About King Island Radio

King Island Radio

King Island Radio 100.5 FM is the community radio station of King Island — the windswept island in the middle of Bass Strait, halfway between Tasmania and Victoria. Formed in January 2014, it is the first radio station on King Island since settlement in the 1800s, and the first radio station ever located in Bass Strait. Permanent broadcasting commenced at midday on 14 March 2015 from a newly established studio in the Science building of King Island District High School in Currie; in April 2016, the station commenced transmitting to the whole island. Operated by King Island Community Radio Incorporated (KICR) under a Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence from ACMA, the station calls itself "a mirror reflecting the essence of King Island" — a vital resource for building and sustaining an isolated island community, in times of emergency and every day.

Overview

King Island Radio (100.5 MHz FM) is a community radio station broadcasting to King Island — the Bass Strait island of around 1,600 people, famous for its beef, cheese, crayfish, surf breaks and shipwrecks — from studios at King Island District High School in Currie, the island's main town on the west coast. The station broadcasts around the clock: music in the Big Mix program, plus programs like Wots On The Rock, Grandstand, Request, Jeffs Tribute and Talking Point, alongside specials, local information and conversations relevant to the island, its residents and visitors. Programs are broadcast, streamed and podcast (via Mixcloud). The station's charter, in its own words: to serve the community as a vital resource — for building and sustaining the isolated Bass Strait island community; in times of emergency; airing locally relevant information and entertainment; being independent through serving the community; for promotion of the King Island brand and lifestyle — "a place of opportunity, beauty and environment."

History

King Island Community Radio was formed in January 2014. After an intense eight-month period focused on lobbying and then raising the dollars to purchase and set up the necessary startup infrastructure, KICR successfully obtained a broadcast licence from ACMA — the first radio station on King Island since settlement in the 1800s, and the first located in Bass Strait. King Island Radio 100.5 FM commenced permanent broadcasting at midday on the 14th of March 2015, from the newly established studio in the King Island District High School in Currie. In April 2016, the station commenced transmitting — and permanent broadcast — to the whole island.

The history matters because of the island's isolation. King Island sits in the middle of Bass Strait — the stretch of water between Tasmania and Victoria, some of the roughest seas in the world. Until the opening of the all-weather port of Grassy Harbour in 1974, Currie was the main port connecting the island with both Victoria and Tasmania. The island receives ABC Northern Tasmania (88.6 FM), LAFM (89.3) and Chilli FM (90.1) from the mainland — but until 2015, it had never had its own radio station. For an island community that has sustained itself since the 1800s — through the sealing and farming eras, the mining era at Grassy, the dairy and beef industries, the tourism era — the arrival of its own voice on the dial was a landmark: the island talking to itself, for the first time. The island's brand is its produce and its wildness: King Island beef and dairy (the island's cheese is among Australia's most awarded), the crayfish industry, the surf breaks that draw boardriders from around the world, the shipwreck coast — more than 70 wrecks ring the island, a legacy of the Strait's reputation. The station's charter names promotion of the King Island brand and lifestyle explicitly: the radio station as part of the island's economic story, telling visitors and the world what the island is.

Programming

KICR's programming is, in the station's words, dynamic: around-the-clock music in the Big Mix program, plus named programs — Wots On The Rock (the what's-on guide), Grandstand (sport), Request (listener requests), Jeffs Tribute, Talking Point (issues and conversations) — and specials. The station creates programs that matter to locals: fresh, meaningful, from the heart. It welcomes individuals and groups to get behind the microphone and create their own shows, preserving and celebrating the island's unique culture. It offers basic media training — the skills to get involved in everything from scheduling and producing shows to administration and fundraising. The values are explicit: Access (open access, a voice for the community), Independence (content free from commercial and external pressures), Participation (training and governance for program-makers), Diversity (a range of perspectives, cultures and ideas), Innovation (creativity and flexibility in programming). Local news, local community information, local weather and emergency information, interviews with local people and visitors — the island's daily life, on the island's own station.

Coverage and Audience

King Island Radio broadcasts on 100.5 FM from transmitters in Currie, covering the whole island since April 2016 — from Currie on the west coast to Grassy (the former mining town, now the all-weather port) on the east, to the surf coasts and the farming districts. Programs are also streamed and podcast, reaching the island's diaspora and visitors planning their trips. The audience is the island itself: the farmers, the fishers (Currie is a significant centre for the rock-lobster industry), the tourism operators, the school community, the visitors — around 1,600 residents plus the seasonal influx. The station's membership page makes the case: "We are local. You hear local people presenting the music, which is often Australian; you hear local news, local community information, local weather and emergency information. You hear interviews with local people and even people visiting the locals. When you phone us, you're very likely to talk directly to the on-air presenter." In an isolated community, the station is the community noticeboard, the emergency broadcaster, the companion — "potentially any time of the day or night, every day of the year."

Ownership

King Island Radio is owned and operated by King Island Community Radio Incorporated (KICR) — an independent incorporated association (registered with ASIC and the Tasmanian Department of Justice), regulated federally by ACMA under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. KICR holds a Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence and broadcasts on 100.5 FM. The association has adopted the Associations Incorporation (Model Rules) (Tasmania), is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), and holds current copyright licences (AMCOS, APRA, PPCA). The federal charter requires the station to be financially self-supporting — "We have to pay our way while giving away our product!" — funded by memberships (a small annual fee), sponsorships (only five minutes of sponsorship messages per hour, mostly from local businesses), donations and fundraising. Contact: kicomradio@gmail.com, 0438 875 560.

Digital Presence

King Island Radio streams live via kingislandradio.com and podcasts its programs through Mixcloud — the island's voice, available to the diaspora and the world. The station maintains an online presence with membership, sponsorship and program information. For a station formed in January 2014 — the first on the island since the 1800s, on air from March 2015, island-wide from April 2016 — the digital present is the mission extended: the mirror reflecting the essence of King Island, on 100.5 FM, on the stream and on the podcast — "connecting our island community through music, stories, and local voices," proudly independent and deeply community-driven, in the middle of Bass Strait.