"You're listening to Folk On Sunday, on Kidnappers Community Access Radio, 1431am, with Mitch and Robyn Park."
That's more or less how our radio programmes begin, every Sunday from 3 to 4pm.
We first went to air on 1 May 1996, with a Mayday tribute and playing old records and cassettes from our own personal collection. We continued each week with artists such as the Watersons, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Pete and various other Seegers, Weavers, Woody, Leadbelly, Ray, Archie or Cilla Fisher, Northumbrian pipers, High Level Ranters, all the oldies but goodies.
Over the years we have included feild recordings and private tapes of New Zealand folk performers at concerts and folk festivals and gradually CDs have been added until now, when most of the tracks come from CDs, most of them complementary, from singers and recording companies all around the world. These have included mudcatters; Rick Feilding, Art Thieme and Les Barker, to name just a few. We have included tribute shows for birthdays (Pete Seeger) deaths (Sidney Carter, Rick, and Bob Copper recently) and visiting performers as well as 'Specials' on a theme such as railways or sea songs or May or Easter or Christmas - we try to keep up with world happenings and seasonal festivals.
This morning, on what should have been our 8th anniversary, we received a phone call to say the Trustees have sacked the Station Manager (who has been responsible for keeping KCAR up and running since its inception, about 9 years ago), the locks on the doors have been changed and the station is silent. We are off the air!
The Board of Trustees include an accountant, a bank clerk, a lawyer and one other, I'm not sure who. It appears as if they're trying to 'upgrade' the station but there is a very strong following of listeners who enjoy the amateur aspect, the accessability and airing of local issues and the older style of music, mainly country, celtic and folk (but with 40 year old pop songs appearing too).
This is what Mitch posted to Folk dj and NZfolk this morning:

Sorry folks, our eighth anniversary programme will not be broadcast, and until you see our next playlist, there is no more Folk on Sunday.

The Board of Trustees has abruptly sacked the station's founder manager, changed the locks on the doors and turned off the transmitter.
All this without notice to any of the community broadcasters, volunteer announcers and programme providers.

We hope to be able to resume fairly soon but our programme may end up
being cancelled. We will let you know soon, once impending court action has sorted out the position.


I guess I have just one more thing to say -
High handed, money focussed Boards of Trustees are RUBBISH!
(Sorry for shouting - maybe this should be a BS thread.)
Robyn