Radio 5UV

In 1970, Kenneth Stirling, an accountant who worked for a mining company, anonymously donated $100,000 to the University of Adelaide to establish an educational community radio station. It was an idea being developed by key people at the University interested in broadening access to education, but it was also an innovative and creative leap, as there were not any such stations in Australia. Stirling died in 1973 and his anonymous donation became public. [1]

In 1971, the Department of Adult Education appointed Keith Conlon as the Producer/Manager of its new community radio station which commenced broadcasting as VL5UV on 28 June 1972. [2]

When 5UV opened in 1972, it had a special one-off licence, but the momentum for community access to broadcasting was happening nationally and it became a ‘public radio’ licence in 1974 along with a further 11 stations all in other Australian states. Stirling's donation gave 5UV Radio Adelaide a special place as the first station in Australia’s very diverse community radio sector.

In 1972, the newly created 5UV radio station began broadcasting in small rooms under the former Hughes Plaza, now the Hub Central, on the University of Adelaide campus. The University of Adelaide purchased the site on 228 North Terrace in the mid 1980s and Radio Adelaide's relocation was managed by its 1984 Station Manager Jill Lambert, with the new studios being built from 1988 and opened in April 1989.

In 1972, 5UV began broadcasting on AM 531 band, then on 101.5 FM band as Radio Adelaide in 2002 and then on digital radio from 2011. In December 2003, following 18 months of planning and fundraising, Radio Adelaide launched its new antenna to take maximum advantage of its 101.5 FM frequency.

In 2014, the University of Adelaide's Vice-Chancellor Warren Bebbington announced changes to the funding model and location of Radio Adelaide to invest in other projects and its new Medical School.

In June 2015, the University of Adelaide sold the station's studios at 228 North Terrace and the staff and volunteers were told to move by mid 2016. In December 2015, the University of Adelaide released a discussion paper to invite briefings from key stakeholders regarding the future of Radio Adelaide which included shutting down Radio Adelaide, ending 43 years of broadcasting and partnership with the University of Adelaide. Following the announcement that Radio Adelaide may face closure, the station's staff and volunteers began a grassroots campaign online and via social media to ensure the station's future.  A week later, the University of Adelaide announced it would inform the station's staff and volunteers of Radio Adelaide's future in early January 2016 after the University released a Registration of Interest document seeking potential owners for Radio Adelaide, with a closing date of 24 December 2015. The University of Adelaide scheduled a meeting with the station's staff in late January 2016 but cancelled at the last minute citing "The assessment of short-listed bidders for Radio Adelaide is not yet complete."

On 18 February 2016, the University of Adelaide signed a deal with community radio station Fresh FM 92.7 to help operate and manage the station to become an independent not-for-profit organisation from July 2016. Under the new agreement with Fresh FM, Radio Adelaide would retain its educational mission and would initially co-locate with Fresh 92.7 in their Rundle Street Studios with a view to moving to new studios in the future. The transfer of the broadcasting licence from the University to a new entity could not be finalised until approved by the broadcasting authority ACMA.  It remained unclear how much of Radio Adelaide's current facilities and capacity would be retained in the shift, as Radio Adelaide's schedule tended to be eclectic with a mix of ethnically diverse programming, access groups, education and arts coverage.

In March 2016, a group of Radio Adelaide station workers and volunteers formed a body named RadAd Station Workers Association (RASWA) to represent the broader station community and to provide public comment on recent developments regarding the station's future due to a continued gag placed on paid station staff.

In May 2016, former Liberal MP Iain Evans was appointed the Chairman of the new Radio Adelaide board. Other board members included lawyer Andrea Michaels, and station representatives Charlotte Bedford and Nikki Marcel. Radio Adelaide continued broadcasting during the transition to their temporary studios shared with Fresh 92.7, with automated programming for three weeks until Radio Adelaide's relaunch in late July 2016.

In June 2016, former television and radio sports broadcaster Rob Popplestone was appointed as Radio Adelaide's new General Manager with Joanna Chronis joining the new Radio Adelaide board and station representatives Charlotte Bedford and Nikki Marcel stepping down. In July 2016, Popplestone announced the station's jazz and classical weekday morning programming would be axed and the new Radio Adelaide's launch postponed until early August due to delays in studio construction in Adelaide's East End. The RadAd Station Workers Association (RASWA) raised concerns about the announcement regarding the management's failure to comply with the station's licence obligations by not involving volunteers in the decision-making process. RASWA emphasised it was a legal obligation for community radio stations to encourage community access and participation in all aspects of station operations, from programming to management.

On 1 August 2016, Radio Adelaide returned to live broadcasting at the new studios shared with Fresh FM on 3 Cinema Place in Adelaide's East End.

On 1 December 2016, Radio Adelaide received short notice that 891 ABC Adelaide would be renamed "ABC Radio Adelaide" as part of the national broadcaster's rebranding strategy for all its radio stations in January 2017. Radio Adelaide's chairman Iain Evans accused the ABC of attempting to steal Radio Adelaide's name. Radio Adelaide's lawyer Andrea Michaels sent a legal notice to the ABC and submitted a trademark application to secure the stand-alone name 'Radio Adelaide' as the radio station already had claims to the name as a registered trademark and under common law. ABC local content manager Graeme Bennett argued there will be no confusion as the two radio stations have different audiences and it made sense to drop the call sign "891" from the branding as most people listen to digital radio that automatically tunes to the radio station.

On 14 December 2016, Radio Adelaide took the ABC to the federal court and sought a temporary injunction against the ABC in using the name "ABC Radio Adelaide" for 891 ABC Adelaide. 

On 19 December 2016, the broadcasting authority ACMA announced its approval of the transfer of Radio Adelaide's licence to Educational Broadcasters Adelaide Inc (EBA), and the University of Adelaide had 90 days to transfer the licence to EBA. The ACMA was satisfied with the written assurance from the University of Adelaide and the EBA to develop and provide a community consultation strategy and structured engagement programme to be implemented by 1 March 2017.

 In late December 2016, the Federal Court granted Radio Adelaide a temporary injunction until April 2017 against ABC renaming 891 ABC Adelaide to ABC Radio Adelaide.

On 9 January 2017, 891 ABC Adelaide celebrated with its temporary new name ABC Adelaide as its interstate counterparts converted to ABC Radio Darwin, ABC Radio Brisbane etc.

Radio Adelaide is run by over five hundred volunteer station workers as well as a small amount of paid staff. [3]

References

1. Wikipedia - Radio Adelaide - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Adelaide - Accessed 24 January 2021.

2. Wikipedia - Keith Conlon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Conlon - Accessed 29 January 2021.

3. Wikipedia - Radio Adelaide, op cit.