Inner FM - FM 96.5 - Heidelberg, Vic

bout Inner FM 96.5 Inner FM's studios are located at Shop 38, Warringal Shopping Centre, on the corner of Rosanna Rd and Burgundy St in ... See more Heidelberg and our transmitter is located on the roof of the Austin Hospital boiler room. Our compact offices house two on-air studios and we operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The station has been located at Warringal Shopping Centre for most of its lifetime but started off in its infant stages at the Heidelberg Town Hall. Read a little about the history of Inner FM Inner FM serves the cities of Banyule, Manningham and Darebin. We are also heard over a much wider listening area, with a listening potential of over 250,000 people in our community. Inner FM commenced full time broadcasting in December 1990. Since then, Inner FM has emerged with its own unique personality and sound as it continues to develop. Our format is a mixture of magazine style and music programs, appealing to all tastes and age groups. We have many special interest programs including multicultural, service clubs, community groups, scouting, legal news, etc. Our weekday morning program, "Morning Magazine", was augmented and produced over many years as "Personalities on Parade" by the Patron of our station, the Hon Bruce Skeggs OAM, and is a program of special interest with interviews by community leaders, groups etc. We also provide segments with councils and the media to bring to the listening audience an idea of what is happening within the community and via the newspapers etc. As part of our programming charter, we enjoy great success with outside broadcasts. These include the annual Heidelberg Gift and the Banyule Festival Parade in Burgundy St. We also broadcast the amateur football every Saturday in the football season. Santa Talkback is a unique opportunity for children to phone in and talk to Santa on air whilst visiting the Lights on the Boulevard in the festive season. We have over 100 volunteers involved in the operation of the station, including several in the past year who have been provided by the local community agency Volunteers of Banyule. We are also very lucky to have volunteers from local schools and universities who come to us wanting to help out. We are always looking for anyone in the technical or production field to help us run the station. The running of the station is coordinated by our Committee of Management who meet once a month. The revenue for the station comes from sponsorship and membership. We do not receive funding from any government bodies and we are constantly fund raising to help supplement the costs of running the station. We do however receive small grants from councils and the Community Broadcasting Foundation to allow us to repair and replace equipment etc. Brief History of Inner FM Inner FM began life in November 1987 when a group of local residents held a meeting to discuss the formation of a community radio station in the north eastern region of Melbourne. Several of these members are still current presenters on Inner FM. The first test broadcast of Inner FM (or North East Community Radio as it was known then) was conducted in late February and early March of 1988 from the Heidelberg Town Hall. This test broadcast lasted for one week, during which time our membership increased greatly. Our second week-long test broadcast was conducted during July 1988 from our newly opened studios at Warringal Shopping Centre. After a number of test broadcasts we were invited to apply for a full time broadcasting licence by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. In March of 1990, Inner North East Community Radio, as the organisation is now known, was granted a "C" class licence by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. This, however, was not the end of the test broadcasts, as the Department of Transport and Communications still had to run their tests to determine our power output and frequency allocation. It wasn't until December 1990 that the Department of Transport and Communications finished their extensive testing. Inner FM was issued with a permanent licence on 5 December 1990, which is renewed every five years. The station was officially opened with a ceremony on the morning of 8 December 1990, involving the mayors of the four municipalities that the station served at the time - Heidelberg, Northcote, Preston and Doncaster. The ceremony was conducted on stage at Warringal Shopping Centre and was hosted by Bruce Mansfield, who was a presenter on the station at the time. The station commenced full-time operation on 10 December 1990 Inner FM's Committee of Management (updated 25/2/11) Our Committee of Management is elected by the members of 96.5 Inner FM and positions are held for three years. The Committee elects a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. The Committee meets once a month to discuss matters of concern to the members. Committe of Management - Executive Ken Petrucco President Paul Dellios Vice President Adrian Hook Treasurer Kevin Yates Secretary Committee of Management - Others Tim Armstrong Technician Janice Brandon Lenny Everett Chris Keating Geoff Phillips Clyde Simpson Joseph Zampichelli Programming Sub-Committee Ken Petrucco Program Coordinator Adrian Hook Treasurer Kevin Yates Secretary Clyde Simpson Committee of Management John Odgers Presenter Geoff Phillips Committee of Management To contact any of our committee members please send an email to info@innerfm.org.au 2008 McNair Community Radio Listener Survey Results More people are tuning into community radio stations like 96.5 Inner FM for the local content and specialised music programs they offer. The 2008 Community Radio National Listener Survey has revealed a loyal following of Australians who tune into their local community radio station each month. The survey found 57 per cent of Australians aged 15 years and above listen to community radio each month, an increase of 10 per cent in the last two years. In Melbourne an estimated 1,939,000 people are listening to our community radio stations in an average month. Deborah Welch, President of the Community Broadcasting Authority of Australia (CBAA) said the results are a testament to the high standard of community radio in Australia and the important role it plays in the Australian media landscape. “Community radio attracts a huge number of listeners for the specialist music programs, local news and information and the desire to support Australian artists. “There is a great local flavour to community radio, and you are bound to hear something you won’t hear anywhere else on Australian radio,” said Ms Welch. Why people listen to community radio: - Specialist music programs (55%) - Local information and news (53%) - They play Australian music and support local artists (46%) - The announcers sound like ordinary people (43%) Listeners love local radio because the content is locally relevant and the stations are more likely to respond to the communities within which they serve. Community radio provides a great public service and also gives budding local radio enthusiasts and journalists a chance to get a start in an industry that is unlike any other. Despite growth in listenership, 96.5 Inner FM and many other community radio stations are substantially under-funded, inhibiting further growth. “Funding has stagnated for community radio for the last 14 years and it's time the Government recognised the important role 96.5 Inner FM plays in the local community,” said Ms Welch. The CBAA in conjunction with 96.5 Inner FM is calling on the Federal Government to inject much-needed funds into community radio to ensure this vital service is not lost. "Local MPs need to get behind their local community radio station and stand up for local content and the work of all their fantastic volunteers,” said Ms Welch. The 2008 McNair Community Radio Listener Survey Report is available from the CBOnline website