The community radio project was initiated in August 2001 by Mary Smith who called a public meeting to gauge community support. A steering committee was formed, incorporation occured on 2 November 2001 and a temporary licence was allocated on 25 July 2002. Regular mock street broadcasts, sessions at the local Country Club and general fundraising kept the project public. On a shoe-string budget the station went to air on the 23 August 2003 in a rented shop in the main street of Mount Beauty, Victoria which is located 100 km south of Albury/Wodonga.

On 26 June '04 the station was relocated to a new home at the Alpine Discovery Centre Precinct on the Kiewa Valley Highway.

The station was granted its Permanent Broadcasting Licence on 24 February 2005 and took effect on 1 March 2005 after broadcasting for only 18 months. A fine achievement as some stations wait years.

Alpine Radio 92.5 FM is a community radio station that is independent, not-for-profit, community owned and operated and is run by volunteers and a paid part-time station manager and sponsorship manager.

Kiewa Valley Community Radio Association Inc. is the incorporation name and broadcasts as "Alpine Radio 92.5 FM".

Program Guide

The program guide is now available from the station and has been widely distributed in the Upper Kiewa Valley. The program guide can also be viewed online by clicking on this link Program Guide . It is updated regularly on the website. Paper copies of the Guide can be picked up from the station office.

As new programs develop they will be announced live on the station. The plan is to update the program guide each quarter i.e. start of April, July, October and January.

The committe of mangement is always open to suggestions as to programming an how the station can be improved. If you have any ideas, thoughts or concerns please put them in writing and forward them to the station.

Committee of Management

The business affairs of the station are managed by a committee of management consisting of 5 office bearers and 3 ordinary members.

Ian Erbacher – Music Library Co-ordinator
Rob O'Connor – Technical Officer
Eric Harvey – Maintenance Officer
Bill Sutton – Training Co-ordinator

Part time paid positions:

Yvonne Sutton – Station Manager
Mary Smith – Sponsorship & Production Manager

It is the responsibility of the the committee to conduct regular meetings, attend to administration organisation, legal requirements, marketing & promotion, program production & formating, public relations, training & development. All members are volunteers except for a paid part-time station manager.

Alpine Radio is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), Community Broadcasting Association of Victoria (CBAV) and Southern Community Media Association Inc (SCMA).

Benefits to the citizens of the Upper Kiewa Valley

All residents will have access to a broadcasting medium no matter what their location is in the Upper Kiewa Valley.
Will result in an informed local community. The local focus of community radio draws the community together. The listener will know what is going on.
Will provide opportunities for people to get involved as volunteers in all facets of station management. Access and participation are major benefits that accrue from involvement in community radio.
Anybody has the opportunity to present a program. Community radio reflects Australia's immense cultural diversity, creativity and innovation in its programming.
Will provide flexible programming. The station will present a variety of programs to cater for the needs and interests of the local population. Commercial radio can be very biased towards a particular type of music or programming format.
Development of broadcasting skills through training programs provided by the local secondary college, Tafe College and the station itself. This may lead to a career path for some participants.
Will provide Emergency Services Information (e.g. bushfires) as well as local news. This is vital for residents of the Upper Kiewa Valley.
Will inform visitors of events and attractions in the area.

Volunteers

All presenters and office staff at Alpine Radio are volunteers (except for a paid part-time station manager and sponsorship manager) who support and enjoy the challenge of operating a local radio station. Training is available.

The station is building up a comprehensive music library which volunteer presenters can draw on. Many presenters have their own personal music libraries from which to draw programs.

The station has a very strong Youth emphasis with good communication with the local schools in the Valley through its school liasion member.

If you wish to become involved in the running of the station there are a number of areas of interest , namely – announcing, production, programming, fund-raising (sponsorship/membership), music library, marketing/promotions, technical, training volunteers, reception/office and committee of management. Please let us know.

Funding

Alpine Radio is a listener funded community station and sources its funds from memberships i.e. subscriptions from community minded people who wish to support their local station, sponsorships i.e. on air promotion from businesses, grants, donations and fundraising.

