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Melbourne Jewish Radio

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Lion FM 96.1 (3MJR)
Broadcast areaInner Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia
Frequency96.1 MHz FM
BrandingLion FM
Programming
Language(s)Heberew / English
FormatTalk / Entertainment / Music
Ownership
OwnerMelbourne Jewish Radio Inc
History
First air date
14 June 2010
Call sign meaning
3 Melbourne Jewish Radio
Technical information
Power250W
Links
Websitehttp://www.lionfm.org [1]

Melbourne Jewish Radio is a newly licenced community radio station in Melbourne Australia, licenced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for an initial 12 month temporary broadcast.

This is the first intentionally all-Jewish community broadcast station in Australia, and this Temporary Broadcast will be used to establish programming and facilitate audience participation with the service.

The radio station has advised it will commence transmissions on 96.1 MHz from June 12th 2010. The transmitter site is located in the Melbourne CBD with a 250 Watt transmission system. It is expected that coverage will reach the greater part of the Melbourne Metropolitan Area, with transmission power restricted towards the South West to prevent interference to the Geelong based 96.3 FM service.

History

The accessibility to the Jewish Community in Melbourne to broadcast media has been limited to 3 hours per week on 3ZZZ (Ethnic Public Radio, Melbourne) and to a small number of hours in the Hebrew language on SBS Radio. The limitation on the number of hours may be due to the variation of languages spoken within the greater jewish community, dispersed amongst English, Hebrew, Russian and a smaller number of Yiddish speakers.

This has meant that there has been no uniting radio media for the Jewish community as a whole.[1]

The establishment of Melbourne Jewish Radio Inc as a community broadcasting organisation was designed to redress this considered lack of representation on broadcast media.

An opportunity was identified for a potential frequency for such a new service, and following this opportunity led to the establishment of the radio station.

See also the station's website [2].

Establishment of M.J.R.

The Melbourne Jewish Radio project was established in December 2008, with the goal of achieving a form of dedicated full time broadcast media for the Jewish community. In the time since formation, Melbourne Jewish Radio has established itself as a not-for-profit based charitable institution, has established its board of directors - being leading figures from Melbourne's Jewish community, and is now commencing broadcast commencement preparations.

Following application to Australia's broadcasting authorities, MJR/LionFM was granted a 12 month Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence on 96.1 MHz, to commence in the first half of 2010.

On Air as LION-FM

LION-FM is the On-Air identity of the new radio station (3MJR). The name derives from The Lion of Judah.

MEANING and SIGNIFICANCE

The LionFM logo incorporates a stylised impression of the Lion of Judah. The (Lion of Judah) sign represents the Israelite tribe of Judah throughout the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible. The symbol also features on the emblem of Jerusalem, recognizing the original tribe and inmates of the Biblical Yehuda or Judah. [3]

Key Figures

Key figures in the organisation are:

Organisational Structure

Melbourne jewish Radio is a not-for-profit member representative incorporated association, which is governed by a Committee of Management elected annualy its members.

Reporting to the Committee of Management are a number of sub-committees which may include ordinary members of the Association, and members of the community who have relevant experience in their fields, these are:

  • Programming
  • Technical / Engineering
  • Marketing and Promotions


Programme Schedule

The programming schedule for station start-up is online at the website [4]. It is notable that the station will transmit only pre-recorded material over the sabbath. Live broadcasting Monday to Friday will commence with the "Daily Bagel", continue with the "Morning Wrap", followed by the "Midday Shmooze" while the traditional Drive program is called "The Long Schlep Hope". The prime-time evening program is called the "Nightly Shpiel".


Media Coverage

Australian Jewish News reported on 11 March 2010 that station president Michael Lipshutz said "Jewish audiences want more media. Particularly with Israel always on the back foot and the Jewish community on the back foot because of anti-Semitism, we need to reach out to the general public as well as the Jewish community,” . . . adding that it is particularly pertinent for younger generations who are becoming “less associated with the Jewish community."[5]

Official Launch

The Official Launch date for the radio station will be advised closer to the commencement of on-air broadcasting A website has been established at: www.lionfm.org The commencement date for transmissions is Monday 14th June 2010.

Jewish Radio Worldwide

Chai FM 101.9 is South Africa's only Jewish radio station, transmitting to the greater Johannesburg area on 101.9 FM.

References