95bFM

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95bFM is a New Zealand student radio station. It operates in Auckland on a Schedule 7 (educational purposes) semi-commercial licence. The station is based in the Student Union Building at the University of Auckland, is owned by a trust on behalf of the Auckland University Students Association (AUSA), and broadcasts its signal to greater Auckland at 95.0 on the FM dial. It was the promoter of the b Net New Zealand Music Awards and the popular Summer Series live events in nearby Albert Park, Auckland.

Auckland Metropolitan area in North Island, New Zealand

Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,628,900. It is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki-makau-rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions.

University of Auckland university in New Zealand

The University of Auckland is the largest university in New Zealand, located in the country's largest city, Auckland. It is the highest-ranked university in the country, being ranked 85th worldwide in the 2018/19 QS World University Rankings. Established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand, the university is made up of eight faculties; these are spread over six campuses. It has more than 40,000 students, and more than 30,000 "equivalent full-time" students.

FM broadcasting

FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM) technology. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is capable of better sound quality than AM broadcasting, the chief competing radio broadcasting technology, so it is used for most music broadcasts. Theoretically wideband AM can offer equally good sound quality, provided the reception conditions are ideal. FM radio stations use the VHF frequencies. The term "FM band" describes the frequency band in a given country which is dedicated to FM broadcasting.

Contents

The station has developed into one of New Zealand’s most listened-to alternative music broadcasters, with an estimated 100,000 listeners. During the 2005 general election campaign, the station's news and editorial director Noelle McCarthy conducted an interview in which National Party leader Don Brash admitted that he had forewarning of a controversial leaflet campaign conducted by the Exclusive Brethren sect. Breakfast show hosts regularly interview New Zealand political figures. The centrepiece of the news operation is The Wire, a music and current affairs show that airs every weekday from noon to 1pm.

Don Brash New Zealand politician

Donald Thomas Brash, formerly a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006, and the Leader of the ACT Party from 28 April 2011 to 26 November 2011. Before entering Parliament, Brash was Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 1988 to 2002.

The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848.

Alongside the flagship is bFM Breakfast, Morning Glory, The Wire, Afternoon and Drive slots. There are also specialist programmes like Rhythm Selection, Freak the Sheep, the 95bFM Top 10 and the Sunday "best of" show. Daily "bCasts" (a stored mp3 audio file) are available on the station's website along with a full schedule of DJs/shows. The website was finalist at the 2006 South by South West Web awards. Its award-winning creative department creates most of its own broadcast advertising, rather than using supplied agency material, as most commercial radio does.

History

Breakfast host Mikey Havoc Mikeyintoit.JPG
Breakfast host Mikey Havoc

Founded in 1969 as a capping stunt, bFM was a pirate student radio station, broadcast from a boat - which ran aground in Auckland's Waitematā Harbour - and played illegally on speakers around the University. The iconic ‘b’ originally stood for "bosom". [1] The station was originally run as an AUSA club but by the mid-1980s had seven staff (paid a nominal wage) and 100+ volunteers. All staff were voted into their position by collective vote - the collective being the staff and volunteers of the station at the time, with the appointments ratified by the AUSA.

A capping stunt or capping is a New Zealand university tradition of student pranks wherein students perpetrate hoaxes or practical jokes upon an unsuspecting population. They traditionally take place in May during graduation.

Pirate radio illegal or unregulated radio transmission

Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.

Waitematā Harbour harbour in Auckland

Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city by the shallower waters of the Manukau Harbour.

The AUSA formed Campus Radio BFM Limited in 1989 and required the station to run at break-even after it had run up significant losses in previous years. That was not popular with many staff and volunteers, some of whom resigned when new station manager Simon Laan took over and started implementing changes recommended in a report titled "Saving BFM" by Kerr Inkson and Kelly Grove Hill (from the Auckland University School of Business). Their report had been commissioned by previous station manager Jude Anaru. Laan was the last station manager to be elected to that position, after he lobbied the Board to change its appointment processes and dispense with the voting system.

