Established in 1995, Radio Kidnappers is the Access Radio station for Hawke's Bay.
WHAT IS AN ACCESS STATION?
There are 11 Access stations spread all around NZ, grouped under the Association of Community Access Broadcasters (see below for a link to ACAB). We receive financial assistance from NZ On Air and operate under a special section of the Broadcasting Act (Section 36c) which provides for airtime to be made available to a broad range of non-profit and community organisations which exist for the benefit or welfare of ethnic, religious, cultural, minority, disabled, youth, and educational groups, also for those catering for specific women's, men's, and children's interests and concerns.
Many of the above groups have little realistic opportunity to broadcast on commercial or mainstream radio, and Access stations give those people a tangible voice to be able to reach out to the community with their own message.
Our belief is that anybody and everybody in the community is a potential programme-maker. Our programmes are made and broadcast by the community groups themselves (rather than by professional broadcasters), and need not sound like what's produced anywhere else. This is the whole point of difference between Access and mainstream radio.
This ethos is reflected in Radio Kidnappers' well-known catchphrase "putting YOU on air" and is also part of our Mission Statement.
WHO IS THE STATION ACCOUNTABLE TO?
The station is governed by the Radio Kidnappers Charitable Trust Inc which is made up of a mix of persons from our local community. The Trust in turn is responsible to both NZ On Air and the Ministry of Economic Development.
WHAT FREQUENCY ARE YOU ON?
Tune to 1431 KHZ on the AM band (1431 AM), 24hrs a day. We have also been allocated an FM frequency (104.7MHz) which means we can broadcast on the FM band once the necessary equipment is sourced, purchased and installed - hopefully in the foreseeable future.
WHERE ARE YOU HEARD?
We can be heard clearly throughout all of Hawke's Bay - including up in Wairoa and Mahia, and down in Waipawa/Waipukurau. Depending on atmospheric conditions, we can often be heard in other nearby districts during the day (eg Dannevirke, Gisborne, Taupo etc), and even further afield at night.
CAN I PICK YOUR SIGNAL UP VIA THE INTERNET? Yes, you can! As from 5th November 2008, you can hear us either "live" via internet-streaming or by downloading past programmes from an archive and listening to them at your leisure. These facilities mean that listeners outside our broadcast area who have broadband Internet access, can enjoy our wide variety of programmes.
ARE YOU NETWORKED WITH ANY OTHER STATIONS?
No, not at present. Each Access station broadcasts to its own particular community area and doesn't have any radio "links" to the content of other Access stations. However, from time to time we do broadcast specific programmes which have been made at other Access stations, if the content or subject is relevant to our Hawke's Bay community.
DO YOU REBROADCAST THE BBC OR SIMILAR OVERSEAS NETWORKS?
Some Access stations do take an overnight feed from external sources such as the BBC, to fill in periods when there are no S.36c or community programmes likely to be playing. Radio Kidnappers prefers to play a collection of popular music, although we would consider a BBC-type option if enough listeners requested it.
HOW MANY LISTENERS DO YOU HAVE?
A survey was conducted which indicated that Radio Kidnappers is listened-to by 4.8% of people of all ages. Based on Hawkes Bay's population of 120,000 people, that's an average of over 5,500 listeners at any given time of the day. We get considerable feedback and know from this that we have a steady base of listeners.
WHAT AGE-RANGE LISTENS TO KIDNAPPERS?
Due to our varied mix of shows, we have a wide and varied mix of listeners. Probably our audience tends to be more "mature" than youthful, but we don't target any one group, or any one generation, instead striving to provide a range of programmes of interest to the entire community.
WHERE CAN I FIND YOUR PREMISES?
Radio Kidnappers is operated from Hastings, and welcomes programme-makers from all over Hawke's Bay. For address and contact details, please click the "Contact Us" tab.
DO YOU DO TALKBACK?
No. At present it is not really within the Access Radio philosophy, and we are not funded for the specialised technical equipment we would need to do TalkBack efficiently. While we can put occasional one-to-one phone conversations on air which may be relevant to a particular show, there are no plans to do general TalkBack programmes as such, which are better left to the mainstream commercial specialists.
IF I HEAR A PARTICULAR SONG I LIKE, HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT IT IS?
The song may originate from an automated computer playlist, or from a pre-recorded or live show by one of our presenters. First of all, note the exact time of playing, and the name of the programme it's coming from (if any). If you can, note the song preceding and/or the one following. (Get some significant words if you don't know the titles/artists of these).
