Broadcast area Inner West Sydney First air date August 10, 1983 Owner Radio Skid Row Ltd | Frequency 88.9 MHz FM Format Community Radio Website Official Website | |
Radio Skid Row (callsign 2RSR) is a community radio station based in Marrickville, broadcasting to the Inner West suburbs of Sydney. This includes the municipalities of Leichhardt, Marrickville and the City of Sydney.
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Radio Skid Row has built a reputation for development and training projects with minority communities and has been pivotal in allowing disadvantaged communities to participate in community broadcasting. It was home to the original Radio Redfern and later Koori Radio which now has its own citywide licence. It was also the station where Muslim radio started in Sydney.
History
Radio Skid Row began as a landline operation available in Community Youth Support Scheme Centres, Long Bay Gaol and local drop-in centres. The station secured a community radio licence in 1983 to broadcast to the inner-city areas of Sydney.
Initially the plans for the station was that it would play commercial music and would broadcast relevant information that homeless people needed, such as accommodation availability and where to obtain free meals.
Tensions emerged during the first year of operations at the station, sparked by a management style that limited volunteer involvement in the structures and operation of the station, thereby going against the principles of community broadcasting.
In June 1984 the management tried to close the station down and lock out the volunteers and community program makers. The station was off the air for three weeks and when it reopened was only on air for twelve hours a day. Station workers then took the opportunity to overturn the Board of directors at an Annual General Meeting, which happened shortly after the lockout. The station then set about reforming itself based on a cooperative model, in a style similar to that of 4ZZZ.
Current
The station’s mission is to provide a voice for youth, community groups and in languages other than English. It is particularly active in working with marginalised members of the community.
Programming
Radio Skid Row plays a mix of black music which includes reggae, African, indigenous, hip hop, RnB, music from the Pacific Islands and from around the world. It also specialises in talk programmes presented from a radical viewpoint.