Displaced on the dial by changes to Perth’s FM spectrum, Kalamunda community radio is undeterred
Kalamunda Community Radio (KCR), broadcasting in Perth Hills, has moved up to 88.9 on the FM dial after the Australian Communications and Media Authority redistributed a number of frequencies.
ABC Radio Perth will move to KCR’s old frequency at 102.5, while NewsRadio and Radio National will also switch from AM to FM.
KCR president Roger Jennings said there were advantages to moving the dial toward the 80s, despite having to make the switch.
He said that as a community station, KCR broadcasts at lower power and is allowed to broadcast only in its defined license area.
Roger Jennings says community radio can broadcast hyper-local stories that larger stations can’t cover. (ABC News: Pip Waller)
“[At 102.5] We were actually stuck in the middle of a lot of strong stations, making it difficult to find us,” Mr. Jennings said.
“Auto-tuning radios in cars, etc. bypasses us.
“We think we’re more likely to be found in the 88.9 area by car radios and things like that.”
Hyper-local radio
Staffed entirely by volunteers and powered by donations and sponsorships, KCR offers a unique radio service that focuses closely on its immediate community.
“[Community radio] That’s important because it does things that commercials and ABC don’t do,” Mr. Jennings said.
“They are not advertising the fact that the Kalamunda demonstration is going to happen or that some important event is going to happen in Kalamunda or that there are some issues that need to be resolved in the area.
“This is not something you would expect a broadcaster that covers an entire metro area to cover.
“This is how he fills a void.“
Kalamunda Community Radio station’s broadcast area covers the Perth Hills. (ABC News: Pip Waller)
The station also offers volunteer hosts the chance to explore their own musical interests and share them with others, resulting in singular radio broadcasts.
Mr. Jennings’ Sunday evening program is all about classical music composed in the 20th century.
“I play all the titles, and there’s no other station around that does that. Even ABC doesn’t do exactly that,” he said.
“I’ve always had a great interest in 20th-century classical music and I have a very wide repertoire and I try to play pieces that people will enjoy, composers that people know from the 20th century, as well as more unusual pieces that are never played on the radio.”
The recordings are on a shelf at Kalamunda Community Radio. (ABC News: Pip Waller)
For other presenters, this ranges from rock, soul and easy listening to Australian, Americana, classical and folk.
“We have about 30 presenters in total, and you have to be very dedicated because you have to be there every week,” Mr. Jennings said.
“You can’t just say ‘oh sorry, we can go on vacation’… you can’t say ‘oh I’m going to be off for a few weeks right now’ because the schedule will be eliminated.”
“You have to have dedicated people and they have to have enough music in the kind of music they want to play because we’re not actually providing them with the music.“
Broadcast from cells
When KCR was founded in 2000, it was broadcasting from studios in cells at the old Kalamunda Police Station.
They were then able to move into purpose-built studios at the Gooseberry Hill Community Centre.
Mr Jennings said although the cells had character, they were “a bit claustrophobic”.
“I mean, it was nice, it was soundproof, and it was pretty decent for a studio because you don’t get any interference, but I guess it was a little claustrophobic.
“We now have beautiful studios that the state government was kind enough to fund, and we built them ourselves.”
Volunteer presenters play music of their choice on Kalamunda Community Radio. (ABC News: Pip Waller)
New house, same station
KCR has already moved to his new frequency at 88.9FM and hopes his loyal listeners will follow suit.
Mr. Jennings said that although the surveys were prohibitively expensive, they were able to get a sense of listenership from social media feeds and online listening.
“We have quite a lot of listeners these days online and actually around the world,” he said.
“I think we just want to solidify where we are, make sure people understand what our new frequency is, and make sure we have a lot of hosts.”
ABC Radio Perth will move to 102.5 FM, Radio National to 103.3 FM and ABC NewsRadio to 104.1 FM from 23 February.