If it's obviously a live show, ring the station as soon as possible after the song and ask to speak to the presenter; not all presenters keep a regular log of the music they play and it's easier to identify the song at the time than going back later to try to find it.
If it's overnight, or at a time when there's obviously no live presenter, we can often go back and track it off the hardcopy computer log, providing you can supply us with as much of the information detailed above as possible. Just ring the station during business hours and we'll help as much as we can.
IF I MISS A PROGRAMME OR WANT TO HEAR IT AGAIN, CAN I GET A COPY OF IT?
Yes, in some cases. If the programme has been recorded, a copy can usually be made available. The cost is $10 per CD, although if extra work is involved there will be an additional charge. Please order as soon as possible after play-date, as most programmes are not kept indefinitely.
Another option is to listen to our "Double-Take" programme on Saturday afternoons, in which we repeat many of the programmes originally broadcast over the preceding 1-2 weeks. See the "Double-Take" page on the NoticeBoard for further information.
DO YOU OFFER TRANSCRIPTION OR RECORDING SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC?
By this we mean, for example, transferring items from tape onto CD or similar, or possibly recording a musical item for you.
The short answer is: Yes, subject to three conditions:
that no copyright-infringement issues are involved;
that a fee of $45 per hour (+ materials) is charged for all work undertaken;
that the work is undertaken on an as-time-becomes-available basis.
Every request is different. You need at the outset to give us a realistic idea of the potential work involved, and we will then discuss the project with you on a case-by-case basis (particularly as regards the time it will take) so that you can decide whether or not you wish to proceed.
DO YOU HAVE BROADCAST EQUIPMENT FOR EXTERNAL HIRE?
The only hireage we undertake is our Low-Power FM (LPFM) unit. Groups tend to hire this when they want to broadcast over a limited and specific area, for a limited and specific period. Particularly suitable for schools and similar. The unit consists of 2 CD players, 2 cassette-decks, microphone and a mixer, which are mounted on a self-contained trolley. We also supply the external aerial and a length of connecting cable for it.
Provided the aerial is mounted correctly, and as high as possible, the unit will transmit up to several kilometres in each direction, on a publicly-available frequency in the 88MHz band.
The cost is $85+GST per day or $350+GST per week. Contact us to discuss the specifics of what you want to do, and we will advise on what's involved in greater detail, as well as the best way of setting it up to suit your particular circumstances.
WHY DO SHOWS AND PRESENTERS KEEP CHANGING?
Actually, some of our presenters (and their very popular shows) have been with us for several years. (One or two loyal stalwarts have even been with Radio Kidnappers since the year it started).
But the very nature of volunteering means we do see some presenters come and go. People leave town or choose to take a break, or may take on a new job which affects their availability, new groups need to be accommodated, and so on. We are always grateful for the time people so willingly give us while they're with us. But personal circumstances change, and so our programme schedule changes accordingly.
We suggest you keep checking the schedule page regularly and enjoy and celebrate the continuing diversity which is Radio Kidnappers.
SOME OF YOUR PRESENTERS SEEM A BIT UNPOLISHED
This is part and parcel of Access radio! All of our presenters are volunteers and, yes, sometimes mistakes do get made - especially while people are learning the art of radio which involves various speaking and technical skills. For our part, we provide as much pre-training as possible, although the best training of all is for presenters to have to cope with any nerves and handle the "live" experience. Most people improve quite quickly.
WHY DO I HEAR PEOPLE TALKING IN LANGUAGES I CAN'T UNDERSTAND?
This again is part and parcel of Access radio! Migrant and new settler communities are an increasingly significant part of our wider community, and are specifically named as a priority group for Access Radio representation. We welcome and encourage the increasing involvement of these groups.
CAN I MAKE A FINANCIAL DONATION?
Our funding is not unlimited, and we have to work inside a strict budget. Often there are other things we would like to buy or replace, but cannot. Listeners and organisations are welcome to support the station by donating money either for general running or for a particular purpose - eg to buy music, replace equipment, support a particular programme etc.
Radio Kidnappers is registered with Inland Revenue as a charitable trust and therefore donations made to the station are tax deductible. For further information please contact the Station Manager.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Don't hesitate to call and talk to one of the friendly team during business hours. Or send us an email or fax, or write to us. (For details, click the "Contact Us" tab).
