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Uni moving quickly to off-load Radio Adelaide

The University of Adelaide confirmed today it had decided it would no longer own Radio Adelaide, but it wants a spot on the board of any new management entity.

Dec 14, 2015, updated Dec 14, 2015
University of Adelaide Vice-Chancellor Warren Bebbington. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

University of Adelaide Vice-Chancellor Warren Bebbington. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

Fears that the 43-year-old radio station would close appear to be fading, with the university insisting several organisations are interested in taking over ownership and that it wants to maintain a management interest in the station.

Consultation on the future of Radio Adelaide closed on Friday.

Today, Vice-Chancellor Warren Bebbington announced the university would move quickly to establish a “new ownership structure” for the station, with final details expected to be settled in January.

However, he said the university wanted to be represented on the board of any new organisation running the station.

“Since we began public consultation two weeks ago, several organisations well-positioned to operate a community radio station have stepped forward with proposals to take over Radio Adelaide,” Bebbington said.

“We are now in negotiation with these parties. Over the next 10 days we also welcome registrations of interest from other organisations with the capacity to take a significant financial interest in the station.”

He said the university’s aim was to establish an independent entity “acceptable to the media authority ACMA, with the university keen to be represented on the new board of directors”.

“I would expect a new board to respect the mission of the existing station while both revitalising the station’s community programming and maintaining the training it provides to our media students.”

Bebbington released a discussion paper several weeks ago, canvassing a range of options for the station’s future, from maintaining the status quo to shutting it down.

The paper has sparked a grassroots campaign to save the station.

Bebbington said the upshot of the consultation was that “most preferred a transition to an independent entity”.

Radio Adelaide has to move into new premises by the middle of next year after the university sold its North Terrace premises.

Bebbington’s statement today was ambiguous about who would pay for the move, which is likely to cost about $1.4 million.

The statement only says that “it envisages that a new location and a facilities solution will be available to meet the station’s ongoing requirements”.

Radio Adelaide management insists that the university undertook to fund the move.

Any other organisations who want to bid for an ownership interest can complete a Registration of Interest form and submit it to the university by 24 December 2015.

Radio Adelaide management refused to comment on the university’s announcement.

InDaily understands Radio Adelaide staff were called to a meeting at 10.30am this morning to hear from university management about its plans – the university’s media release was sent to the media at 10.31am.

One insider told InDaily today that staff and volunteers had been “blindsided” by this morning’s announcement.

“We were given this whole new process by surprise,” said the insider, who would only comment on the condition of remaining anonymous.

The insider said the staff and volunteers had no sense of assurance that the station would be saved, despite today’s announcement.

“Staff have no detail about what the university has planned.”

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