About VOX FM

VOX FM

VOX FM 106.9 (former call sign 2VOX) is a community radio station in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, broadcasting on 106.9 MHz on the FM band. Branded "The Voice of the Illawarra," the station has been broadcasting in the region for over 25 years, playing hits from the 1950s through the 1980s alongside specialist programmes in jazz, blues, folk, Australian independent music, metal and local music — and programmes for the Illawarra's ethnic communities in more than twenty languages. It is owned by Illawarra Community FM Broadcasters Limited, a non-profit organisation run by volunteers and a board of directors elected by station members. (Wikipedia lists www.voxfm.org.au as the station's website.)

The Illawarra that VOX serves is one of Australia's great industrial-coastal regions: Wollongong — the steel city, home to the Port Kembla steelworks — and the coastal strip from Helensburgh in the north, through the northern suburbs and the city centre, to Lake Illawarra, Dapto, Albion Park, Shellharbour, Kiama and Gerringong in the south. It is a region built by migration: the postwar migrants who came for the steelworks and the mines — Macedonians, Croatians, Serbians, Greeks, Italians, Turks, Poles, Germans, Dutch — and the later waves: Chileans, Filipinos, Bosnians, Tongans. VOX's twenty-plus ethnic programmes are the voice of that migration history: the communities that built the Illawarra, on the Illawarra's community station.

Overview

VOX FM's identity is community access: unlike the commercial stations' 24-hour formats, VOX programmes different shows throughout the day appealing to different people — the daytime oldies, the evening specialist music, the weekend ethnic programmes. The station's broadcast area covers the Illawarra from Helensburgh in the north to Gerringong in the south, with some listeners receiving the signal in the Blue Mountains. The station's loyal listenership spans the region — and, via streaming, the world: listener reviews come from Finland, the USA, Tasmania and Dubbo, drawn by the oldies, the Australian music and the specialist shows.

The station's format — community access — is the opposite of the commercial log: the volunteer presenters play what they love, from the 50s and 60s oldies to Australian metal, from Portuguese-language "Lusophone Beats" to the Koori programme. The ethnic programming — Bosnian, Chilean, Croatian, Cypriot, Dutch, Filipino, German, Greek, Irish, Koori, Macedonian, Portuguese, Puka Puka, Scottish, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Tongan, Turkish and Polish — makes VOX the Illawarra's multicultural voice, alongside the mainstream community stations.

History

VOX FM has been broadcasting in the Illawarra for over 25 years — the station's history tracing to the community radio licensing era of the late 20th century, when the Illawarra's volunteers built their own station. The call sign 2VOX — 2 for New South Wales, VOX for voice — is the station's identity: the voice of the Illawarra, on 106.9 FM.

The station's decades on air have seen it become one of the Illawarra's most established community voices — alongside the commercial Wave FM and i98FM, the ABC's Illawarra service, and the youth-oriented 2RDJ. Where the commercials chase the ratings, VOX serves the communities the commercials don't: the ethnic groups, the specialist music fans, the oldies listeners. The "Voice of the Illawarra" branding is the station's promise: the region's diversity, on the region's community station.

Programming

VOX FM's programming is built on variety — different shows throughout the day, appealing to different people:

• Oldies — music programmes playing hits from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s: the daytime backbone, the "real oldies" that draw listeners from Florida to Finland.
• Specialist music — jazz, blues, folk, Australian independent, Australian metal, international metal, local music: the evening and weekend passions.
• Ethnic programmes — Bosnian, Chilean, Croatian, Cypriot, Dutch, Filipino, German, Greek, Irish, Koori, Macedonian, Portuguese, Puka Puka, Scottish, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Tongan, Turkish and Polish: the Illawarra's multicultural communities, on air in their own languages. Programmes like "Lusophone Beats with Adriana" (Thursday evenings) and "Geetmaala" (Indian music) have loyal followings.
• Presenter shows — the volunteer hosts: Daniel, Billy, Sylvia, Ilkka, Lillian, Kevin and the others named in listener tributes — the community's DJs.

The station's programming philosophy — "unlike most stations, Vox doesn't play the same thing 24 hours a day" — is the community access model: the schedule as a mosaic, each programme serving its community.

Coverage & Audience

VOX FM broadcasts on 106.9 MHz FM, with a broadcast area covering the Illawarra from Helensburgh in the north to Gerringong in the south — and some listeners receiving the signal in the Blue Mountains. The station's audience is the Illawarra's community radio listeners — the oldies fans, the ethnic communities, the specialist music lovers — plus the streaming audience worldwide: the Finnish listener greeting Billy, the Floridian who "found the station by accident," the Tasmanian couple "rockin' along."

The station's loyal listenership — "for over 25 years" — is the community radio dividend: the listeners who don't want the commercials' "trending pop," who want the "genuinely good music," the local voices, the community's station. The reviews tell the story: "the only good radio station around here," "the best station in Illawarra," the Friday-morning office rocking to Lillian's music selection, the Thursday-evening Lusophone Beats, the tribute to an old friend on Ilkka's show. In a market of networked formats, VOX is the human station: the presenters the listeners know by name, the music the commercials won't play, the languages the mainstream doesn't speak.

Ownership

VOX FM is owned by Illawarra Community FM Broadcasters Limited — a non-profit organisation. The station is not privately owned: it is a not-for-profit charitable institution, funded by government grants, sponsorship, membership and donations. It is run by volunteers and a board of directors elected by station members — the community's station, governed by the community.

The volunteer model is the station's engine: the presenters — Daniel, Billy, Sylvia, Ilkka, Lillian, Kevin, Adriana and the dozens of others — give their time to present the programmes they love, from the oldies to the ethnic shows to the metal hours. The board of directors, elected by the station's members, governs the organisation — the community's democratic control of its own voice. The funding — government grants, sponsorship, membership, donations — is the community radio compact: the community pays for the station the community wants.

As a community broadcaster, the station operates within the community broadcasting codes of practice — and within the national community radio sector of more than 450 stations, the CBAA's community of communities. But VOX's story is Illawarra's: the steel city's volunteers, the migrants' languages, the oldies' memories — on 106.9 FM, the Voice of the Illawarra, for over 25 years and counting.

Digital Presence

VOX FM streams online — the live webcast reaching the worldwide audience that the listener reviews document. Wikipedia lists www.voxfm.org.au as the station's website. The station is listed on streaming aggregators including Online Radio Box and RadioMixer — the "Voice of the Illawarra," worldwide. The digital presence carries the community station's promise: the oldies, the specialist music, the ethnic programmes — Wollongong's 106.9, wherever you are.

As VOX FM, the Illawarra's community access station keeps the region's diversity on the dial: the 50s-to-80s hits, the jazz and blues, the metal and folk — and the twenty-plus languages of the Illawarra's communities — on 106.9 FM, the Voice of the Illawarra. From Helensburgh to Gerringong, from the steelworks' migrants to the streaming listeners in Finland and Florida, the station is the region's common voice: the volunteers' passions, the communities' languages, the Illawarra's own 106.9 — for over 25 years, and for the decades to come.