2SER

Sydney Australia
Broadcast area	Greater Sydney Area
Frequency	107.3 MHz FM
Programming
Format	Community radio
Network	Community Broadcasting Association of Australia; Community Radio Network (Australia)
Affiliations	University of Technology Sydney, Macquarie University
Ownership
Owner	Sydney Educational Broadcasting Limited
History
First air date	1 October 1979
Former call signs	108.0 MHz FM
Technical information
Licensing authority	ACMA
Transmitter coordinates	33°53′03″S 151°12′06″E / 33.8840451°S 151.2015878°E / -33.8840451; 151.2015878
Links
Public licence information	Profile
Website	https://2ser.com

2SER is a not-for-profit radio station in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, broadcasting on the frequency 107.3 FM and is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. The station has a metro-wide licence and broadcasts a mix of programming styles - specialist music, general magazine and specialist talks. It currently broadcasts a variety of talk shows on topics such as science, current affairs, health, conservation, publishing, gender and queer culture, music, arts and theatre.

2SER is also one of few media outlets that has a special program for prisoners, Jailbreak. The station helped launch the broadcasting careers of Julie McCrossin, Robbie Buck, Richard Kingsmill, Helen Razer, Eleanor Hall, Fenella Kernebone, Steve Ahern, Jess Scully, and Jonathan Harley - all of whom started out on the station as volunteers.

History

On 1 October 1979 the station was opened by the Federal Minister for Education, Senator John Carrick.^[1]

The station broadcasts a wide range of music and talkback programs. Some of these have been on air for more than 30 years, like Back To Funk,^[2] Static^[3] and The Phantom Dancer,^[4] while also making room for experimental and short-lived explorations into metal, pop and spatial audio. Although the station is co-funded by two Universities, University of Technology Sydney and Macquarie University, it remains independent and not-for-profit.

In the mid-1990s the station expanded its programming to emphasise underground dance music^[specify]. This caused friction within the station but 2SER organised a series of highly lucrative fund raising events called Freaky Loops in association with Sydney promoters such as Cryogenesis, Clan Analogue, Club Kooky and Elefant Traks which sustained the move to a new musical format for several years until 2001.^{[citation needed]}

In late 2004, the station was faced with a projected budget shortfall of up to $100,000 that financial year. Management addressed the situation by reducing the number of paid staff, putting forward proposals to scale down the use of its studio at Macquarie University and attempting to cater for a slightly older audience - ideas that were met with frustration from some volunteers.^[5] Internal activism resulted in a softening of policy. In early 2005, the new program grid was launched. Despite the controversy in its lead-up, it proved to be a simple reshuffle of the existing grid rather than a dramatic overhaul.

The station worked on improving its brand across the 2003-2005 period, incorporating a fresh new logo and brand elements, while the station's online presence was also redesigned to deliver a rich content experience.

From the late 2000s and into the 2010s, 2SER has continued to expand its offerings across broadcast and digital, as well as with podcasting. It has won international awards for its collaborations, including a Silver Radio Prize at the New York Festivals Radio Awards for History Lab (with Impact Studios).^[6]

The station's 40th anniversary was celebrated in October 2019 with a podcast series,^[7] exhibition^[8] and book, An Incomplete History of Community Radio: 2SER's 46 Boxes of Stuff.^[9] The station's long-term publication, Listening Post, was also digitised in full and placed in the Australian open access archive Trove.^[10]

Today it runs out of UTS as well as Macquarie University, and the current station manager is Paula Kruger.^[11]