Slogan Love Living Local First air date 27 September 2003 | Frequency 99.9 MHz FM Format Community radio | |
Broadcast area Part of Greater Western Sydney Branding 70s til Now and local shows for the community | ||
SWR FM (ACMA callsign: 2SWR) is a community radio station based in Blacktown in Sydney. The station broadcasts to parts of Greater Western Sydney, mainly to the City of Blacktown, City of Fairfield and the City of Holroyd.
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The mission of SWR FM is to offer the community a voice and an opportunity for anyone to access the airwaves regardless of age, gender, nationality or experience. SWR FM is a mostly volunteer run organisation and is funded through listener support, grants and limited commercial sponsorship.
History
What is now SWR FM grew out of a group of people who had initially started in the 1980s as aspirant broadcaster WOW FM. Eventually forming as SWR FM, in 1992 the station started conducting regular test transmissions on 88.3 FM and later on 100.3 FM. These are fully operational and programmed broadcasts, but were usually limited to one or two weeks at a time. In 1994 the then Australian Broadcasting Authority agreed that SWR FM could use its 90 days per year of temporary transmission time by broadcasting every weekend, rather than using up all the time in one or two blocks. This enabled the station to have a continuous presence within the community.
In 1999 the station was able to broadcast full-time under new Temporary Community Broadcasting Licences. However it spent much of 2001 and 2002 off the air due to problems encountered in sharing the frequency with another temporary broadcaster. In 2003 a licence was issued to SWR FM and they commenced full-time broadcasting on Saturday 27 September 2003.
Current
SWR FM is now home to Busco for Brekky and JD for Drive. The shows both provide local news, weather and traffic and play adult contemporary hits.
Using its own outside broadcast unit SWR FM regularly broadcasts from local shows and festivals including the Blacktown and Holroyd festivals, Blacktown Show, Horsley Park Carols, Rooty Hill Australia Day celebrations and other local events. The station has a long history of giving air time to local bands. Its Small Day In programs feature live gigs of local musicians and bands. SWRtember was launched on Saturday 20 September at Blacktown Showground to promote local upcoming talent. In 2011 Australian rock band Dragon headlined SWRtember and played a 45-minute set live to air.
Programming
The station’s overall format is adult contemporary, branded "The 70's til Now" but also covers a wide range of music styles through local access shows. Genres covered include jazz, country and heavy metal. SWR FM also broadcasts programs that are presented by special interest groups or in languages other than English.