Joy 94.9

Infobox Radio station
name = JOY 94.9


city = Melbourne, Australia
area = Inner Melbourne
branding = JOY 94.9
slogan = "Australia's first gay and lesbian radio station"
airdate = December 1 1993
frequency = 94.9 MHz FM
format = Dance, Techno, Electronica, Community Focus Radio
power = 250 W [http://www.acma.gov.au/acmainterwr/aba/newspubs/radio_tv/licensing/documents/melbourne_cytradio.pdf]
erp =
class = Community
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
owner = JOY Melbourne Inc.
webcast = [http://www.joy.org.au/page.php?id=listenlive Listen Live]
website = [http://www.joy.org.au http://www.joy.org.au]

JOY 94.9 (call sign: 3JOY), broadcasting at 94.9 FM in Melbourne, is Australia's first and only gay and lesbian community radio station.

History

Under its original license name "JOY Melbourne Independent Community Broadcasters Association", JOY 94.9 began its first test transmission on December 1, 1993 (World AIDS Day) in Melbourne on 90.7 MHz. JOY continued to broadcast via temporary test transmissions, mostly on a part-time basis sharing the 90.7 frequency with other community broadcasters.

Out of the approximately 20 aspirant community radio licensees in Melbourne, JOY Melbourne was one of only four to be granted a full time broadcasting license in 2001 (the other broadcasters were SYN FM, Light FM and 3KND). In its application to the Australian broadcasting regulator (Australian Broadcasting Authority) JOY had applied for a community licence in both the Melbourne-Wide and lesser coverage Melbourne City coverage areas. However JOY Melbourne was successful in the Melbourne City license area where it succeeded against one competing applicant then known as City-FM "(Refer to ACMA license report for official license allocations report)".

JOY Melbourne commenced full time broadcasting on its permanent license in January 2002 on its current frequency of 94.9 MHz.

In July of 2008, after 14 years above a hardware store in South Melbourne, JOY 94.9 relocated to Level 9, 225 Bourke Street, Melbourne as part of the Melbourne City Councils "City Village" initiative. [http://mcv.e-p.net.au/news/queer-central-3295.html]

Programming

JOY 94.9 is the first radio station in Australia to offer programming produced by and aimed specifically at the gay and lesbian community.Programs on JOY incorporate a mix of talkback, music and lifestyle programs, including announcements promoting community events, counseling and support services. Joy 94.9 also operates a news service covering mainstream news events and issues as well those mainly concerning the Gay, Lesbian community. The station is staffed by over 200 volunteers.

JOY 94.9 is licensed to cover only the inner suburbs of Melbourne whereas the other three broadcasters were allocated Melbourne-wide community broadcasting licenses. Joy 94.9 utilises online streaming audio to reach the gay and lesbian audience in the rest of Melbourne and the world.

Music

JOY play a wide array of music, with variations including techno, women's music, electronica, euro-house, disco, Easy Listening, Soft Rock, and Pop, alternative, jazz, classical, trance, independent artists, gospel, folk, blues, hardcore metal, industrial, retro, brit pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Soul, Remixes and more.

News

JOY runs a news roster covering weekdays and weekends in the morning, noon, and drive. Many newsreaders have found employment in the commercial industry, such as Nathan Gardiner - a newsreader at Gold 104. All are volunteers.

Daytime Program Grid (Summer 2007-08)

This schedule is subject to change without notice.
The full [http://www.joy.org.au/page.php?id=grid Program Grid] is available for view and can be downloaded (for Personal Use) on the [http://www.joy.org.au/ JOY 94.9] - Official Website

ee also

*List of Australian radio stations

References

External links

* [http://www.joy.org.au/ Official site]
* [http://www.acma.gov.au/acmainterwr/aba/newspubs/radio_tv/licensing/documents/melbourne_cytradio.pdf Australian Broadcasting Authority License Allocation Report December, 2001]