2MBS
Encyclopedia
2MBS FM is a Sydney
music radio station
operated by the Music Broadcasting Society of New South Wales
Co-Operative Limited.
Launched in 15 December 1974, it is Australia's first fully licensed FM
radio station.
The station broadcasts from studios located at Chandos Street, St Leonards
, to the greater Sydney region at a frequency of 102.5 MHz from a 50 kilowatt (ERP) transmitter located atop Governor Philip Tower, in Sydney
's central business district. Its operations are conducted by volunteers and a small number of paid staff. Operational funding is principally derived from commercial sponsorship, listener subscriptions, and occasional sales of second-hand books, LPs, and CDs.
Approximately 80 percent of 2MBS's on-air music content is from the Western classical and related traditions, and the remainder is made up of jazz
, blues
, and non-mainstream and experimental contemporary music.
Perhaps reflecting a great proportion of its audience, the station's most popular programme for the past several decades has been Evensong, a weekly programme of English sacred music in the Anglican tradition. Its regular presenter Mrs Ann Ramsay died at the age of 91 on 1 April 2006, prior to which she was thought to be Australia's oldest on-air radio presenter.
Popular non-classical programmes broadcast by the station include blues show Stormy Monday, which has aired on Monday evenings for three decades, and is rebroadcast nationally by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
(CBAA) satellite service. Ultima Thule
, the station's Sunday evening ambient music programme has been on air for nearly twenty years and in 2005 became the first programme to be podcast
on Australian community radio.
2MBS has a loose affiliation with a number of similar independently owned and operated stations in other parts of Australia, including 3MBS
FM Melbourne
, 4MBS
FM Brisbane
, 5MBS
FM Adelaide
and ArtSound FM
Canberra
.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
music radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
operated by the Music Broadcasting Society of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Co-Operative Limited.
Launched in 15 December 1974, it is Australia's first fully licensed FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio station.
The station broadcasts from studios located at Chandos Street, St Leonards
St Leonards, New South Wales
St Leonards is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. St Leonards is located 5 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of Municipality of Lane Cove, North Sydney Council and the City of...
, to the greater Sydney region at a frequency of 102.5 MHz from a 50 kilowatt (ERP) transmitter located atop Governor Philip Tower, in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's central business district. Its operations are conducted by volunteers and a small number of paid staff. Operational funding is principally derived from commercial sponsorship, listener subscriptions, and occasional sales of second-hand books, LPs, and CDs.
Approximately 80 percent of 2MBS's on-air music content is from the Western classical and related traditions, and the remainder is made up of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and non-mainstream and experimental contemporary music.
Perhaps reflecting a great proportion of its audience, the station's most popular programme for the past several decades has been Evensong, a weekly programme of English sacred music in the Anglican tradition. Its regular presenter Mrs Ann Ramsay died at the age of 91 on 1 April 2006, prior to which she was thought to be Australia's oldest on-air radio presenter.
Popular non-classical programmes broadcast by the station include blues show Stormy Monday, which has aired on Monday evenings for three decades, and is rebroadcast nationally by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia is a peak body and the national representative organisation for community radio and television stations in Australia. The CBAA provide leadership, advocacy and support for members to actively provide independent broadcasting services and to build...
(CBAA) satellite service. Ultima Thule
Ultima Thule Ambient Music
Ultima Thule Ambient Music is a long-running, specialist ambient music radio show which has been broadcast on Australian community radio since 1989. The show has been described as one of the leading alternative music programmes on Australian radio. It is also available as a webcast and as a podcast...
, the station's Sunday evening ambient music programme has been on air for nearly twenty years and in 2005 became the first programme to be podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
on Australian community radio.
2MBS has a loose affiliation with a number of similar independently owned and operated stations in other parts of Australia, including 3MBS
3MBS
3MBS was the first FM radio station in Victoria, Australia, and began transmitting to Melbourne and surrounding areas on the 1st of July 1975. Since then it has operated successfully as a non-profit community-based organisation broadcasting classical and jazz music...
FM Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 4MBS
4MBS
4MBS Classic FM is a Brisbane community radio station that broadcasts classical music, jazz and nostalgia throughout South East Queensland. It is broadcast at a frequency of 103.7 MHz....
FM Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, 5MBS
5MBS
5MBS is a community radio station in Adelaide. Officially, 5MBS's market covers only the Adelaide Foothills, but the station can be received over much of the Adelaide metropolitan area....
FM Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and ArtSound FM
ArtSound FM
ArtSound FM is a community radio station broadcasting to Canberra from studios in the suburb of Manuka. Its format is fine music and arts programming....
Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
External links
- http://www.2mbs.com/ 2MBS FM website
- http://2mbsfm.primcast.com/2MBSFM 2MBS live internet stream
- http://www.halftheory.com/cmc/ 2MBS Contemporary Music Collective
- http://www.ultimathule.info 2MBS-FM Ultima Thule, Ambient and eltro acoustic music