Devonair Radio, the new commercial local radio service for Exeter and Torbay, will be on the air later this year.
Mr. Norman Devonport, the chairman of the consortium that was awarded the franchise by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, said on Tuesday that the Exeter studios were several months ahead of schedule.
This means that the original opening date of February next year has been brought forward.
Work is already well advanced on the Exeter studios at St. Davids Hill and, this week members of the executive group that set up DevonAir talked about the station’s progress.
Mr. Devonport also introduced DevonAir’s first two employees at a press conference.
Mr. Maurice Vass, a man with 15 years’ experience in media and regional broadcasting, took up his on Monday as Managing Director.
He was joined by Mr. Nick Johnson, DevonAir as chief engineer, who has been deputy chief engineer at Plymouth Sound for the last five years.
It is costing £600,000 to set up the twin service in Devon – the world’s first because of the division of studios and programmes.
But Mr. Devonport predicted that twin or even triple radio stations for different centres of population could become commonplace in order to serve the smaller communities.
He said that the studios at Exeter and at Harbour Point Torquay, would provide equal capabilities to broadcast both areas.
Mr. Devonport said the executive group had taken the new station as far as possible in its preparation and now the professional executive staff were being brought in.
“It is our policy to employ as many Devonians as we can, particularly those who’ve gone out and learned the skills elsewhere before bringing them back to Devon,” he added.
Mr. Devonport told a press conference that no one who had wanted to invest in the station had been turned away.
He also revealed that two large newspaper organisations had a 15 per cent holding in the station.
Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Daily Mail and owners of Exeter’s Western Times Company have a ten per cent holding, while the Mirror Group, which owns the Sunday Independent of Plymouth holds the other five per cent.
Western Morning News – 6 June 1980
