Radiofabrik

Radiofabrik 107,5 stands in Salzburg, Austria’s third-largest city beside the northern Alps. It is a community radio station, independent and non-commercial, broadcasting without advertisements. The station began in 1992 as an illegal pirate radio called Radio Bongo 500. After the state monopoly ended, it received a licence in 1998 and became Austria’s second legal community radio. Daily programmes started in 2002, and since 2003 it has broadcast round the clock from its studio inside the ARGE-Kultur Salzburg cultural centre. The station is worth the journey because it gives a voice to under-represented groups. In 2014, 300 volunteers produced programmes in fourteen languages. Founder Wolfgang Hirner later became its chief executive. The board includes university scientists and media professionals. The journalist Georg Wimmer coordinated programmes and won several awards. The station also campaigns for fair licence-fee rules in Salzburg. Visitors find a working radio studio open to new members. Volunteers learn media law, technical skills and journalism in workshops. The building houses offices, studios and production rooms. Outside, the signal reaches 425,000 residents on FM 107.5 and 97.3 MHz. An external studio in Bad Reichenhall extends the service across the border.