and respect that communication; particularly from their local radio stations, those local voices that they know and trust to deliver the most accurate information that we can,” Davies says.
“That local knowledge that they possess around local landmarks, roads – particularly when you’re delivering information to people about where a fire is – that’s incredibly important.”
Davies also highlights the role ABC’s local stations play post-emergency by reporting on rebuilding, as well as tracking the expenditure of disaster funding and the fulfilment of government promises.
Cooperation key to success
The service provided by public interest journalism in emergency weather events is strengthened by strong partnerships between emergency services and journalists, as well as between media organisations.
In October, the ABC announced a plan to share its digital news with regional, rural and remote news outlets during significant events. The stated aim of the plan is to enhance Australians’ access to essential news, close potential gaps in coverage and support the sustainability of local journalism.
And when Victoria’s January bushfires damaged transmission sites, forcing the local ABC radio station off-air, Bendigo-based community station Phoenix FM – supported by Vision Australia Radio and broadcast engineer Dale Simpson – rebroadcast the ABC Central Victoria signal until temporary transmission facilities were installed.
Davies describes emergency broadcasting as one of the most important things the ABC does. He also says it’s something the broadcaster is having to do more often as Australia sees more frequent and severe weather events.
“In the 2021 financial year, the emergency broadcasting team activated for 191 events. In 23/24 that had jumped [to] 659 events, and the similar figure in 24/25, 651 events,” he says.
“But what we’ve also seen over that time is the number of events happening on the same day, and also the number of events that last for more than seven days – both of those have increased.
“So that gives you a sense that we are dealing with an increase in severity across the board.”
Sezen Bakan