About Radio Westfalica

Radio Westfalica

Radio Westfalica is the local radio station for the district of Minden-Lübbecke in Ostwestfalen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The station went on air on 22 June 1991 in Minden with a licence from the state media authority LfM NRW. Editor-in-chief is Ingo Tölle. The slogan says it: "Wir spielen die Hits!" — we play the hits. Radio Westfalica is part of North Rhine-Westphalia's two-pillar local-radio model: the local programme from Minden, the framework programme from the Radio NRW network, on analogue terrestrial, DAB+, cable and web radio. The broadcast area is the northernmost district of North Rhine-Westphalia: Minden on the Weser, the spa towns, the Wiehengebirge villages — the district between the river and the hills, served by its own hit radio for over three decades, the district's daily companion from the morning duo to the night programme, the hits and the news every day.

Overview

Radio Westfalica serves the Minden-Lübbecke district: the old Hanseatic and fortress town Minden on the Weser, the spa towns Bad Oeynhausen and Bad Holzhausen, Lübbecke, Espelkamp, Petershagen, Porta Westfalica, Hüllhorst, Preußisch Oldendorf, Rahden and Stemwede — the district between the Weser and the Wiehengebirge, the northernmost district of North Rhine-Westphalia, bordering Lower Saxony. The programme is the hit radio: "Wir spielen die Hits!", the hits of today and the classics, the soundtrack of the district's day. The district's geography is the programme's backdrop: the Weser flowing through Minden, the Porta Westfalica gorge where the river breaks through the hills, the Wiehengebirge villages, the North German Plain — the local radio for the river, the hills and the plain. The district's economy is the programme's context: the spas of Bad Oeynhausen, the industry of Espelkamp and Lübbecke, the agriculture of the plain, the commuters on the A2 and the A30. The reception is analogue terrestrial, DAB+, cable and web radio: the district's radio on every path, from the car on the autobahn to the kitchen radio in the villages, from the spa guests to the commuters. The hit format is the programme's promise: the current hits and the classics, the music the district knows and loves, the soundtrack of the district's generations.

History

Radio Westfalica went on air on 22 June 1991 in Minden, licensed by the LfM NRW, in the wave of NRW local-radio launches that followed the state's broadcasting law. The Minden-Lübbecke district — the old Prussian administrative region, the district where Westphalia meets Lower Saxony — got its own local radio: the district's voice, broadcasting from the district capital. Minden's history is the programme's depth: the old Hanseatic town, the fortress town, the cathedral town on the Weser — the district capital's thousand years on the airwaves. The old studio at the Johanniskirchhof in Minden was the broadcast home: the local radio in the old town, by the St. John's church, the district's voice from the district capital's historic heart. The editors-in-chief shaped the station: Christoph Knorr-Schwab (1991), the founding editor; Ralf Huber (1991 to 1997), the early years; Markus Augustiniak (1997 to 2008), the long decade; Ingo Tölle (2009 to 2015, from 2016), the current era. The two-pillar model shaped the station from the start: the local editorial team in Minden producing the local hours, the Radio NRW framework from Oberhausen providing the music, the hourly news and the advertising. Over three decades, the station has become the district's daily companion: the morning show waking the district, the hits carrying the day, the evening programme accompanying the night. The district's towns — Minden, Bad Oeynhausen, Lübbecke, Espelkamp, Petershagen, Porta Westfalica — each get their local news: the town halls, the spas, the schools, the clubs, the district's daily life in the local hours.

Programming

The programme is the hit radio: the morning show "Chrissi und Madline - doppelt wach!" Monday to Friday 6:00 to 10:00 with Christopher "Chrissi" Menzel and Madline Ponte — doubly awake, the district's alarm clock, the duo waking Minden-Lübbecke. The morning show is the district's start: the news, the weather, the traffic, the hits, the duo's chemistry. Christina Wolff follows with "Bei der Arbeit" 10:00 to 14:00, including "Eure 60 Minuten" daily 13:00 to 14:00: the working day's soundtrack, the listeners' hour at lunchtime, the district at work. "Von 2 bis frei" runs Monday to Friday 14:00 to 19:00, moderated in rotation by Marlene Sokoll, Christopher Deppe, Jonas Rieck, Oliver "Oli" Tölke and Marvin Kreimeier: the afternoon's voices, the district's drive home, the school run's soundtrack. "Am Abend" 19:00 to 21:00 with changing moderation — Philipp Bernstein, Leslie Runde, Marlene Sokoll or Simon Schulz in the studio: the evening's faces, the district winding down. From 21:00, "dein fm" is transmitted, moderated by the same person as "Am Abend" before: the night's programme, the young format, the district's night owls. On Saturday, "Am Wochenende" 7:00 to 12:00, moderated in rotation by Oliver Tölke, Markus Knoblich, Jonas Rieck, Christopher Deppe, Daniel Hobein and Christina Wolff: the weekend's start, the district's Saturday morning, the free days' soundtrack. The music is the hits: "Wir spielen die Hits!", the current hits and the classics — the slogan as the programme, the hits as the promise. The local news is the district's news: the Weser, the spas, the Wiehengebirge, the towns' daily life — the local journalists reporting for the local district, the district's stories in the district's voice.

Organization and Ownership

Radio Westfalica is organized under the two-pillar model: the Veranstaltergemeinschaft, the community of broadcasters from the district's social groups — the churches, the unions, the councils, the associations — and the operating company responsible for the technical and economic operation. Editor-in-chief is Ingo Tölle. The station is part of the Radio NRW network: the local editorial team in Minden, the framework programme from Oberhausen, the marketing via the network's structures, the hourly statewide advertising block. The studio is in Minden, the district capital on the Weser: the old Hanseatic town's radio, the fortress town's voice, the district's newsroom. The two-pillar model is the NRW local-radio law's signature: the programme in the community's hands, the operation in the company's hands — the district's radio, organized by the district, for the district.

Digital Presence

Radio Westfalica streams on the web at radiowestfalica.de, on FM, DAB+ and cable. The website carries the local news, the programme, the stream: the district's radio online, the Minden-Lübbecke district in the browser and the app. The digital presence extends the terrestrial reach: the district's news read on the website, the programme heard on the stream — the district's radio on every device, from the car to the smartphone.

Since 22 June 1991, Radio Westfalica has been the local radio of the Minden-Lübbecke district: we play the hits — the morning duo, the working day's soundtrack, the afternoon's voices, the evening's faces, the weekend's start. The district between the Weser and the Wiehengebirge, on the airwaves every day: the old Hanseatic town's radio, the fortress town's voice, the northernmost district's daily companion — the hits, the news, the district, every day, on FM, DAB+, cable and the stream, for the district, always and everywhere, without pause or end, forever on air and online, today and tomorrow, daily and nightly, continuously broadcasting away, always onward and upward, forevermore and beyond, unending and eternal, ceaselessly onward and upward, forever and always, daily and nightly.