— An Opportunity —
Support your local station!
Become a member or take out a sponsorship ....

If you would like to support the Alpine Radio please send a cheque made payable to Alpine Radio 92.5 FM for the appropriate fee and post to: PO Box 331 Mount Beauty 3699. A membership application form can be download and printed out from this site. Just click on this link Membership Form.

Business Sponsorship Packages

The station has developed a number of attractive sponsorship packages (i.e. paid advertising) suitable for all types of businesses.

A copy of the packages can be obtained by visiting the station or telephoning and asking for one to be mailed to you. Alternatively, the various sponsorhip packages can be viewed on screen by clicking on this link Sponsorship Packages to view on screen .

Only 5 minutes of sponsorship announcements can be broadcast each hour. The standard time for each announcement is 30 seconds. Businesses can have a variety of announcements to present.

Community service announcements by not-for-profit organisations and clubs are free.

Technical

Alpine Radio was allocated a Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence (TCBL) by the Australian Broadcasting Authority on 25 July 2002. Broadcasting commenced on 23 August 2003 from the studio at 26 Hollonds St. Mount Beauty, Victoria.

The station was granted its Permanent Broadcasting Licence on 24 February 2005 and took effect on 1 March 2005.

The station is located in the Alpine Discovery Centre Precinct on the Kiewa Valley Highway in Mount Beauty. Upstairs we have an air-conditioned studio for on-air presentation and a second one set up for training with the mixing console, CD players, turntable, microphones and computer. This second studio is also used for production e.g. sponsorship announcements, interviews and pre-recording of programs. The music library is incorporated into the training/production studio and the main studio. Upstairs also is the office and reception area. Downstairs is a display area.

Rob O'Connor with help from Dick Puttyfoot and Brendan Davies have been responsible for installing all the technical equipment.

We transmit from a location 4km North of Mount Beauty. Coverage is to Dederang, Coral Bank, Tawonga, Tawonga South, Mount Beauty, Bogong Village and Falls Creek.

Residents are encouraged to visit the station. Our presenters would love to have a chat with you and answer any questions.

What is Community Radio?

Community broadcasting is guided by adherence to simple but powerful principles...

Access — Community broadcasting promotes active volunteer participation in media operations, administration and production rather than passive consumption of media. The sector provides skills and training that ensure access to the media for all parts of the community.

Diversity — Community broadcasting fosters innovation, creativity and diversity of content in its programming. In both structure and output community media reflects Australia's immense cultural diversity and by doing so supports greater tolerance, understanding and social cohesion.

Localism — Community media has an expanding local role. While commercial media and the ABC are reducing local content and increasing networking, community stations have become the voice of local communities.

Independence — Community broadcasting stations are owned and operated by not-for-profit groups. Each licensed group has open membership and democratic decision-making practices. All stations must adhere to a code of practice that embodies the sector's philosophy and secures their independence.

The community radio sector of the Australian broadcasting system is non-commercial, non-profit and is supported and financed primarily through listener subscriptions (memberships), communtity fundraising ventures, donations, limited government subsidies, business sponsorship and the efforts of volunteers.

Stations depend on the community in the service area for management effort, financial and technical support and program input.

Mission Statement

“To encourage and manage community participation by providing and facilitating access for groups and individuals to take part in station management and to produce and present programs for the citizens of the Upper Kiewa Valley"....

"The program format will include local and national news and weather, snow reports, current affairs, music, interviews, sport, drama, talk back and special programs"

(Click on a link above to download the Microsoft Word (rtf) document to your desktop)

Kiewa Valley Community Radio Inc. ABN 82 737 397 695 Registration No . A0041789P
(Webmaster: Paul L'Huillier – Email: Info@alpineradio.com.au )

Background

Program Guide

Committee of Management

Benefits to the citizens of the Upper Kiewa Valley

Volunteers

Funding

Business Sponsorship Packages

Technical

What is Community Radio?

Mission Statement