ABC NewsRadio

Infobox Radio Station
name = ABC NewsRadio


area = flagicon|Australia Australia - Some Areas AM/FM & [http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/listen Internet]
airdate = August 1994
frequency = Terrestrial - Variable
Foxtel and Austar - TV Channel 875 / Radio Channel 43
format = Talk
owner = Australian Broadcasting Corporation
website = [http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/ www.abc.net.au/newsradio/]

ABC NewsRadio is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio service devoted to delivering live and 24-hour news updates and information. The service is available on a number of broadcasts right around Australia, including AM/FM radio, and online via the Internet.

Originally called the "Parliamentary and News Network" (PNN), the AM/FM radio network is chartered to broadcast live the proceedings of parliament, either the House of Representatives or the Senate, as specified by the standing orders. Also broadcast, at the end of each day's sitting, is a recording of Question Time for the chamber that was not broadcast live that day. These restrictions do not apply to the other broadcasts of Newsradio, or to new rural and regional transmitters in 2006 (see below)Fact|date=February 2007.

Parliamentary broadcasting was commenced by Ben Chifley's government on 10 July 1946 [ [http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1997-98/98rn42.htm Parliamentary Library: Australian Political Records (Research Note 42 1997-98)] ] , on ABC Radio. These broadcasts received their own frequencies in the 1980s as PNN. The PNN/ABC NewsRadio service was introduced in August, 1994 to utilise the Parliamentary broadcasting frequencies which were not being used when Parliament was not in session.

ABC NewsRadio has a 24-hour news format, including extensive finance, science and IT reports, as well as extended reports from the ABC's local and international news sources. NewsRadio also rebroadcasts international programming from the BBC, DW-Radio, Radio Netherlands and "All Things Considered" from NPR. On AM and FM radio, NewsRadio also broadcasts Australian Football League matches on weekends in New South Wales and Queensland, where the National Rugby League is the more popular football competition and thus is broadcast on ABC Local Radio services in those two states.

ABC NewsRadio callsigns for stations on the AM radio band are always "xPB", where "x" is the number denoting the particular state or territory and "PB" stands for "Parliamentary Broadcasting". ABC NewsRadio stations on the FM radio band use callsigns of the format "xPNN".

ABC NewsRadio also uses resources from around the world such as news bulletins and programs from the BBC.

From September 2001, live audio streaming of the 24-hour news format was extended so that when Parliament is in session, listeners who have Internet access may still receive the NewsRadio service even when the NewsRadio network is broadcasting Parliamentary proceedings over the air. From 2004, this was extended to digital satellite.

In 2005 it was announced that up to seventy new NewsRadio stations would be rolled out across rural and regional areas of Australia. This roll out is scheduled to commence in 2006 and is expected to take three years. This expansion of ABC NewsRadio services will raise the percentage of the Australian population who can receive the NewsRadio signal from 78% to an expected 95%.

On-Air Voices

The recent recruitment of ABC stalwart, Jennifer Byrne, and the retirement of David Lord, allowed for a revamp of the on-air lineup, which currently consists of the following:

* Monday to Friday, 5:30am till 9:00am - Glen Bartholomew, Marius Benson, and Debbie Spillane.
* Monday to Friday, 9:00am till 12:00pm - John Barron.
* Monday to Friday, 12:00pm till 4:00pm - Various.
* Monday to Friday, 4:00pm till 7:00pm - Jennifer Byrne, and Mike Vincent.
* Monday to Friday, 7:00pm till 9:00pm - Kel Richards.
* Saturday to Sunday, 5:30am till 9:00am - Mike Gardner.

At other times, programming from outside sources, mainly the BBC World Service, is used.

Frequencies

"The following carry parliamentary services, including Question Time, when parliament is in session.""Australian Football League broadcasts may also interrupt news coverage."

*Adelaide - 972 kHz AM
*Brisbane - 936 kHz AM
*Burnie/Wynyard - 90.5 MHz FM
*Cairns - 101.1 MHz FM
*Cairns North - 96.3 MHz FM
*Canberra - 103.9 MHz FM
*Darwin - 102.5 MHz FM
*Gold Coast - 95.7 MHz FM
*Gosford - 98.1 MHz FM
*Goulburn - 99.9 MHz FM
*Hobart - 747 kHz AM
*Latrobe Valley - 95.1 MHz FM
*Launceston - 92.5 MHz FM
*Mackay - 104.3 MHz FM
*Melbourne - 1026 kHz AM
*Newcastle - 1458 kHz AM
*Richmond/Tweed - 98.5 MHz FM
*Rockhampton - 105.5 MHz FM
*Perth - 585 kHz AM
*Port Stephens - 95.1 MHz FM
*Sydney - 630 kHz AM
*South West Slopes - 91.5 MHz FM
*Tuggeranong - 99.9 MHz FM
*Wagga Wagga - 105.1 MHz FM
*Upper Hunter, New South Wales (Scone, Muswellbrook, Aberdeen, Singleton and surrounds) - 104.9 MHz FM

Other broadcasts

"The following carry 24-hour news coverage, without parliamentary or sport interruption."

*Webcast (except during Olympics Games periods) - [http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/listen/ ABC NewsRadio webcast]
*Free digital radio (Melbourne only) - [http://www.abc.net.au/radio/digital/default.htm ABC Digital Radio]
*Free satellite radio - [http://www.abc.net.au/reception/services/selfhelp_satellite.htm ABC Self-Help Satellite]
*Pay-TV cable or satellite radio (Foxtel and Austar) - tv channel 875 / radio channel 43"Free digital TV may also commence in future - radio channel 204"

Podcasts of regularly recorded segments are also available at [http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/podcast/ NewsRadio Podcasts] .

References

ee also

*Al Jazeera Live (Middle East)
*ANTV (Venezuelan)
*BBC Parliament (UK)
*BBC Radio 5 Live (UK)
*C-SPAN (US)
*CPAC (Canadian)
*The Knesset Channel (Israel) [http://www.knesset.gov.il/]

External links

* [http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio ABC NewsRadio]