HISTORY OF ‘U’ 1982
Written by Admin on 28 October 2014
1982
In 1982, the station was granted a licence for broadcast during three periods – 15 February to 13 March 1982, 26 April to 15 May 1982, and 19 July to 1 August 1982. Call sign 3XB, frequency 1422kHz.
The licence was issued allowing Radio U to broadcast between 7am and 11pm daily and enabled a small amount of advertising for the first time. The licence allowed “Advertising will be permitted to a maximum of four minutes per hour with a daily average not exceeding one and a half minutes per hour and shall be directed to the University student audience”
Personnel were:
Michael Higgins – station manager;
Richard James – station manager 1981;
Andrew Glennie – technician and advisor;
Philip Cheyne – proposed advertising manager;
Julian Sinton – proposed technical director;
Michael Shannon – proposed announcer and publicity director;
John McLaughlin – proposed announcer;
Kirsty Cooper – proposed announcer;
Peter Clayton-Jones – proposed announcer;
Regan Elliott – proposed technician;
Wayne Codlin – proposed announcer;
Lorraine Allan – proposed announcer;
The three periods sought under the licence were for the following purposes and justified on the following grounds:
(a) Enrolment in Orientation February to March: promotion of Orientation, introducing students to university life, opportunity to meet socially, opportunity to expose the cultural and sporting clubs on campus, information and publicity medium for Orientation and Students Association and university.
(b) Second period April 26 to May 15 was to promote the annual capping festival held at the end of the first term. “It falls at a time when the university is focusing its attention on students who have completed their degrees in the previous year, and also when assessment projects and tests for the first term are all but completed. Capping provides a chance to recreate the Orientation process at a time when students are better acquainted with, and settled into, student life and thus in a position to take fuller advantage of social and cultural activities. It also provides a respite in between two peak assessment periods: the end of the first term and the beginning of the second term.”
(c) The third proposed broadcast (July to August) coincides with “winter festival and Presidential and Executive elections. Winter festival places more emphasis on the cultural and artistic side of student activities than do Orientation and capping. The week long festival presents artists and performers and their work on campus as well as highlighting the students’ arts. It thus provides contacts with the arts that many students might otherwise miss.
The Presidential and Executive elections provide students with the opportunity to participate in the choosing of their representatives for the following year. While many students claim total disinterest in student politics as such, they do not realise that it is the President and Executive who administer the Union building and facilities and most of the day to day services that students take for granted.
Voting has never been heavy in these elections with a 20% poll counting as a major triumph. It is felt that these elections are important and that students should be afforded as many different perspectives as is possible in order to allow them a more informed choice, and also hopefully to stimulate larger turnouts.”
The proposed programme would also provide:
“A programme of music, highlighting modern “alternative” music but also featuring specialist music. Coverage would be given to jazz, blues, reggae, new wave, country and classical music forms. This coverage would take the form of weekly two hour specials. It is felt that in this way the station will be able to best cater for more sophisticated tastes of the devotees of these particular forms, as well as introducing the less experienced to the full range of music that each of these forms embraces.
Extensive exposure would be given to music made by New Zealand artists. A quota of 10% would constitute the minimum local music content. Christchurch based artists would be given exposure through the playing of their tapes, especially for those who have yet to be recorded by record companies. Christchurch is a city that has very little in the way of venues for young bands, and there are even fewer places where those under the drinking age can go to hear music. It is felt that coverage such as is proposed would allow bands to be heard by people who might otherwise never hear them…. Music content would avoid at all times that which can be heard on other stations, with the exception of the all night programming provided by the ZM network. It is pointed out, however, that that programme is not accessible to all because of the timeslot it occupies.”
Advertising content was proposed. The application noted at para 4.2:
“It is felt that the time has passed when the station is able to conduct its operations along non commercial lines. Equipment has had to be purchased in order to put the station on a more permanent footing.
Non commercial broadcasts have in the past put the onus on the event being publicised to pay for the running of the station. Whilst this system has worked reasonably satisfactorily, it has meant that radio coverage has been placed outside the means of many extremely worthwhile festivals that would have benefited greatly from radio exposure. Their budgets have been simply too small. It is felt that advertising revenue would allow the station to choose the events it assists with using fairer criteria than size of budget.”
Therefore, the applicants sought the ability to accept general advertising for one and a half minutes per hour, fourteen hours per day, five days per week at an average of $8 per 30 second slot. This would represent approximately $18,000 in gross income for the three broadcasts in total.
“Advertisements would take the form of pre-recorded 30 second announcements and would not seek to emulate the aggressive style of established commercial radio.”
“Even this level of advertising is envisaged as only being necessary until the equipment the station has recently obtained is paid for. After that point has reached it is envisaged that the station would only look to cover immediate costs.”
The revenue was to be attributed as follows: equipment purchase $1500, grant to Radio U club $1,000, loan repayment to Students’ Association for TRS MF100 transmitter $8,070.
24 December 1982
Radio U Society receives a warning from the then Registrar R M McEwen from the Broadcasting Tribunal expressing concern as to the “non submissions of audited accounts for the short term broadcasts carried out by your organisation in 1982. Whatever the reasons for the non compliance with the relevant condition, it is hoped that urgency will be given to provisions of the station as soon after resumption of business next year as possible. The Tribunal remains concerned that a proper statement of income and expenditure is produced for its perusal in accordance with its direction and failure to observe the condition may prejudice future applications.”
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