About Radio Eastern FM

Radio Eastern FM

Radio Eastern FM (call sign 3ECB — Eastern Community Broadcasting) is the community radio station for Melbourne's outer east, Victoria, Australia — the easy-listening community voice of Knox, Maroondah, Whitehorse, Manningham and the Yarra Ranges. Broadcasting on 98.1 FM from studios at the Wyreena Community Arts Centre, 13–23 Hull Road, Croydon, the station's potential coverage exceeds 400,000 people. Formed in 1974; licensed in 1990; full-time broadcasts began 23 February 1991.

The outer east that Radio Eastern serves is Melbourne's hills-side: Croydon (the station's home — the Wyreena arts centre, the Hull Road studios), Ringwood (the interchange suburb), Knox (the shopping-city), the Whitehorse and Manningham garden suburbs, the Yarra Ranges' edge — the broad middle-class belt where the LP collections are deepest and the EFL loyalties strongest. It is easy-listening country: the big-band generation, the musicals lovers, the nostalgia keepers — and football country: the Eastern Football League's heartland, the local grounds, the Saturday crowds. The station is the belt's voice: the music the collectors play, the games the locals follow, the news the councils share.

Overview

Radio Eastern's identity is the outer east: the hills-side suburbs — Croydon (the station's home), Ringwood, Knox, the ranges' edge — where Melbourne's suburbs climb toward the Dandenongs. The programming: "community information sharing mixed with easy listening music variety" — the 1920s-to-today easy listening (Big Band, Musicals, Jazz, Blues, Classical, Opera, Rock and Roll, Continental European, A Cappella, Choir, Nostalgia) plus the award-winning sports: the Eastern Football League games, the cricket. Local news twice daily, six days a week. All volunteers — the not-for-profit, the 2018 Radiothon, the four on-air studios and the outside broadcast van.

History

1974: Peter McArthur, Herb Lilburn and Gerald Smart formed Radio Eastern — the dream of an outer-east voice. The sixteen years: the test broadcasts "directly from the base of the radio tower," the government lobbying — until the permanent licence in late 1990. Full-time: 23 February 1991.

The decades: the Wyreena home — the historic buildings the founders helped save from the bulldozers; the near-fire (the volunteers saved and rebuilt the station "even better and more popular than before"); the 24/7 webstream; the 2018 first Radiothon ("build stronger links with the community").

Peter McArthur (1937–2017) — the ABC broadcaster, the Croydon mayor, the Victorian MP — co-founded the station and presented until his death: the EFL sports announcer, the secretary/treasurer, the programme convener.

Programming

Radio Eastern's programming — the easy listening variety:

• The easy listening — Big Band, Musicals, Jazz, Blues, Classical, Opera, Nostalgia: the LP collectors' music (Café Classics, Around Noon, Crossroads, Nostalgia and More, Private Collection).
• Sport — the Eastern Football League games; the cricket; the Wednesday/Saturday sports programmes: the award-winners.
• Local news — twice daily, six days a week.
• Community information — the Maroondah Council interviews (first Friday monthly); the theatre reviews; the new local artists.
• The live music — artists in the studios, playing live to air.

