Program Directory

In New Zealand a dozen par­tial­ly gov­ern­ment-fund­ed radio sta­tions are charged with pro­vid­ing access to under-rep­re­sent­ed groups and com­mu­ni­ties. Welling­ton Access Radio, sit­u­at­ed in New Zealand’s cap­i­tal city, was the first sta­tion of its kind in that coun­try, and sta­tion man­ag­er Kris­ten Pater­son tells us more about its his­to­ry and mis­sion. Kris­ten explains the fund­ing mod­el for com­mu­ni­ty access radio, which dif­fers sig­nif­i­cant­ly from com­mu­ni­ty radio in the Unit­ed States. In fact, there is no his­to­ry or tra­di­tion of lis­ten­er-fund­ed radio in New Zealand. We touch on how Welling­ton Access Radio assess­es the needs of its com­mu­ni­ty, deter­min­ing which groups would ben­e­fit from air­time. Also, Kris­ten got their start in col­lege radio, co-found­ing a legal unli­censed low-pow­er FM sta­tion at Vic­to­ria Uni­ver­si­ty, and we hear that sto­ry and learn more about this very unique radio sector.