Dr. Heather Anderson's TedX Talk is Now Live!
A couple months back, Dr. Heather Anderson was a speaker at the TEDxBrisbane. Her talk, "Why Minority Ideas Change The World" explored the power of community radio to promote social justice. The talk has now been published and is available to watch!
As a long time Zed volunteer, community media scholar and journalist whose work examines how alternative media creates spaces for voices excluded in mainstream narratives. It was such an insightful and inspiring talk!
The first few days of interaction with the video have an impact on the future visibility of the TEDX video of Heather's speech, so if you have a spare second, we highly recommend giving it a listen.
Dr Heather Anderson's People Powered Radio Shortlisted For Queensland Literary Award
Dr. Heather Anderson's book, People Powered Radio, has been shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards Lord Mayor's People's Choice Award!
People Powered Radio captures the oral and archival histories of 4ZZZ, taking you through the station's subversive roots in the 1970s to its present day digital renaissance. The rich and deeply researched book documents the lasting contributions that 4ZZZ has made to promoting independent music, producing alternative news and fostering community.
This achievement is a real testament to the love, passion and hard work that Heather put into the book. Heather is one of 4ZZZ's longest volunteers and the book provides an insider’s perspective on what happens when people build something together and refuse to let it go.
This is judged on voting alone and there is a substantial cash prize, half of which will be donated to 4ZZZ for a specific project. Voting closes Sept 10 so get onto it!
Massive First Weekend of Radiothon Fiercely Independent 🩷🎶🧡
We had a huge first weekend of Radiothon! With flames and lasers at the Sunday RNR BBQ to Linda’s Alphabet Soup Bush Walk whilst wearing the new Radiothon T-Shirt or Cracked Rhinestones II selling out. AND! A monumental Bus Tour with Andrew Bartlett and really special 4ZZZ Mixer at Banshees
We had a massive first weekend of Radiothon! Thank you for all your support and to all those that have already subscribed! We still have six days left of Radiothon so make sure to grab your warm inner glow while there is still time.
Help Get The Word Out For Fiercely Independent Radiothon!
Another way to support the campaign is through sharing Radiothon across your social media or within your community. Help us get the word out about what Radiothon is, why subscribing to 4ZZZ is important and what 4ZZZ means to you!
We have made some social media assets to use if you desire! The link below includes photo tiles, the Radiothon artwork and a banner.
Thank you so much for your support throughout the campaign, it goes a long way in keeping 4ZZZ alive!
Exclusive Radiothon Merch for Passionate and Super Subscriber Packs
This year's passionate and super subscriber exclusive merchandise features the Radiothon 2026 artwork by Will Johnstone.
Passionate and super subscriber tiers both include the t-shirt, tote bag and 4ZZZ bumper sticker. Super subscribers also get the limited edition 4ZZZ antenna pin!
If you love this merch as much as we do, it is only available for passionate or super subscriber tiers so up your subscription tier to claim it!
Your Guide to Radiothon 2026! Fiercely Independent 🩷📡
It's Radiothon time! Running across 10 days from August 7th to 16th, it is our biggest subscriber drive of the year. It’s a great time to grab your warm inner glow and subscribe to 4ZZZ!
This year’s theme is ‘Fiercely Independent.’ For over 50 years, 4ZZZ has been unapologetically representing alternative news, music and culture, whilst being primarily funded by our subscribers. A lot has changed since 1975, but we feel that people powered radio is more important now than ever.
Maintaining independence means our programs have autonomy to play, platform and promote their passions. Without your support, 4ZZZ wouldn’t be able to amplify the voices and perspectives you won’t hear anywhere else.
4ZZZ prioritises people over profit. We’re so grateful for your ongoing support. We couldn't do this without you.
400 Episodes of Balkan Beats!
Balkan Beats hosted by Billie Letic has just celebrated 400 episodes of the show! The program, airing Saturday nights 8-9PM, celebrates Eastern European bands from the Balkans and Southeast Europe. It’s an hour of dancing and fun!
The first episode of Balkan Beats aired December 1, 2018 and Billie has never missed an episode or had a repeat episode! It’s a huge testament to the dedication, love and passion that Billie invests into the program.
So many people across the world tune in for the program, and we’re so honoured to have it on our Zed Digital channel.
Blair Martin Celebrates One Decade as Zed Digital Coordinator!
Blair Martin, who you may have heard across the airwaves as longtime host and coordinator of Queer Radio, has just celebrated a decade as 4ZZZ's Zed Digital Coordinator!
It takes so much time, effort and commitment to make sure that the Zed Digital channel remains populated with shows that you know and love. It's all thanks to Blair's dedication behind-the-scenes.
Blair has been a point of contact and support for many volunteers and announcers within 4ZZZ, making sure they feel confident and comfortable to share their story, niche interest and passion with others.
Here are some words from Blair Martin:
"It has been one of my greatest joys to expand this under-utilised platform into a model that other Community Broadcasting Association of Australia community radio stations in Australia have admired and sought to emulate.
I'm grateful to all content creators, both past and present, inside Zed and from outside for making it necessary for my role to exist. It's a passion that hasn't yet died."
It’s because of people like Blair that 4ZZZ is a place of culture, entertainment and stories. A massive thank you to Blair from the 4ZZZ community!
4ZZZ Feature Article by Volunteering Queensland
At the beginning of this year, 4ZZZ became a member of Volunteer Queensland. We’re so proud to be a member of the organisation, particularly since the love and passion of volunteers is what keeps the 4ZZZ airwaves going.
Thank you so much to Volunteer Queensland and Lucy Stokes for the feature article on 4ZZZ!
It’s a beautiful read and includes interviews with some of our volunteers including Heather Anderson, Georgia Manthey and Ben Ryan.
Here are some quotes from the article if you want to go and have a closer read...
“Community radio is where identities are represented,” Anderson says. “It’s one of the few places where people can truly represent themselves, where communities that are often filtered out of mainstream media can tell their own stories in their own words.”
“At any stage of life, community radio offers a place where your contribution matters. The station’s volunteer base spans generations and backgrounds with students gaining their first experience in media, career changers discovering new directions, retirees finally pursuing something they’d set aside.”
4ZZZ 2026 Open House was a blast!
Thank you to everyone that came through for Open House on Saturday! It was such a busy day with nearly 200 people trek-ing down to the station.
It is always one of our favourite days of the year to see people wonder into the 4ZZZ Studios for the first time and discover the passion, love and community here at 4ZZZ.
A massive shoutout and thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who gave tours, answered questions and helped make the day happen.
If you missed out but would love to see the station, click here and sign up for an induction to volunteer!
