One of Sydney’s leading community radio stations could be closed as early as July, as the station scrambles to solve a funding hole caused by the exit of one of its financial owners last year.
2SER, or Sydney Educational Radio, is owned by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Macquarie University, the latter of which announced it would withdraw its funding for the station this year.
In an email to station volunteers seen by 702 ABC Sydney, 2SER station manager Cheryl Northey said the station understood UTS could not fund the station on its own.
Cheryl Northey told staff and volunteers that without secure funding, 2SER could close as early as July this year.Â
 (Radio National: Sophie Kesteven)
Ms Northey said it was trying to avoid closure, but the station needed to find a way to make up for the shortfall caused by Macquarie’s exit.
“Should the station close this year, which could be as early as July, 2SER must do the right thing by our staff. A decision to close would not be taken lightly, and work is being done to avoid that outcome,” Ms Northey said in the email.
“Since Macquarie’s announcement, the board and I have explored the option of securing one or more new university partners.
“Through this process, it has become clear that we now need to carefully consider alternative long-term models that could provide the stability the station needs.”
UTS vice-chancellor of external engagement and partnerships Alana Piper said the university was working with 2SER to find another partner to replace Macquarie.
UTS and Macquarie University previously jointly owned 2SER. (Four Corners: Mark Hiney)
“Whilst efforts to find a partner have not yet been successful, we are hopeful that other universities that share a commitment to student learning and community engagement may step in,” Dr Piper said.
“We will continue to support the management team to explore all possible options to find alternative long-term partners for this beloved radio station, its staff and passionate community.”
In October last year, a spokesperson for Macquarie University told the publication City Hub that funding the station “cannot be justified relative to the benefits delivered”.
2SER, which was founded in 1979 by the two universities, holds a community radio licence with a special interest in education.
Station closure would be a ‘dire loss’
Former ABC radio presenter Robbie Buck got his start working as a producer for 2SER when he moved to Sydney.
Buck said losing the station would be devastating for future media professionals and put a hole in Sydney’s cultural landscape.
“It would be dire loss for the city of Sydney for a cultural icon like 2SER to be closed through a lack of funding from UTS,” Buck said.
“It’s a wonderful place for people to learn how to broadcast and how to do journalism … it supports local music, it supports local artists and writers and all sorts of things.”
2SER has about 100 volunteers who contribute to the station. (Radio National: Sophie Kesteven)
Buck is among dozens of 2SER alumni who have written a joint letter to the station urging the board to act to rectify the financial shortfall.
Stuart Coupe, who has presented a nationally syndicated music station on 2SER for 16 years, said losing the station would be losing one of the last giants of community radio in Sydney.
“There are a lot of people I know who they just listen to 2SER — that’s their radio station,” Mr Coupe said.
“To lose one of the dominant voices in community radio would be, you know, absolutely terrible.”Sector-wide issue
Financial woes have been felt across the community broadcasting sector, said CEO of Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) Jon Bisset.
“The average community radio station last year had an operational cost equal to 103 per cent of station income,” he said.
“That is clearly not sustainable.”
Mr Bisset said community radio stations like 2SER provided more than just media career pathways but also broad social value.
“If 2SER were to fall over the loss would be felt not just by the universities and their students but more broadly by local musicians, local venues and festivals. By community groups and local services.”
2SER is a significant community broadcaster in the sector with 269,000 monthly listeners, which includes an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQIA+ and CALD listeners.
“New investments from private and public sources are required to secure the ongoing sustainability of Australia’s largest and most diverse independent media sector,” said Mr Bisset.
Storied history of community radio
2SER hit the airwaves in 1979 and kicked off its first broadcast with The Good Times Are Coming by Cass Elliot.
The station became a place for groundbreaking programs, including Sydney’s first queer radio program, Gaywaves.
Created in 1979 when homosexual acts were illegal in NSW, Gaywaves provided a shared space where both gay men and lesbian women could promote issues affecting the queer community.
“We felt there were issues relevant to gays and lesbians as a single group of people and then specific issues for lesbians and gay men within that community,” Gaywaves co-founder Susan Hawkewood told the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
2ser has helped many local musicians get their first airplay, including Courtney Barnett, who performed at their 35th anniversary party in 2014. (Youtube: 2SER)
2SER has played a key role in supporting local musicians to get their first radio airplay, with 55-60 per cent of music played on the station being Australian. Notable acts the station was an early supporter of include Courtney Barrnet and Gotye.
The station also began the careers of politicians and media personalities, including Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek, head of entertainment and culture podcasts at LiSTNR Mike Williams, ABC’s World Today presenter Eleanor Hall and Richard Kingsmill.
Founding station manager Keith Jackson told the station’s anniversary podcast that starting the station from scratch was a “doddle”.
“We were always going to make it because that was the job,” Mr Jackson told 2SER podcast, Celebrating 40 Years of Stories, Ideas and Music.
“The job was to get it done, to get a station going, to have a couple of hundred volunteers. To make sure the academics were doing their stuff as well, by giving us good program material.”