It transferred permanently from the AM to FM band (originally to 91.8FM, now the frequency of More FM) in the late 1980s, after a long legal application process (opposed by all other commercial radio stations operating in Auckland) begun in 1984 by station manager Debbi Gibbs, daughter of prominent New Zealand businessman Alan Gibbs, and completed by her successor Jude Anaru in 1988.

More FM is a New Zealand radio network playing adult contemporary music or Pop music. It is operated by MediaWorks New Zealand.

Alan Gibbs businessman, art collector

Alan Gibbs is a New Zealand-born businessman, entrepreneur and art collector. After a successful business career in New Zealand, which made him one of that country's wealthiest individuals, he relocated to London in 1999. He retains strong links to New Zealand through his development of Gibbs Farm, one of the world's leading sculpture parks. He is the founder of Gibbs Amphibians, based in Detroit, Michigan, Nuneaton, UK, and Auckland, New Zealand, which pioneers high-speed amphibious vehicle technologies.

The station initially broadcast on the FM band by applying only for a temporary short term broadcasting warrant, and then applying for another one when that one expired. This upset commercial radio stations who were also trying to make the switch from AM to FM, but were delayed by the New Zealand Government who were slowly auctioning off commercial frequencies to commercial broadcasters. By 'drip feeding' commercial frequencies onto the market the Government found it could maximise auction prices. In holding a Schedule 7 (educational purposes) semi-commercial licence, bFM did not have to pay for its frequency. [2]

During the 1980s the station changed its name from Radio B to Campus Radio (1404 AM), then back to Radio B, and then finally bFM. Its hours expanded and it eventually became a 24-hour station operating on a permanent warrant in 1989. Most show hosts are volunteers. The distinctive 95bFM 'b' logo was designed by Johnnie Pain, commissioned by then station manager Liz Tan to design it. The previous logo had been chosen through a vote by station staff and volunteers from a selection of entries in a public logo competition run by previous station manager Simon Laan.

Programme

bNews, the stations news and editorial wing features the talents of Noelle McCarthy, Simon Pound, Rebecca Wright and Russell Brown. bNews also deploys political satire through a number of witty ‘bird calls’ for many local politicians and a fictitious character, Rob the Young National who parodies the New Zealand National Party.

bFM is also runs events such as the bNet music awards.

Alumni

Former staff include Mark "Slave" Williams, Otis Frizzell, Simon Grigg, and former MediaWorks New Zealand chief executive and radio host Brent Impey. DJ Sirvere (Philip Bell) and DJ Sicoff (Simon Coffey) made some of their first public appearances on bFM. Radio Hauraki hosts Jeremy Wells, Matt Heath and Mikey Havoc began their radio careers on bFM Breakfast, while Nick Dwyer has hosted a breakfast show on George FM and Charlotte Ryan now hosts the drive programme on Kiwi FM. Rhys Darby and David Farrier hosted a programme on the station from 2010 to 2012, a partnership they continued with Netflix series Short Poppies. [3]

Russell Brown, Noelle McCarthy and Wallace Chapman have gone on from roles with bFM to careers with Radio New Zealand, TVNZ and other media outlets. RadioLive personalities Marcus Lush, Graeme Hill and Chris Forster and Newstalk ZB presenters and producers Andrew Topping, Andrew Dickens and Tania McKenzie-Cook all honed their skills with bFM. Other former alumni include 3 News journalists Rebecca Wright and Kim Choe, ABC journalist Charlotte Glennie; Nine News journalist, Robert Herrick and print journalists Hannah Sarney (Financial Times), Hugh Sundae and Paul Casserly.

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References

  1. ↑ "About 95bFM". 95bFM. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Old Radio Archives
  3. ↑ Rhys Darby & David Farrier now on bFM!
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