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Yeah, read it in the Herald-Sun today.
Without wanting to sound biased (*ahem*  ) I really don't know what the hell the ABA were thinking here. Fine, there's a large gay and lesbian community, but I'm struggling in a way to think of why they'd need their own radio station. I'm not in the least bit homophobic, nor do I oppose gays in any other way, but to devote an entire frequency, 24/7, is a bit odd. Are homosexuals really that different from heterosexuals that they need their own station to talk about those pressing issues that concern them exclusively? Haven't we been trying to push the message that this isn't the case?
The aboriginal radio station I can see the need for, though, again, the devote an entire frequency to it seems a bit much, given that, excluding Tasmania, there are fewer aboriginals in Victoria than any other state. Can it really be said to be representative of the community? Why not have an Islamic, Greek or Taoist radio station as well, given that I'm sure all these minorities are just as well represented (almost certainly more so) than the aboriginal people. Or am I being too utilitarianistic?
The Christian radio? Well, fair enough, as much as it pains me to say it (as an atheist) I feel that there is a big enough demand to warrant this one. We live in a predominantly Christian nation, so I suppose the need is there - even though I listened to it occassionally on its test broadcasts and it's about as professional as - erm...... it's not very professional.
But the one that really gets me is the bloody SYN station. You know why they got it (according to the people who allocate the frequencies)? Because they represent the youth better than any of the other stations. Uh-huh, right. This is the middle-aged, middle-class, conservative moral-majority telling the youth what it is that best represents them. This SYN (which I have never, ever heard of before) got the "youth station" licence ahead of Street FM (which actively participates in the community, performing important charity work rather than just talking about it), Hitz FM (which, back in its day a few years ago - i.e. when they were given test broadcasts lasting longer than two fecking weeks - was consistantly rating in the top 5 radio stations in the state, and the most popular radio station for the age group that we're talking about here - i.e. the 16-25 group or whatever) and Kiss FM (arguably the most professionally run of the lot).
Yet they give it to a bunch of self-righteous uni students. Apparently holding drawn-out, opinionated forums on the radio about uranium mining, deforestation and socialism will do a world of good for the youth community in urban Melbourne. I'm glad the ABA told me what it is I want in a radio station, because I wouldn't want to think I had a say in anything. I'm sure that those "techno" music stations would just encourage me to take drugs and become a criminal anyway, so it's probably for the best. Afterall, what better representative of the average Melbourne youth than some Marxist twat who's been studying environmental law at uni for the past 7 years?
Sigh.
Even as a heterosexual, caucasian atheist, I still think that the "youth station" is least representative of my needs as an 18 year old student, which is, presumably, the type of person they're aiming the damn thing at.
Anyway, it's sad to see all those stations, who have worked tirelessly without profit for years (the past 8 years in the case of Hitz FM) only to be pipped a no-name organisation who have only just arrived on the scene.
Where's the justice. 
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KISS gone forever
