Centralisation in regional radio: networking and localism in the super radio network

This paper provides a brief discussion of localism and networking in the radio broadcasting industry; in particular, it focuses on the Super Radio Network (SRN), the largest radio network in New South Wales. Through interviews with management and the observation of announces and journalists who broadcast both locally and throughout the SRN, the paper looks at the place radio stations hold in a networking situation and how localism on regional radio seems more important to the regulators than to the radio industry. One aspect of deregulation of the radio industry, which was carried out through the Broadcast Services Act 1992, was the ability of licensees to increase the number of radio licenses they could hold from a maximum of seven to an uncapped amount nationally, with a limit of two stations per licence area. The consequence of this was an increase in networked hours, ownership concentration, lack of diversity and, importantly, the loss of local voices and local content in regional areas. While networking is not new to the radio industry, the way it occurs post-deregulation is very different. Prior to deregulation, licensees in regional areas generally operated from 0500am to midnight with the majority of programs hosted locally. Regional radio had local announcers, who discussed local events and issues. Post-deregulation, and in the case of the SRN, stations broadcast 24 hours per day, with the majority of programs hosted outside the local area with an average of 6 hours of locally hosted programs, Monday to Friday. This situation occurs in most licence areas. Preliminary research indicates that there is a divergent view on the issues of "local" and "networking" between management and on-air personnel