Andrew Denton, Jessica Rowe and Hamish Macdonald are just some of the noteworthy Australian media personalities who have cut their teeth as presenters at Bathurst's 2MCE studio over its illustrious 45-year history.
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Throughout May, the community radio station will air a host of birthday messages from presenters past and present, as well as archived broadcasts to honour the important milestone.
Station manager Lisa McLean said 2MCE has played a vital role across five decades keeping the Central West connected and informed, while also nurturing generations of media professionals.
"So many noteworthy names in Australian media have been through the doors here as Charles Sturt University [CSU] communications students," Ms McLean said.
"There's also the diverse array of community volunteers over the years who have presented programs to keep Central West listeners informed and entertained.
The station aired its first public broadcast on May 8, 1976 as the first non-metropolitan community radio broadcaster in Australia.
Ms McLean said 2MCE has gone through many changes over the years, but the drive to encourage on-air professionalism and forward-thinking audience engagement has remained constant.
"The key to 2MCE's longevity has been the relationship between student and community volunteers: the older folk share their knowledge of presenting on air, while the younger folk impart their social media expertise to help grow an audience," she said.
"While we're relishing in our past, we're constantly looking to the future: we're now streaming online and have on-demand podcasts, all to keep up to date with the trends of our listeners."
Popular 2MCE weekday programs include Talking Newspaper, Live and Local Breakfast, Community Drive and The Wire, as well as a host of weekly programs dedicated to music, feminism, LGBTQIA+ issues and multiculturalism.
The station is also home to National Radio News [NRN], the national news service for the community broadcasting sector, which regularly takes on CSU journalism students as cadets.
Board member Brett Van Heekeren, who is a 2MCE life member, said the role of community radio stations as hubs for local voices has only strengthened over time.
"Community radio is now moving into other media spaces, so those hubs are now disseminating content through phones and computers as well as speakers," Mr Van Heekeren said.
"But the focus for community radio is still local people, local groups and local voices, and that aspect will never go away."
For more information, visit the 2MCE website.
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