About M94.5

M94.5

M94.5 — "Wir machen anders!" — is Munich's training radio: the Aus- und Fortbildungsradio of the Mediaschool Bayern, on air since 1 July 1996 — the training and further-training radio, the thirty-year school on the dial — the Aus- und Fortbildung as the double mission, the dial's classroom. The concept was Germany's first: real training channels where media newcomers learn the craft in real broadcasting operation — no grey theory, but genuine, unvarnished transmission — the 1996 innovation, the Ausbildungsplattform as the invention — the German first, the BLM's brainchild, the model for the training channel. The programme is produced largely live, around the clock, mostly in cooperation with students of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and Munich's other universities — and it is, as the 2026 "Satzzeichen" anniversary portrait put it, the "Kaderschmiede des bayerischen und deutschen Journalismus": the cadre forge of Bavarian and German journalism — the alumni in the newsrooms of the republic, the training station's living diploma — the Kaderschmiede's graduates, the journalism's M94.5 generation. From Sportfreunde-Stiller premieres to Amy Winehouse on the studio couch, the legends of the beginnings are part of the curriculum — the folklore of the frequency, the stars in the training studio — the Sportfreunde Stiller's premiere, the one and only Amy Winehouse's famous studio couch. Today M94.5 broadcasts via DAB+ and web radio across Munich and surroundings; since 2018 it sits with afk TV under the Mediaschool Bayern label — the digital transmission, the 2018 label as the new roof. Thirty years of "we do it differently" — the training station that became an institution — the 1996-2026 arc, the anders-machen as the tradition.

Overview

M94.5 broadcasts a mostly live-produced 24-hour radio programme via DAB+ and web radio in Munich and adjacent areas — the live hours as the heart, the 24 hours as the promise. The programme is made predominantly with students of the LMU Munich and other Munich universities — the Aus- und Fortbildungsradio as the students' station — the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität's voices, the Munich universities' airwaves. The carrier is the non-profit association M94.5 Mediaschool Bayern Anbieterverein München e.V.; programme director is Klaus Kranewitter. The studios are at Rosenheimer Straße (Media Works München) — the association's non-profit mission, the Rosenheimer Straße's studios, the programme chief's thirty-year view.

The station's distinction is the training model: the extremely low entry barrier paired with daily live broadcast responsibility — learning in real operation, the best journalism school in the world, as the anniversary portrait argued — the low hurdle, the high responsibility, the pedagogy of the live microphone. The technological shift is part of the curriculum: from heavy TV cameras to highly mobile smartphone reporting, from linear production to AI-assisted workflows for the crossmedial "liquid content" of the next generation — the smartphone as the camera, the AI as the tool, the liquid content as the future. The future media maker as curator, verifier, human on-site anchor — the training station teaching the new job description — the content producer's evolution, the human anchor in the AI age.

History

The idea of dedicated training channels was realized in Germany for the first time in 1996 — on the initiative of the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM) — the media authority's vision, the 1996 premiere, the German first. In 1994 the BLM media council had decided to use transmission capacities for training purposes; in April 1995 the non-profit afk – Aus- und Fortbildungs GmbH für elektronische Medien was founded, creating the precondition for the three programmes afk M94.5 (Radio Munich), afk max (Radio Nuremberg) and afk tv (Television Munich) — the 1994 decision, the 1995 GmbH, the three channels' birth. The afk project describes itself as the "innovative Ausbildungsplattform für kompetenten Mediennachwuchs" — the afk GmbH provides the technology and funding, organizes the personnel, financial and administrative infrastructure, and plans marketing and PR — the innovative training platform as the self-description, the GmbH as the enabler. It is a member of the MedienCampus Bayern, the umbrella association for media training and further education in Bavaria.

On 1 July 1996 the radio went on air (the TV had started in the Munich cable network on 30 June, the day before) — the radio's 1 July as the birthday, the television's 30 June as the eve. In 1999 M94.5 got its own Lehrredaktion — the training editorial office giving young media enthusiasts a platform for first experiences without ratings pressure; the radio channel was renamed from Afk M94.5 to M94,5 — the 1999 as the pedagogical milestone, the renaming as the branding, the concept that was the first of its kind in Germany. Since 2008 M94.5 has broadcast six days a week on München TV and on the internet — the television window's expansion, the internet's arrival, the six-day week on the Munich screen. In 2018 the training channels were placed under the Mediaschool Bayern label, together with afk TV — the 2018 decision, the new label as the common roof, the Munich training channels united. In 2026 the station turned 30 — three decades of "Wir machen anders!" — the 30th birthday's "Satzzeichen" celebration, the three decades' anders-machen.

Programming

The programme is the training made audible: largely live, 24 hours, the students' Munich in sound — music, culture, city life, the university's topics — the Isar metropolis through the students' microphones, the 24 hours' curriculum. The legendary beginnings (Sportfreunde Stiller premieres, Amy Winehouse on the studio couch) are the folklore; the daily live responsibility is the method — the folklore's glamour, the method's discipline, the training's two faces. The crossmedial "liquid content" — mobile reporting, AI-assisted workflows — is the current chapter: the training station teaching the tools of the next generation — the liquid's flow across platforms, the AI as the indispensable Werkzeug. The motto "Wir machen anders!" is the programme promise: different from commercial radio, because learning is the format — the anders-machen as the brand, the learning as the format's reason.

Organization and Ownership

M94.5 is operated by the non-profit M94.5 Mediaschool Bayern Anbieterverein München e.V., within the Mediaschool Bayern structure (the BLM is the main shareholder of the MEDIA SCHOOL Bayern). Programme director: Klaus Kranewitter — the association's non-profit charter, the BLM's majority, the programme chief's three-decade view. The afk GmbH — founded April 1995 — remains the supporting structure: technology, funding, infrastructure, conceptual supervision — the thirty-year-old enabler, the training channels' backbone. The station is a member of the MedienCampus Bayern, the umbrella association for media training in Bavaria — the Dachverband's network, the Bavarian training landscape's hub. As a non-commercial training broadcaster it is not ratings-driven — the Quotendruck's absence, the learning's freedom, the anders-machen's economic basis. Detailed financial figures are not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted.

Digital Presence

M94.5 is online at m945.de — the stream, the programme, the training station's digital campus — the website as the seminar building, the stream as the lecture hall. The Mediaschool Bayern portal (mediaschool.bayern) presents the label: M94.5 and afk TV as the two Munich training channels — the portal's overview, the label's digital home. The 30th anniversary was celebrated in the "Satzzeichen" podcast with programme chief Klaus Kranewitter — the training model discussed for the digital age: mobile reporting, AI as the indispensable tool, the curator-verifier-anchor as the new job description — the Christian Jakubetz conversation, the thirty years' reflection, the future's blueprint. The digital face is the pedagogical face: the next generation's liquid content, the "Wir machen anders!" on every platform — the anders-machen digital, the training station's platform presence.