RadiOrakel

RadiOrakel (lit. "Radio Oracle") is widely believed to be the world's first woman's radio station. [See, for example, http://underskog.no/sted/496] radiOrakel in Oslo, Norway, was started in 1982, when Norwegian authorities decided to allow local radio stations to operate. Money was then collected at a women’s cultural festival to start up the world’s first women’s radio station. On October 16, 1982, radiOrakel was founded. From the beginning, it was a part-time station, sharing a frequency. Gradually the station has been able to gain more time from the regulator. It now broadcasts 10 or 11 hours a day. [ See "Program" at [http://www.radiorakel.no/] ] Rita Westvik was the first editor in chief. The editor in chief is changed regularly. In the early days the station’s headquarters were at Korsgata 5 but moved together with AKKS (Aksjon Kvinne Kultur Senter- Women’s Cultural Action Centre) to the loft at the Blitz house.

radiOrakel is one of the oldest local radio stations in Norway [ The "experimental period" of local radio in Norway was officially designated as 1983-1986. See Per Jauert, "Local Radio in Western Europe: Conflicts Between the Cultures of Center and Periphery", p. 103 (posted on the internet at [http://www.nordicom.gu.se/common/publ_pdf/36_Jauert.pdf] ] and uses the title of the world’s oldest women’s radio station. The aim of the radio station is to educate women with in the field of radio journalism and sound engineering, and at any time having a membership made up of at least 2/3 women. What this also means in practice is that radiOrakel actively prioritizes and promotes women as both interviewer and interview subject, as well as having a music profile that has at least 50% of all music by women musicians and artists. radiOrakel has between 50,000 and 70,000 documented listeners (1998). People of both sexes listens to radiOrakel. Research suggests that listening audiences are between the age of 15 and 45 years of age and in general educated to graduate level.

Currently there are around 80 people contributing to the radio station in one form or another and during the 25 years radiOrakel has existed it has educated around 1500 people in the various disciplines with in radio broadcasting, with many of these going on to become well known personalities with in Norwegian broadcast media.

The station is constantly renewed by being passed on to younger women. ["WINGS #09-06 RadiOrakel: feminist radio in Norway," Interview with Ingrid Wergeland and Liv Gulbrandsen by Frieda Werden, description and audio link on website http://www.cas.usf.edu/womens_studies/wings.html] It can be heard in Oslo on 99.3 FM.

References

External links

*http://www.radiorakel.no/