October
AugustReform required
In response to "Sounds of silence" (21/7), I for one can truly sympathise with Roy North and other racing followers in country and regional Australia over the lack of radio coverage of racing.
Regrettably, the days when some country stations broadcast three-state racing in conjunction with their local football competitions are now consigned to the pages of history.
The mid-1980s saw to that with the adoption of the "broad-based community" broadcasting philosophy, an American research-based concept designed to attract age groups with high disposable income, e.g. 18-24 and 25-39.
Racing faces another major obstacle in the fact that the industry has no clout in mainstream media. The radio stations Roy mentioned are committed to broadcasting AFL football, as is the ABC.
The only way racing can get back on Roy’s radio is for Victorian Racing Minister and local member Denis Napthine to get together with Tabcorp and secure a powerful AM band frequency such as 1071kHz, vacated by the now-defunct 3CV, and use it to beam the RSN programs into western districts, as they have done in other parts of Victoria.
Hopefully once the television situation is sorted out, the powers that be will turn their attention to radio and start the long and painful process of reform.
Fairview Park (SA)