7HOFM Hobart celebrates 90 years on the airwaves

Former Assistant Editor
7HOFM Old Studio
7HOFM's studio at 82 Elizabeth St

Grant Broadcasters-owned 7HOFM is celebrating its 90th birthday, and the station is celebrating almost a decade on air in style.

Hobart’s oldest commercial radio station began broadcasting on August 13, 1930, taking the ‘HO’ call-sign not due to its location but from the engineer who designed the station, Ron Hope.

Incredibly, Hope was just 20 years old when he designed and built the station.

GM Mick Raisin said that while the station may look and sound different now, 7HOFM’s listener focus remains core to its business.

“We feel that our role in the community is extremely important, to keep people informed, keep them motivated and up and positive,” Raisin said.

“There’s a wonderful culture and DNA in Tasmania to buy and support everyone locally…we took that approach with our advertisers and supported them during covid too. I think that’s
put us in pretty good stead now.”

Producer Fred

Producer Fred Rabitsch has spent over 40 years at 7HOFM

Breakfast presenter Mick Newell, who transitioned from a Huon Valley abalone diver to radio host in 2012, said the key to the station’s long-running success is championing localism above all else.

“We never try to be better than anyone else,” he said.

“We’re 100 per cent locals, we’re 100 per cent the same as you guys, no matter what you do for a job, we’ve all got the same two feet on the planet.

“We just try to be real local and a bit of fun every day.”

The team spent the day down at New Norfolk Woolworths celebrating the milestone:

Comment Form

Your email address will not be published.

Recent comments (0)
Post new comment

Jobs

See all