After the Review ...

The University of Adelaide in its Review into the Department of Continuing Education in 1983, agreed to continue to operate Radio 5UV and to retain ownership of the broadcast licence while asking the station to increase its efforts to expand the level of core educational programming. The University promised increases in the level of its maintenance grants and in production and technical staffing levels, declaring the station an autonomous unit quite separate from the Department of Continuing Education, and responsible to its own Management Committee.

The three years since that time have been a period of consolidation, of implementation of systems and structures, of the erection of a new antenna and of the purchase of new equipment under a recapitalisation grant from the University of $300,000.

The possibility of an accommodation move from our present troglodyte existence where we compete for decibels with the rumble of the air conditioning plant room have gladdened hearts and started to pose a whole new set of questions. The proposed new site would give us a ground floor shop front position on one of Adelaide's most attractive boulevards. Visibility - always a problem in public radio - would increase dramatically and, in almost direct proportion, so would the University's requirements of the station.

Radio 5UV has over the years acquired a reputation which places it as a close competitor to ABC's Radio National ... the steady flow of members of 5UV to good positions in the corridors of the ABC at Collinswood and elsewhere in Australia bears this out.

What are the University's expectations of their station?

Continuing Education

• most important - the continuing education of graduates to ensure their credibility and awareness of new developments within their discipline

A Public Relations Vehicle

• making the University accessible to the general public

• destroying the ivory tower image

• "humanising" Academics

• suggesting that the University is interested in all - not just those who are University material.

Community Involvement

• a public demonstration of the extent to which research and development benefits all

What are the public misconceptions of a University based station?

How does 5UV define educational programming?

In order to overcome public misconceptions, and to fulfil the public relations and community involvement requirements, 5UV maintains as far as possible with its limited resources, a publicity campaign through the other media. This is one area which suffers from working of necessity, to a tight budget.

Financing a campus based educational radio station

The initial concept of "Friends" donations is starting to weaken as the station moves from the "warm and fuzzy new and great idea" image, to that of a professional organisation, providing a new good service. Inevitable, over a period of fourteen years Although we sustain a level of around 1000 Friends it is a relatively small portion of our earnings - and likely to become smaller.

In addition, the review into the Department of Continuing Education determined that although we should sustain our present access users, we should not encourage further users. There are now three other metropolitan stations which have undertaken the community role once inherent in our promise of performance.

Some campus based radio stations, such as 6NR and 6UVS in Perth make between $100,000 and $150,000 per year in sponsorship, much of this from sponsored sports events. However, 5UV has decided that all sponsorship must be carefully considered as our more specifically educational programming does not sit easily with sponsorship announcements, and our listeners do not like them. We therefore operate at around the $10,000 per annum mark.

So where does our money come from?

On the classical and specialist music side, 5UV has done such as enormous amount of work promoting Australian music and musicians, that we are exploring the possibilities of "benefit" concerts from those organisations we promote, in addition to the increasingly arduous annual public appeals which take shape as in terms of team spirit and innovative broadcasting, than in cost effective revenue return.

Public Radio has to be exceptionally flexible in programming terms in order to provide the alternative listeners are looking for ... it is going to have to use that flexibility to good use on the income earning side in future. 5UV has little doubt that it will meet the challenge.

Please cite as: Lambert, J. (1986). After the Review ... Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 2(2), 63-66. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet2/lambert.html