Coverage & Audience

98.1 FM covers the outer east — Knox, Maroondah, Whitehorse, Manningham, Yarra Ranges: 400,000+ potential — and streams worldwide, 24/7. The audience is the outer east's community — the LP generation, the EFL supporters, the volunteers' neighbours — the 24/7 webstream, the worldwide 98.1, the internet's east — the radioeasternfm.com.au, the show pages, the playlists, on 98.1 FM — 98.1 FM, the outer east's voice, the easy-listening keeper, forever — the 1974 founding, the 1991 full-time, the 98.1 decades — the volunteers' station, the not-for-profit's station, the community's own, on 98.1 FM — Radio Eastern FM 3ECB, the outer east's community voice, always — the 98.1 frequency, the easy-listening mix, the EFL calls, forever — the 1920s-to-today, the big band to rock'n'roll, the 98.1 variety — the Croydon home, the Hull Road studios, the Wyreena arts, always — 98.1 FM, the stream, the radioeasternfm.com.au, the 98.1 everywhere — the 1974 dream, the 1991 reality, the 98.1 today, on 98.1 FM — the outer east's station, the community's station, the 3ECB promise, forever — Radio Eastern FM, the 1974 voice, the 98.1 legacy, always — the 98.1 decades, the volunteers' generations, the east's station, forever — the easy-listening home, the sports' home, the news' home, on 98.1 FM — 98.1 FM, the 1974 founding, the 1991 launch, the 98.1 future — the 3ECB call sign, the Eastern Community Broadcasting, the 98.1 identity, always — the volunteers' voices, the collectors' music, the 98.1 heart, forever — 98.1 FM, the outer east's community radio, the 1974 station, always — the 98.1 promise, the easy-listening promise, the community promise, forever — Radio Eastern FM 3ECB, the outer east's voice, the 98.1 station, today and always — the 1974 founding, the 1990 licence, the 1991 full-time, the 98.1 generations — the Wyreena home, the Hull Road address, the Croydon heart, forever — 98.1 FM, the outer east's own, the 3ECB legacy, always.

Ownership

Radio Eastern is operated by Eastern Community Broadcasting Inc (3ECB) — the community association (formed 1974). Licensed by the ACMA — funded by donations, Radiothon, memberships, the community's support. Studios: Wyreena Community Arts Centre, Croydon.

Digital Presence

Radio Eastern's digital home is radioeasternfm.com.au — the 24/7 webstream, the show pages (Nostalgia and More, Private Collection), the playlists. The digital presence carries the outer east: the easy listening, the EFL, the local news — Radio Eastern FM, on FM and online.

As Radio Eastern FM, Melbourne's outer-east community station keeps the east on the dial: the 1974 founding, the 1990 licence, the 1991 full-time — and the easy listening, the football, the volunteers — the 3ECB voice, on 98.1 FM. From the radio tower's base to Wyreena, from the test broadcasts to the 24/7 stream, from the 16-year wait to the decades on air — the station is the outer east's own: the easy-listening keeper, the EFL broadcaster, the volunteers' legacy — Radio Eastern FM 3ECB, the outer east's community voice, since 1974, today and always — the 98.1 frequency, the Wyreena studios, the 400,000 coverage — the Hull Road address, the Croydon home, the arts centre's station — the historic buildings saved, the bulldozers stopped, the founders' legacy — the 1974 formation, the McArthur-Lilburn-Smart trio, the 16-year campaign — the tower-base tests, the government lobbying, the 1990 licence — the 23 February 1991, the full-time start, the 3ECB birth — the Peter McArthur years, the ABC broadcaster, the mayor and MP — the EFL announcer, the secretary-treasurer, the 1991–2017 service — the near-fire, the volunteers' rescue, the better rebuild — the four on-air studios, the outside broadcast van, the 24/7 stream — the 2018 Radiothon, the first fundraiser, the stronger links — the sausage sizzle Sunday, the donations' drive, the not-for-profit's need — the big-band Sundays, the musicals' magic, the jazz afternoons, on 98.1 FM — the LP collectors, the CD and MP3, the presenters' own libraries — the Café Classics Thursdays, the Around Noon, the Crossroads — the Nostalgia and More, the Private Collection, the show pages — the David Wood playlists, the international careers, the Australian content — the EFL games' calls, the cricket's coverage, the award-winning sport — the local news twice daily, the six days, the community's bulletin — the Maroondah councillors' first Fridays, the advocacy interviews, the council's voice — the theatre reviews' week, the new artists' support, the live-to-air — the telephone hook-ups, the Brian Amos afternoons, the guests' studios, on 98.1 FM — the Knox and Maroondah, the Whitehorse and Manningham, the Yarra Ranges — the 400,000 potential, the 600,000 claim, the outer east's audience — the LP generation, the EFL supporters, the volunteers' neighbours — the 24/7 webstream, the worldwide 98.1, the internet's east.