4RO-AM

4RO ROCKHAMPTON

4RO is an AM radio station in Rockhampton, Qld, Australia owned by Prime Television.

FREQUENCY

4RO broadcasts on 990 kHz to the greater Central Queensland region while its sister station Gladstone-based 4CC broadcasts on 927 kHz in Gladstone, 1584 kHz in Rockhampton and in Biloela on 666 kHz.

HISTORY

4RO has been broadcasting in Central Queenland for over 75 years.

The station was launched on July 2 1932. The opening of 4RO resulted in Rockhampton being the first regional town in Queensland, to have two stations.

Commercial radio station 4RK had opened on July 29, the previous year. However 4RK was eventually acquired by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (later to become the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), and is now known as ABC Capricornia.

Coverage of Races and Football were among the very first items to be featured on 4RO earliest transmissions on July 2 1932. The station was officially opened that night by Rockhampton Mayor, JT Lee.

4RO first studio was built on the corner of East and Denham Streets in Rockhampton's CBD.

The studio was on the second floor of the building. An aerial that strung between two masts on the back of the building was responsible for transmitting a power of 200 watts.

In 1953, new transmitters of two kilowatts were built at Pink Lily, and two years later 4RO moved into new studios in East Street, in a building that became known as Rheuben House.

Rheuben House was the home to 4RO until 1970 when a new building designed by architects from Toowoomba were constructed on the corner of Archer Street and Victoria Parade.

The Victoria Parade studio was officially opened by Rockhampton Mayor Rex Pilbeam on August 18 1970.

In 1982, 4RO opened a new transmission site at Port Alma that started transmitting a power of five kilowatts.

The old transmitter at Pink Lily is now used by 4RO's Gladstone based sister station 4CC to broadcast their Rockhampton service.

4RO remained at the Victoria Parade studios until 2007 when they moved to their current location in Quay Street.

CURRENT PROGRAMMING

4RO's slogan is "The Voice of Central Queensland" and the station's programming is a mixture of local and syndicated talkback programs, with automated music programs.

Currently, 4RO broadcasts a local breakfast talkback show from 5am until 9am weekdays hosted by Michael J Bailey and a local Saturday Morning Show from 5am until midday hosted by Owen "Big O" Fuller.

From 9am until midday weekdays 4RO broadcasts the syndicated Greg Carey Morning Show from 4BC in Brisbane, followed by eight hours of jock free automated music programming, including a 2 hour 70's music show between 6pm and 8pm weeknights.

The station takes the Fairfax syndicated Stuart Bocking show from 8pm until midnight from Sydney's 2UE, followed by New Day Australia until 5am, also from 2UE with either Jim Ball or John Kerr.

On Saturdays following the local morning program, 4RO again broadcasts non-stop automated music programming until the following morning.

At 6am on Sunday, 4RO takes Burkes Backyard with Don Burke, another syndicated program from Fairfax's 2UE until 8am before airing four hours of local programming hosted by Owen "Big O" Fuller, prior to another six hours of automated music programming during Sunday afternoon.

From 6pm on Sunday Nights, 4RO takes Fairfax's Sunday Night At The Movies with Dale Sinden and Simon Foster followed by Sharina's Physcic Encounters until midnight.

NEWS SERVICE

Since moving away from their previous arrangements with the station's previous owner, Macquarie Southern Cross Media, 4RO no longer uses their Gold Coast based news service.

Instead, 4RO now relies on the resources of Fairfax, taking their pre-recorded national news service, read from 2UE in Sydney, during local programming.

Currently, 4RO does not broadcast a local news service.

OWNERSHIP

Brisbane company JB Chandler & Co were the first owners of 4RO before selling to J Albert and Son in 1937.

In 1996, 4RO was bought by Reg Grundy's RG Capital Radio.

In 2000, RG Capital launched an FM radio station in Rockhampton called Sea FM. The Sea FM studios were set up inside the 4RO building in Victoria Parade.

At the same time, DMG Regional Radio, launced 4CC's FM sister station Hot FM, to rival Sea FM. The Hot FM studios were in an office in Quay Street in Rockhampton.

In 2004, RG Capital Radio and DMG Regional Radio merged to form Macquarie Regional Radioworks.

The merger meant that the newly formed company was required by law to offload two radio stations as one company cannot own more than two radio stations in the same market. As a result Macquarie decided to sell 4RO and 4CC.

Canberra based Prime Television bought the two AM stations.

Prime also bought a number of other regional stations after similar events occurred in other regional radio markets.

Apart from 4RO and 4CC, Prime now also own 4CA FM and Easy Mix in Cairns, Sea FM and Mix FM in Townsville, 4MK FM and Easy Mix in Mackay, and Zinc and Hot 91 on the Sunshine Coast.

The Sunshine Coast studios are now the head office for the new Prime Radio network.

Macquarie moved the Hot FM studio to Gladstone after the merger and Hot FM's former studio in Rockhampton is now home to 4RO.

4RO's new studios were officially opened by Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow in November 2007.