Happy Festive season from PBSFM

 

Hi from PBS,

It’s our last day for the year, and what a year it’s been!

Bushfires, global pandemic, BLM, lockdowns.  I could go on, but let’s not.

It was the year where our office closed to non-broadcast volunteers, interviewees, artists dropping off music, Studio 5 live and in studio performances,  announcer course & work experience students, staff, and the regular and random walkins. The wonderful and sometimes weird world of PBS and Melbourne music that we knew had suddenly shut due to the pandemic.

To the credit of the announcers, they kept the station going reminding listeners of the heartbeat of Melbourne. Some of the best broadcasts I’ve heard were in 2020.  A plan was put in place to ensure broadcast could continue as safely as possible. Lockdowns likely meant more listeners. Our fundraising messages were more effective, which came in handy as sponsorship and events revenue fell.

Some huge milestones: it was our 40^th year anniversary (heading into our 41^st yesterday). David Heard and Phil MacDougall celebrated 40 years of continuous volunteering. We also had some mad pivots: It was the first time PBS ran outside broadcasts from the broadcaster's homes. One of our founding members became a producer for announcers who couldn’t come into the station. Almost all staffers worked remotely- except for the ones going in to sanitise the station daily, and roles shifted accordingly.

We had some new addition to our program guide in 2020:

Program	Name
Come Together	Ajak Kwai
Against The Tide	Ella Stoeckli
Soak	Hannah McKittrick
Spaces Within Space	Jazz
No Way Back	Jo Malone
Bleeding Black Hearts Revue	Kristen Solury
Homebrew	Kurt Eckardt
Shine a Light	Susie Scurry

 And we farewelled some loyal and long term broadcasters:

Program	Name
Connections	Chris  Xynos
Solaris	Clancy Balen
It's A Gas	Jamie Suppa
All Our Stories	Jess Fairfax
All Our Stories	Kyah Parrott
Against The Tide	Monica Hanns
Fretnet	Steve Passiouras
Metal Genesis	Wendy  Tonkin
Solaris	Xan Coppinger

 And we thank everyone who kept the station running in these challenging times, and who keep it running.

Though we’ve been saying it for years, we’re moving. Next year we anticipate a HUGE year for the station. The move is likely to happen in 2021 and we’ll need to operate two physical sites until the transition has completed. But more on that next year. As usual, we’ll keep you posted.

From all of us at PBS, we hope this year has been as good it could be for you and yours. 

Like all other years, we’re wishing you a happy, safe, and fun festive season, and we’re putting the emphasis on SAFE!  

Stay tuned to PBSFM at 106.7FM, stream via pbsfm.org.au, listen through our app, or via the I heart radio app.

Best regards,

From all of us at PBSFM