Happy 1st Birthday Whananaki FM

Today we’re celebrating Whananaki FM’s first birthday.  Theres' a shindig at the shop and we'd love to see you - 12-2:30pm Sunday.

It was nuts, this idea you know. Having our own radio station.  Completely bonkers.  I am still astonished that I was able to get away with it,  I must’ve caught Donna at a very weak moment to be given the necessary approvals to scope out Whananaki FM.

And, Donna was just the first step.  Once my wife was on board, there were still many possible other ways the project would go skewiff.

Firstly, while I’d started many radio stations before, I had no idea how to actually start a radio station.  That’s because it turns out media executives don’t start radio stations, technical people do.  These technical people go to training courses and know how to set things up like studios and transmitters - two things, as it turns out, that are very important when it comes to starting a radio station.  I wish I’d paid more attention in those technical meetings.

Then, I had to buy gear.  I proposed a modest budget similar to that of a small local radio station.  However, upon investigation, the gear I liked the most was the stuff that cost the most money.  This scenario was not new to me.  I’d faced similar problems in previous jobs.  I knew the only way to handle it.  Bury it deep in the numbers.  Code 950-Cleaning.

There was also a significant on-going cost which most stations would cover by advertising and such like, something I was fundamentally against.  The no-ads policy remains to this day.  Companies have asked, but frankly if we took advertising, we’d have to then play the ads.  And that’s the part I have a problem with.

One beautiful part of the Whananaki FM start-up story was the music research we did in the hall before the big launch.  The community rated the songs they wanted to hear, and what we’ve ended up with is a uniquely Whananaki playlist - a bit of country, a bit of hip hop, plenty of 80’s, some reggae, some rock, plenty of kiwi.  It’s a station of Northland ear-worms.  

The station voice is a mate called Marc Peard.  He’s an East Coast boy and understands small communities like ours.  He did the job for nothing and I’m forever grateful.  The national news comes from Newstalk ZB in Auckland who too have been very wonderful in helping an annoying former boss with his latest project.

Then, what do between all those parts.  We started with two local programmes - Meet Your Neighbour and The Week in Whananaki with Jodi.  Those two shows remain to this day, although MYK has been more of a monthly occurrence.  It’s tough to pry stories out of people.  I’m thankful to locals who have been so open with their time and wonderful stories, especially in the early stages of the station when people must’ve been skeptical.

My show with Jodi is one of my favourite times of the week.  Jodi epitomises the beauty of the people of Whananaki to me.  Quiet.  Humble.  Fiercely loyal.  Get stuff done.  Mad about the sea.  Whanau and friends.  People like Jodi are the backbone of this community.  And those shows, which could otherwise be very boring, are bloody fun to do.

Coming up with the local news each day can be very challenging.  It’s amazing the creativity required to come up with around 12 unique short local stories each day for our hourly bulletins.  I think it’s fair to say liberties have, and are often taken when it comes to the seriousness of the stories and the honesty of the reporting.  The weekly “road-kill” report is one of my favourites.

We’ve been here for the biggest moments in Whananaki this year.  The station started the same week as the Capitaine Bougainville 50th memorial.  I’ll never forget the ship’s captain Jean-Raymond Thomas telling us the story of that night while standing next to the wrecked lifeboat that once contained his wife and children.

The January floods were an opportunity for us to show how powerful radio can be in an emergency.  There’s nothing like it - live stories from those watching the waters rising.  Unimogs and search and rescue.  It was all on.  And I think it was then the community too started to see the benefit of having its own radio station.

We’ve played the mystery sound and radio bingo.  We’ve spent Christmas Day and New Years eve together.  ANZAC Day, school kapa haka.  We’ve tried to reflect on-air what’s happening in the local community.  I think we’ve done OK.

The series we’ve been doing on local meth use has been awesome.  So many brave people have come forward to talk to me about addiction, thank you for your trust and confidence.

Finally, thank you - our listeners - for coming along for the ride.  I’ve got to admit, while the station is for the community, it’s also a tiny bit of a toy for me to play with.  It has helped me fall in love once again with radio and find joy in broadcasting matters of consequence that can actually have an impact on a local community.  There’s something wonderfully nostalgic and comfortable about the station.  I love it.

And I love that it sounds like a proper radio station.  Not cobbled together or amateur.  I think Whananaki FM sounds really, really good.  Like, really good.  

And why shouldn’t it?

I mean, why shouldn’t Whananaki have the greatest radio station in the world?