Welcome to Radio 2YOU FM for 2011

Community Radio 88.9 2YOU FM has entered 2011 with huge anticipation of a positive, proactive year and exciting news to share with the Tamworth community.

Community Radio continues to take a significant portion of the radio audience in rural and regional NSW. In the last week, 601,000 people in non-metropolitam NSW aged 15 years and over listened to Community Radio, 29 percent of all radio listeners.

The 2010 Community Radio National Listener Survey, conducted by McNair Ingenuity Research, revealed that more than 9 million people are now tuning in to Community Radio.

"Twenty nine percent of the listening audience outside the major cities in this state are listening to Community Radio," says Adrian Basso (right), President of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). "That is a lot of people with a stake in community broadcasting.

"It would be great of the contribution of community radio was recognised with better funding. We do a lot in the community but we could do so much more if we were better resourced."

"The CBAA is calling on the Federal Government to commit $25 million in the first year of a five year program for new funding for community broadcasting content production, infrastructure, training and sector co-ordination and planning.

"The number of people listening to Community Radio has increased by more than 20 percent since we started surveying our audience, despite the number of all people listening to all radio staying the same. The number of community broadcasting services has doubled in the last 15 years, reaching more than 350 stations by 2010, but government fundng has not kept pace."

The survey revealed that 66 percent of pepple listening to Community Radio in rural and regional NSW tune in. 2YOU FM is an example of that trend.

The survey shows that many people are choosing to tune in to stations such as Radio 2YOU FM for the localised content and the diverse programming that is on offer. "We are truly local and community oriented and the survey shows our audiences clearly want that."

2YOU FM staff and presenters are over the moon about the Community Radio Survey findings and look forward to the greater part of 2011.

Kind regards
Jim Guider, President