Story about One FM Penrith on Ten Eyewitness News from circa February 1993 (go to 58:58).
Credit: Download
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âŚand this is why despite being positioned as a Katoomba or Western Sydney station, 96.1FM has such a good signal throughout much of the Sydney metropolitan area and beyond, even to this day! 
Of course from a TV history perspective, the reporter on that piece Eddy Meyer has enjoyed a long career in Sydney news at Ten and now Nine.
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You beat me to it! I remember the story very well.
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Yes it sure does. I recall living in Sydney in the late 90s and 96.1 was great everywhere except the northern beaches. From Manly north it was pretty dodgy.
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Thatâs gold! What a great find.
I remember that day very well - made front page on the Daily Telegraph (or whatever it was called back then).
Iâm surprised no one has commented on who the on air host is in the story! LOL
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Today marks 20 years since C91.3, which serves Campbelltown & the Macarthur region in Outer South-Western Sydney, first came on the air.
The station came about after its owner, WIN, bought the licence at the ABA auction for $10 million in May 2000, around the same time when DMG bought the 96.9 Sydney licence (now Nova) for $150 million.
When it first went to air, its line-up consisted of Rob Duckworth for breakfast, Stuart Cranney in mornings, Byron Webb in afternoons, Rob Doorey in drive & Nick OâRourke in evenings. Duckworth & Cranney had just been axed by Mix 106.5 & 2MMM respectively earlier that year, as both stations made changes in reaction to the arrival of Nova.
Its music format at launch was âThe Biggest Variety of Rock & Popâ, playing a wide variety of music with a favourable rock skew. It was musically quite different from the major Sydney stations, in which they played plenty of classic rock tracks that 2MMM had largely dumped earlier that year. Perhaps the most popular music feature on the station was the âClassic 9 @ 9â, which Stuart Cranney carried over from 2MMM, and had been running for a number of years.
At the time of the stationâs launch, WSFM (formerly 2WS), along with 96.1 (now The Edge), had just announced that they were moving out of Seven Hills in the west to Macquarie Park in the northern suburbs, joining Mix 106.5 who were moving from Neutral Bay. Therefore, C91.3 partially filled the gap that 2WS were leaving behind.
In the first radio ratings survey conducted for Campbelltown the following year, C91.3 was a strong 2nd with 12.3%, just behind WSFM with 13.1%, and was dominant in the 25-39 age group.
By the late 2000s, C91.3 was beginning to be run-down, with log-sharing, as well as some shared programming & voicetracking, coming from sister station i98. Stuart Cranney was axed at around that time too. In early 2010s, the station was rebuilding, with local programming & personalities, as well as its own music log, returning. This included Stuart Cranney, who did breakfast & then back to mornings where he remained until his death in March 2020.
Today, C91.3 remains one of the most local sounding commercial radio stations in Australia, especially with most others, both metro & regional, having become increasingly networked.
Anyone else here remember the good old days of C91.3?
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I remember the first day of broadcasting on C91.3 very well. I wish I had recorded some of their early content.
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I remember the era they had Mardi & Mal at breakfast.
They were presenting it from 2003 until 2005, when the station was still sounding good. 
One other thing I shouldâve mentioned earlier is that the launch of C91.3 was mentioned on National Nine News (presented by the late Brian Henderson) that day, in which it was the last item before sport at the end of the 2nd segment.
I also remember reading on an online TV guide back then that WIN Illawarra aired a special documentary program about C91.3 at 5:30pm on a Saturday afternoon in late September 2001. As the owner, WIN Illawarra advertised the station on its ad breaks.
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C91.3âŚthe C stands for Campbelltown. Thatâs one of their early stings.
I remember they were handing out bumper stickers at Glenfield station. My school friend at the time managed to get oneâŚdidnât have a spare for me, though.
I enjoyed the mostly classic rock format in the early days. I wish theyâd stuck with it.
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A brief aircheck of Wave FM Wollongong from January 1998, as received by âdxer22000â at Tuross Head.
Credit: @dxnerd
Yes, I know it says 1997, but given âEverytime You Cryâ by John Farnham & Human Nature was heard on that aircheck, which was released in late 1997, Iâd say itâs more likely to be from January 1998. Also, the audio there is sped up as well, perhaps to avoid copyright claim.
Anyway, itâs quite rare to be getting a recording of Wave FM from the late 90s, back when it was a real adult music station.
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Good find!
Donât know what the pic of Bald Hill is the video for if recorded at Tuross Heads?
I assume itâs supposed to be a representation of the main listening area (similar to how youâd probably use a classic Harbour Bridge/Opera House type image for Sydney, etc.), in lieu of the then-station logo.
For the record, hereâs the logo for Wave FM back in the mid-late 90s.
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Yeah, itâs a quintessential Wollongong view, which is why I chose it. Couldnât find a pic of Wave FMâs 90s logo.
Oh snap, TV_Expert has done it again! Will replace it with that Didnât think to check archive.org, silly me.
EDIT: And here is the updated video with correct date as well:
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Great interview with Bridget Griffen-Foley on the history of Radio 2GB which commenced broadcasting 95 years ago today.
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Some 2UW Cash Card promotions from February 1990:
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An aircheck of 2CH from May 1988 recorded in AM Stereo has just been uploaded to @anon36025973.
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Thanks for sharing, @TV-Expert. This is taken from one of our nicest sounding AM stereo recordings. Itâs just a shame that the majority of the aircheck is taken up by âThe 9 OâClock Specialâ, which was playing some pretty awful country music.
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On This Day: 31 August 1970: Graham Kennedy, whoâd resigned from hosting In Melbourne Tonight at the end of 1969, begins his next job hosting a daytime shift on 3XY, from a studio installed in his home in Frankston
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LOFUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7211%2C16497
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