About ONE FM 98.5

ONE FM 98.5

ONE FM 98.5 (ACMA call sign 3ONE) is a community radio station based in Shepparton, Victoria, broadcasting on 98.5 MHz FM to the Goulburn Valley and surrounding districts of northern Victoria. Owned by Goulburn Valley Community Radio Inc, the station was established in 1980 and licensed for permanent full-time operation in 1989. It is regarded as one of the largest community radio stations in regional Australia, producing predominantly live and local content around the clock with a volunteer workforce, and it plays a distinctive role in the Shepparton market alongside the city's two commercial stations and the ABC's local service.

Overview

ONE FM broadcasts a broad community radio format encompassing music of many genres, talk, news, sport and multicultural programming. The station's studios are located at 47 Parkside Drive in Shepparton, and it transmits with an effective radiated power of 10,000 watts, giving it a robust signal across the Shepparton district. Its broadcast coverage extends to approximately 30 kilometres from its transmitter site at Mount Major, reaching towns including Euroa, Nagambie and Benalla as well as the smaller communities scattered across the Goulburn Valley.

The station operates as a not-for-profit community broadcaster. It is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and broadcasts in accordance with the Community Radio Codes of Practice issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in association with the CBAA. Its programming philosophy centres on live, locally made radio: the station describes itself as producing predominantly live local content for listeners in the Shepparton region, a point of distinction in a market where commercial competitors carry substantial amounts of networked programming.

The on-air identity of the station has shifted over time. Although originally identified as ONE FM, the station spent a three-year period identifying simply by its frequency before management restored the ONE FM name to on-air use, logos and promotional material in late 2009. The change followed local surveys in Shepparton and surrounding areas indicating that the community generally referred to the station as "ONE FM" rather than by its frequency alone.

History

ONE FM was established in 1980 by a group of Shepparton residents who wanted a locally controlled radio voice for the Goulburn Valley. A submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into community broadcasting, prepared by the station's then general manager, records that FM 98.5 began in 1989 to provide quality programs for the local Shepparton community, which its founders felt was not being adequately served by mainstream media. After a period of test and aspirant broadcasting, the station was licensed for permanent full-time operation in 1989, and it has broadcast continuously since.

From its early years the station pursued a deliberately professional approach to community radio. The parliamentary submission described an operation with a small core of paid staff — four full-time and three part-time employees at the time of writing — supported by around 70 volunteers, including some 30 on-air presenters, 30 sports commentators and others working in office administration and the station library. Local businesses, principally retailers and wholesalers, along with the listening public and local institutions, formed the station's main support base.

Over the decades ONE FM has grown into one of the largest community radio stations in regional Australia, a standing it attributes to its commitment to live and local programming. The station has maintained its volunteer-driven character while developing the infrastructure of a full-service broadcaster, including outside broadcast capability for its extensive sports coverage.

Programming

ONE FM's program schedule is built around live, locally presented shows across music, talk and sport. Regular music and spoken-word programs span a wide range of genres, and the station has a stated dedication to promoting music artists across many styles. Specialist programming includes health programs, coverage of parliamentary issues, weekly sports programs and live football broadcasts.

Sport is one of the station's signature strengths. ONE FM broadcasts live-to-air Goulburn Valley Football League matches, results and related coverage, drawing on its large team of volunteer sports commentators. The station's sports output extends to a Super Saturday Sports Show and a range of local sports programs, several of which are also released as podcasts.

The station also serves Shepparton's culturally diverse community with a substantial multicultural program schedule. Ethnic programs broadcast in languages other than English include Mandarin, Punjabi, Arabic, Italian, Samoan and Filipino, reflecting the significant migrant communities of the Goulburn Valley. These programs are produced with the assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation and the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters' Council.

In addition to its terrestrial broadcast, ONE FM maintains an active podcast presence. Programs released as podcasts include its ethnic programs, the specialist interview program Shepplife, the health program So Much More, and its local sports programs. The podcast operation runs under APRA AMCOS and ACMA licensing, with programs recorded and first aired at the Shepparton studios.

News and community information form another pillar of the schedule, with local news, interviews and community announcements woven through the day's programming. The station's presenters are drawn overwhelmingly from the local community, and the station actively recruits and trains new volunteers.

Coverage and Audience

ONE FM's licensed service area centres on Shepparton, Victoria's fourth-largest regional city and the commercial hub of the Goulburn Valley. From its transmitter at Mount Major, the station's signal reaches approximately 30 kilometres in all directions, taking in Euroa to the south, Nagambie to the south-west, Benalla to the east and the many smaller townships of the valley floor. The coverage footprint encompasses a rich agricultural district known for its orchards, dairying and food processing industries, as well as a culturally diverse population that includes long-established Italian, Albanian, Turkish and Iraqi communities alongside more recent arrivals.

Within this market ONE FM competes for ears with two Southern Cross Austereo commercial stations — Hit 96.9 Goulburn Valley and Triple M Goulburn Valley — as well as ABC Shepparton and national ABC services. The station differentiates itself through the sheer volume of its locally produced output: while its commercial rivals carry networked breakfast, drive and evening programs from the Hit and Triple M networks, ONE FM's schedule is overwhelmingly made in Shepparton, for Shepparton.

The station's community role extends beyond entertainment. Its parliamentary submission emphasised the station's function as a conduit for local information and a platform for community organisations, sporting clubs and local institutions that receive limited attention from mainstream media. Its live coverage of Goulburn Valley Football League matches, in particular, has made it an institution of winter weekends in the region.

Ownership

ONE FM is owned and operated by Goulburn Valley Community Radio Incorporated, a not-for-profit incorporated association. Like all Australian community broadcasters, it is governed by its members and managed with a mix of paid staff and volunteers, and it operates under a community broadcasting licence issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

The station is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, the peak body for the community broadcasting sector, and adheres to the Community Radio Codes of Practice. It receives support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation, the sector's principal funding body, including for its ethnic and multicultural programming, which is produced with assistance from the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters' Council.

Digital Presence

ONE FM maintains an online presence through its website at fm985.com.au — the address listed for the station in its Wikipedia infobox — along with active social media accounts including Facebook and Instagram. The station's programming is available to listeners beyond its terrestrial footprint through online streaming listed on major radio aggregator platforms, and its podcast catalogue extends the reach of its specialist programs to on-demand audiences.

The station's podcast feed, published under the name 98.5 ONE FM Podcasts, carries recent episodes of programs including its French-language Africonnect program, health and interview shows and sports coverage, with new episodes appearing regularly. Contact details published for the station include its Parkside Drive studios, a Shepparton post office box, phone (03) 5831 3131 and email addresses for administration and general enquiries.