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For any radio announcer, the greatest fear of all is dead air. It\u2019s a nightmare that wakes you in a cold sweat. So the news last week that one of Australia\u2019s largest and most loved community radio stations might soon be silenced was particularly chilling.<\/p>\n
Volunteers at Sydney\u2019s 2SER-FM were informed on Tuesday that the station may be off the air permanently as soon as July. They were told that following Macquarie University pulling its funding late last year, the University of Technology was also threatening to withdraw its financial support. It would be a tragic end to a much-loved pillar of the Sydney cultural landscape. For nearly half a century 2SER has nourished the city\u2019s music, art and cultural scenes. It\u2019s been a bastion of independent journalism, a beacon of diverse voices and a showcase for our city\u2019s great talents.<\/p>\n
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Robbie Buck began his Sydney radio career at 2SER. Janie Barrett<\/p>\n
I first walked through its doors in 1992. I\u2019d just stepped off the XPT from Lismore, backpack in hand, looking for adventure. Back then the studios were at the top of the brutalist UTS tower. After a long, rickety ride in an ageing lift, I was ushered into a back room where a volunteers\u2019 meeting was under way. We were given the rundown. Here was a station that served all of Sydney. It ran on the sweat of volunteers and just a few skeleton staff. It was cool. It played music you wouldn\u2019t find anywhere else. It fostered amazing talent. And it prided itself on a dedicated audience right across the city \u2013 an audience who put its money where its mouth was by coughing up supporter pledges each year to keep the station on air.<\/p>\n
In the midst of the volunteer meeting, the co-ordinator, a wonderful woman named Kath Duncan, mentioned that they had a hole in the schedule that night. It was the graveyard shift. Did anyone want it? I looked around at the distinct lack of hands being raised and slowly lifted mine. Right, she said, you\u2019re on air at 1am. And that was it. That was the start of my Sydney broadcasting career.<\/p>\n
That same thrill has been enjoyed by thousands of volunteers since the station first went to air in October 1979. And many of them have gone on to enjoy extraordinary careers. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek volunteered, as did Michael Rowland of ABC News Breakfast fame, the BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonell, Eleanor Hall from ABC\u2019s The World Today, ex 702, JJJ & Radio National manager Cath Dwyer, Michael Koziol from this masthead, Four Corners Supervising producer Alice Brennan as well as ABC presenters Sarah Dingle, Richard Kingsmill, Sarah Macdonald, and many, many more. All drawn to the sense of community, fun and intellectual challenge that this unique entity offered.<\/p>\n
The fact that so many high-profile media names have come through 2SER is no fluke. Not only is it a priceless cultural asset for Sydney, it\u2019s also an unparalleled training ground for its students and volunteers. When Macquarie retreated last year, Professor Chris Dixon wrote an email to the arts faculty, where he said the loss of the station wouldn\u2019t affect the standard of students\u2019 education. He wrote: \u201cMacquarie continues to offer rich experiential learning through purpose-built, on-campus studios. These facilities provide high-quality, industry-standard training embedded in the curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related Article Unfortunately, as a broadcaster with more than four decades of experience, I\u2019d have to question whether that isn\u2019t a loss for students. There\u2019s simply nothing else that compares to working in a true broadcast environment. The deadlines, the pressure, the camaraderie, the adrenaline and, yes, the unadulterated joy. There\u2019s also the experience of giving back to the community, in a wholly unique way. You simply don\u2019t get that by sitting in a recording studio that\u2019s not connected to a transmitter. And that transmitter is special too. Its signal is connected to the 107.3 bandwidth on the FM spectrum \u2013 that\u2019s worth untold millions. The last time a slice of the Sydney FM spectrum was auctioned off was in 2004. The winning bid came from the DMG group, which now hosts Smooth FM on that frequency. What did it pay? A whopping $106 million dollars. And UTS is prepared to let that asset go for nix?<\/p>\n So what\u2019s gone so wrong? Well, this is the question we, as 2SER alumni, have been putting to the 2SER board and the UTS council over the past few weeks. They\u2019re saying that after Macquarie pulled out, they\u2019ve been forced to find other financial partners to carry the load, in the form of either the University of NSW or University of Sydney. At this stage, there\u2019s been no word from UNSW, but University of Sydney has declined.<\/p>\n So, how competently has the process been handled? Macquarie announced its departure in September last year and I\u2019ve been told the partner prospectus didn\u2019t go out to the other bodies until mid-March. That\u2019s six months later. Staff were warned in March that the prospectus must be picked up within a few weeks or they could lose their jobs. You\u2019d think that given this was the greatest fiscal crisis in the station\u2019s history, all stops would\u2019ve been pulled out to find a solution as early as possible. But the volunteers weren\u2019t aware of the looming threat until last week. And apparently there hasn\u2019t been a single station meeting called in the past year, despite the precarious situation.<\/p>\n The other question is: why were only two sandstone universities being approached? Why not a more creative angle? One that looks at other bodies such as the Australian Film Television and Radio School, the education department, government bodies, etc?<\/p>\n Related Article While UTS claims it can no longer carry the funding alone, it\u2019s worth placing its fiscal commitment in perspective. The university handles a budget of well over a billion dollars. According to the 2024 2SER financial report, the core funding from Macquarie was $325,000 and UTS just over $300,000, plus in-kind contributions. It\u2019s small fry for an institution of its size. In the scheme of things a decision by UTS to continue to fund the station wouldn\u2019t touch the sides. But it would generate some much-needed positive news, for an organisation that\u2019s weathering its worst reputational damage in history.<\/p>\n The ABC\u2019s Four Corners put a blowtorch to the recent governance of UTS. And an interim report from the NSW Parliament Standing Committee into higher education has been equally scathing, writing \u201cthe committee was very troubled by evidence relating to council processes, the management of conflicts of interest, and the use of external consultants in workforce and performance decision-making\u201d. That final point is a big one. UTS easily spends more than $40 million a year on consultants. A tiny fraction of that would save 2SER. Not to forget the $1.5 million spent on a leadership consultant<\/a> being flown up from Victoria to teach the executive group how to \u2026 umm \u2026 lead.<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s shocking news has triggered a wave of concern from across the country, as former volunteers, musicians, journalists and radio lovers share their distress at the prospect of no more 2SER. Our message to UTS is clear. Announce you\u2019ll continue funding for future years, with or without partners. And above all else, give us your assurance that you won\u2019t let 2SER fall silent. Because that dead air, as we know, would be a nightmare.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"UTS-based](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776550750_480_5e41f469c1e9efa5671715b4c46e8d52a6b40e61.jpeg\")
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