Wow FM (100.7
FM, callsign "2WOW") is a
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
radio station based in
St Marys in Sydney. The station broadcasts to part of
Western Sydney
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
, mainly centered on the
City of Penrith
The City of Penrith is a local government area in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the city is located in Penrith, located about west of Sydney's central business district. It occupies part of the traditional lands of the ...
. Wow FM is a
volunteer
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
-run organisation and is funded through listener support, grants and limited commercial sponsorship.
Programming
The station's programs cover a range of music styles including
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
,
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
, multicultural and Christian programming, although for vast parts of the day, relays satellite programming from the Community Radio Network (CRN). Wow FM also broadcasts programs that are presented by special interest groups or in languages other than English.
The station encourages all listeners to become members and to volunteer to present programs of interest to the community
History
In June 2001, "Way Out West (WOW) FM" beat one other radio station for a permanent license from the Australian Broadcasting Authority. This was due to the perceived need for multicultural programs in the Penrith area, which WOW FM devoted a large proportion of their airtime, although only 10% of Penrith LGA residents come from a non-English-speaking background.
In September 2001, 2WOW was a finalist for the Hillbilly Radio Station of the Year Award from the Australian Independent Country Music Awards, along with every other station that plays country music.
In November 2001, WOW FM began broadcasting national news updates produced in Bathurst by media students at Charles Sturt University.
WOW FM added a "Kids Club" feature that allows local primary school students to learn about radio broadcasting and promote their schools.
The station joined the "Work for the Dole" project by giving thirty unemployed young people the chance to study interviewing, computer skills, and Internet broadcasting,
and introduced new programs for refugees that have moved into the listening area.
See also
*
List of radio stations in Australia
References
External links
*
Radio stations in Sydney
Community radio stations in Australia
Radio stations established in 2001
{{Australia-radio-station-stub