25 years of broadcasting

Radio Reading celebrates 25 years on air.
 
The Radio Reading Service, broadcasting on 1602 khz, went to air in May 1987 after over 2 years of planning, fundraising, and the formation of an incorporated society to manage the station. Run by volunteers and 1 full time equivalent paid staff, and supported by the community and NZonAir, the station has been broadcasting for 25 years. Starting at 4 hours a week it now broadcasts 22 hours a day including 95 hours a week of locally produced material recorded in the Levin studio by over 70 volunteers.
At a gathering in Levin recently to celebrate this milestone Allen Little, QSM, the stations founder, and a life member, spoke of the tremendous commitment shown by the volunteers and the enthusiastic reaction he has seen from listeners who tune in daily to hear readings from local and national newspapers.
He said “providing a radio reading service gives those who cannot see, hold, or understand printed material the opportunity to be informed, by turning print into sound”.
Ash Bell, QSM, station manager for many years, and a life member of the station, reflected on some of the early equipment used by
the station that was begged or borrowed to get it up and running. He said, ”the station today has excellent modern digital equipment”.
 
The advent of internet radio has seen the station develop a web site with easy access to streaming audio linked to the live broadcast. (www.radioreading.org.nz)