Niu FM national network ready to hit the airwaves
Title -- 3734 NZ: Niu FM national network ready to hit the airwaves
Date -- 22 August 2002
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- NZ Herald, 21/8/2
Copyright -- NZH
Status -- Unabridged
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PACIFIC ISLAND NETWORK READY TO HIT THE AIRWAVES
by Louisa Cleave
AUCKLAND (NZ Herald/Pacific Media Watch): New Zealand's first Pacific Island radio network is counting down the days to its first broadcast.
The government-funded Niu FM will broadcast mainly in English and initially reach 85 percent of the country on 103.8fm, when it is launched on Saturday.
Niu means coconut and the name was chosen to symbolise the network's importance to Pacific communities, said Simativa Perese, chairman of the National Pacific Radio Trust.
"It's life-giving stuff. It's something that is common to all Pacific people and is central to their diet and community,"said Perese.
"Nothing is wasted with the coconut. You use just about every part of it. We're hopeful this network will be just as central to the lives of Pacific people in New Zealand."
The station is aiming for mainstream appeal, with a target audience of 20 to 40-year-olds and a programming mix of music, talkback discussion, news and current affairs.
Niu FM chief executive Sefita Haouli said younger Pacific islanders would currently listen to Mai FM.
Although the network wanted to attract them, it also had to appeal to slightly older listeners and would not be a "hip-hop" station.
Niu FM is expected to complement Auckland's station 531pi, which will aim for a slightly older demographic.
Both stations will operate out of purpose-built studios at the former Otahuhu District Court.
Perese said the National Pacific Radio trust had worked at "lightning speed" to get the network up and running a year to the day after the government set aside the frequency, and later allocated NZ$7.7 million to the three-year pilot scheme.
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is an independent, non-profit, non-government organisation comprising journalists, lawyers, editors and other media workers, dedicated to examining issues of ethics, accountability, censorship, media freedom and media ownership in the Pacific region. Launched in October 1996, it has links with the Journalism Program at the University of the South Pacific, Bushfire Media based in Sydney, Journalism Studies at the University of PNG (UPNG), the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ), Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, and Community Communications Online (c2o).
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