A very welcome visit

We had a special guest at work yesterday.

During a personal visit to our current studio complex in Morley, the Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, pledged $375 000 towards the cost of relocating 98.5 Sonshine FM to our new building, currently under construction, in Como.

As you can imagine, General Manager Barry Grosser was thrilled by the commitment, saying “This will go a long way in helping fit out the new studio complex, equipping it for the future of digital radio broadcasting.”

The grant is specifically to make the new complex digital ready, helping Sonshine FM to be ready for the launch of digital radio in Australia.

While it’s still in the very early stages, construction has already commenced on the new building at Murray Street, Como. The official opening of the new Broadcast and CareLine facility is planned for Australia Day 2009 which will be the 21st birthday of 98.5 Sonshine FM.

Additional funding is still being sought so the project can be completed debt free. Money is still needed for the purchase of broadcast equipment and the studio fit out.

98.5 Sonshine FM is a community broadcaster which means that we survive on the donations of supporters and limited business sponsorship. This is the first time that we’ve received government funding in almost twenty years of full time broadcasting.

It’s been amazing to see the support we’ve received over the last couple of years towards the new building. We’ve seen some very tough times over the years and our operating costs still rely on what turns up in the mail from day to day but it’s exciting to be working at Sonshine FM during such an amazing period in the radio station’s history.



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