Marton Country Music Radio
Yeeha! Marton's a real country town now!
Colin Rowatt
Marton has long claimed to be the Rangitikei town that offers "the best of rural life".
Now that claim has been further enhanced by the commissioning of Marton's own FM radio station broadcasting country music, 24/7.
Marton Country Music Radio, 88.1, went on air yesterday under the umbrella of TLC (The Little Country) Radio.
It is the fifth station in that network already covering parts of Auckland, central Taranaki and Napier.
Marton Country Music Radio is being run by the town's own "queen of country music", Anne George, and operates out of a studio within the Specialty Machinery building in Broadway.
For the most part the station will run automatically with play lists, "promos" and time calls scheduled by TLC's specialised computer software.
However, there are also options for giving the station its own "personality" and opportunities for local clubs and organisations to advertise their activities, free of charge, and for business advertising at a modest cost.
The station has been set up for TLC Radio by Auckland-based telecommunications technician Peter Shaw, "not a country music nutter" but a bloke with "a passion for low power FM that has become an obsession".
He said the station would generally broadcast over a radius of about 4km although the range could extend as far as 14km in ideal conditions.
Mrs George who does describe herself as "a country music nutter" is optimistic the station will catch on.
"We are not here to make a profit, but hopefully we will make enough to pay the bills," she said.
© Wanganui Chronicle August 18th, 2006.
This material remains © APN Holdings NZ Limited and is only to be used for non-commercial personal or research use. Any other use requires permission of the copyright holder.
^Top
|
