A scanned copy of a black and white poster advertising Radio U, the University of Canterbury student radio station. The advertisement is from 1985.
This article examines the representation of Christchurch, New Zealand, student radio station RDU in the exhibition Alternative Radio at the Canterbury Museum in 2016. With the intention of ‘making visible what is invisible’ about radio broadcasting, the exhibition articulated RDU as a point of interconnection between the technical elements of broadcasting, the social and musical culture of station staff and volunteers, and the broader local and national music scenes. This paper is grounded in observations of the exhibitions and associated public programmes, and interviews with the key participants in the exhibition including the museum's exhibition designer and staff from RDU, who acted as independent practitioners in collaboration with the museum. Alternative Radio also addressed the aftermath of the major earthquake of 22 February 2011, when RDU moved into a customised horse truck after losing its broadcast studio. The exhibition came about because of the cultural resonance of the post-quake story, but also emphasised the long history of the station before that event, and located this small student radio station in the broader heritage discourse of the Canterbury museum, activating the historical, cultural, and personal memories of the station's participants and audiences.
This article discusses the use of radio after major earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2010 and 2011. It draws on archival sources to retrospectively research post-quake audiences in the terms people used during and soon after the earthquakes through personal narratives and Twitter. Retrospective narratives of earthquake experiences affirm the value of radio for communicating the scale of disaster and comforting listeners during dislocation from safe home spaces. In the narratives radio is often compared with television, which signifies electricity supply and associated comfort but also visually confirms the city’s destruction. Twitter provides insights into radio use from within the disaster period, but its more global reach facilitates reflection on online and international radio from outside the disaster-affected area. This research demonstrates the value of archival audience research, and finds that the combination of online radio and Twitter enables a new form of participatory disaster spectatorship from afar.
A scanned copy of a black and white photo of two Radio U Station Managers posing back-to-back. The photograph was taken in 1985.
RWP reporter/director Brent Hansen (later head of MTV Europe) visits the South Island: checking venues, talking to local luminaries, catching live bands and generally taking the pulse of the local music scene. Flying Nun is on the rise (and just starting to attract international attention) although none of the label's major acts are playing near the RWP cameras. Christchurch is in flux waiting on the next big pop act to emerge, while Dunedin is a hive of activity with a new generation of Flying Nun acts starting to come through. Then there's Crystal Zoom...
Radio New Zealand reporter Katy Gossett reports from Linwood.
Radio New Zealand Economics Correspondent reports from outside AMI Stadium.
Radio New Zealand reporter Rachel Graham is in Latimer Square.
Radio NZ's Vicki McKay among those honoured at an awards ceremony in Christchurch for heroism, service or acts of kindness by organisations and individuals during the Canterbury earthquakes.
The Civil Defense understanding of the role of radio in disaster tends to focus on its value in providing essential information during and after the event. However this role is compromised when a station’s premises are destroyed, or rendered inaccessible by official cordons. The Radio Quake study examines how radio stations in Christchurch managed to resume broadcasting in the aftermath of the earthquake of February 22, 2011. In New Zealand’s heavily networked and commercialised radio environment there is a significant disparity between networked and independent stations’ broadcast commitments and resourcing. All Christchurch radio broadcasters were forced to improvise new locations, complex technical workarounds, and responsive styles of broadcasting after the February 22 earthquake, but the need to restore, or maintain, a full on air presence after the earthquake, rested entirely on often financially tenuous, locally owned and staffed independent radio: student, Iwi, community access, and local commercial stations. This paper will explore the resourcefulness and resilience of broadcasters riding out the aftershocks in hotels, motels, bedrooms, and a horse truck, using digital technologies in new ways to reimagine the practice of radio in Christchurch.
Monique Devereux is a Christchurch resident and former Radio New Zealand reporter.
Karen Neill from the Sound Archives at Radio New Zealand's Christchurch office.
Radio New Zealand reporter Jessica Maddock reports from the Christchurch Central City cordon.
Radio New Zealand's Head of News, Don Rood, has just arrived in Christchurch.
Radio New Zealand reporter Jessica Maddock has been to a Civil Defense Briefing.
An infographic giving statistics on the demolition by controlled explosion of Radio Network House.
Radio New Zealand reporter Jessica Maddock reports on a briefing by Mayor Bob Parker.
Deborah Nation recalls how it was in the Sound Archives and Radio New Zealand offices in Christchurch on the day of the February earthquake. The building on the corner of Durham and Chester Street West has been condemned. Please be aware that the first sounds of this report may be upsetting, especially to listenners who experienced the earthquake.
Radio New Zealand Reporter Rachel Graham is at the Christchurch City Council's civil defense headquarters.
Canterbury Earthquake updateRadio New Zealand Head of News Don Rood summarises the recent media conferences.
A page banner promoting an article about the proposed demolition by controlled explosion of Radio Network House.
Former Radio New Zealander..John McDonald is at home in Cashmere and has lost his chimney.
Radio New Zealand National documentary about the Canterbury earthquake, focusing on the personal experiences of those affected. Use Internet Explorer to listen to the MP3 (streaming sound Ogg Vorbis not archived)
Interviews with various people including radio reporters, the Christchurch mayor, police, and civil defence, on Saturday 4 Sept. 2010 after the Canterbury earthquake. Use Internet Explorer to listen to the archived MP3s. The streaming video (Ogg Vorbis) has not been archived.
And when the devastating 6.3 magnitude quake hit Christchurch, people turned to Radio New Zealand for news.
Radio New Zealand reporter Jessica Horne is at her home in Christchurch, which has sunken into the ground.
Radio New Zealand has had to abandon the Christchurch building that was our base and the home of Sound Archives - Nga Taonga Korero. In this edition of The Vault; Deborah Nation draws on recordings made on the day an earthquake finally evicted her and the other people there.
Radio New Zealand reporter Rachel Graham is at the triage centre that has been set up in Latimer Square.
Host of the Radio New Zealand programme This Way Up, currently assisting friends in Christchurch affected by the earthquake.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Sean Crawford, fire service radio communication engineer, at the Woolston USAR base, following Canterbury's earthquake".