Midwest Radio Network

After the license to establish 2LT was granted to Midwest Radio Network (then named Lithgow Broadcasters Pty Ltd) in 1938 it was proposed a trade union lease the license on a ten-year term basis, and for the union, the Professional Radio Employees Institute, to build and own the station, a first for a union in Australia.[10] The proposal did not eventuate and Midwest proceeded to develop the station, building a transmitting aerial and a studio at Bowenfels. The station was to broadcast 10 hours a day initially.[11]

A contract for the erection of the tubular steel aerial mast, which was to be 218 feet in height[12] was entered into in January 1939 while tenders were called for other buildings to be built. It was intended the mast would be finished in six weeks and the station would be on air by Easter 1939.[13] The erection of the mast which had been extended to 228 feet in height was a disaster. A pulley failed causing the newly constructed mast to buckle and fall. It was extensively damaged. A new mast had to be commissioned which took two to three weeks to build.[14] In the end the two contractors commissioned to erect the mast were unable to do so. The Mayor of Lithgow Bob Fullagar, who was Manager of the Lithgow State Mine at the time, took over the job and had the mast installed.[15]

The official opening of 2LT occurred on 2 July 1939. The station was opened by the Australian Minister for Customs Mr. J. N. Lawson, who in congratulating Midwest Radio Network (then Lithgow Broadcasters), said the Australian system of broadcasting provided greater variety, and unlike stations in Britain that were under government control, had greater freedom, "and freedom in broadcasting was just as important a bulwark as freedom of the press."[16]

In January 1940, six months after 2LT first went to air the station, along with a number of cottages and State Pine forests, was endangered by bushfires but survived without damage.[17]

On 13 May 1940 Australia's Postmaster-General imposed a restriction on 2LT preventing it from allowing two members of the Western Mining Federation to speak on the station because of ‘objectionable remarks’ including their description of the word ‘scab.’ The Postmaster General directed the two men be barred from speaking on the station again unless scripts of what they were to say were submitted to his department and approved beforehand. The minister also directed the station itself not be able to comment on industrial matters unless it followed the same procedure. He said he had directed the Crown Solicitor to investigate the powers of the government in such matters.[18]

The Postmaster-General linked the station ban to his government's concern about communism infiltrating the unions. He was quoted as saying "there were only two classes of Australians today, those who were loyal to the country and those who were not." The Minister said anyone who had information that would assist the government in its fight against communism and enemy agents should, submit it to the nearest police station, or send it to him direct.[19]

The Australian Government restriction imposed on 2LT occurred as a national coal mining strike was entering its third month, with most coal mines in Australia located in and around Lithgow. The strike brought unprecedented attention from the Australian Government as it had come in the midst of World War II and was depriving manufacturing plants focused on the development of military equipment and arms, including the Lithgow Small Arms Factory, of vitally needed coal supplies. Miners were being pressed by unions to stay on strike despite pleas from Prime Minister Robert Menzies that the War Effort was under threat. "If we do not obtain ample supplies of coal soon our war programme must be curtailed drastically", he said at the time. This is unthinkable when our strong and calculating enemy is throwing all resources into a terrific gamble for world domination", he said.[20]

From February 1942 the Australian Broadcasting Commission by arrangement with the Federation of Commercial Broadcasters began providing news services to 2LT and other regional Australian stations free of charge.[21]

In December 1943 the 2LT General Manager Desmond Day banned all forty records by the Andrews Sisters. At the time he said the standard of music on the station, which he took over as General Manager 5 months earlier, was very low and consisted of nothing but "boogie-woogie and hot jazz." The Manager said at the time the War had increased the average age of listeners to 35 to 40, and he hadn't met anyone over the age of 35 that liked the Andrews Sisters. "I don’t believe in tom-toms. The people want melody and good vocalists", he said.[22]

Three news services a day covering national and international news were scheduled to commence in May 1945 on 2LT, on relay from 2GB Sydney, by arrangement with The Sydney Morning Herald. ‘The aim was to give an objective, balanced and entirely factual survey of overseas and Australian events as reliable as the Herald itself and free from comment of any kind except when a survey of press and other opinion on any event of importance abroad becomes in itself a matter of news interest. Aside from international and Australian news wires, it was noted The Sydney Morning Herald had correspondents in London, New York, India, and China, and war correspondents in Western and Southern Europe, the Supreme Allied Headquarters in Europe, and General MacArthur's headquarters in the Pacific[23]

The Australian government however moved to block 2LT and other stations taking the new news service as it would replace the existing service provided by the government-controlled Australian Broadcasting Commission, which had been provided free of cost to the station since February 1942. The Acting Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced the Postmaster-General would refuse to provide landlines for the new service. For some stations however, including 2LT, the government would allow landlines to be allocated provided the stations agreed to also broadcast the ABC news.[21]

In February 1946 2LT joined a network of 25 Macquarie Network and co-operative stations Australia-wide to broadcast a boxing match, which was the largest hook-up ever for a boxing match in Australia.[24]

2LT assisted in a statewide appeal in February 1946 for the Food for Britain Fund.[25]

On 1 December 1946, at the direction of Lithgow Police, 2LT broadcast a warning to thieves who had stolen a bag of potatoes from a farm at nearby Portland that the potatoes had been treated with copper sulphate poison. The police were concerned the thieves may have tried to sell the potatoes unaware they were poisoned.[26]

Western Newspapers was the majority owner of Midwest Radio Network in 1948, at a time when the Australian government was being pressed to end the monopoly of broadcasting station ownership by newspaper groups, with parts of the Chifley Cabinet wanting station licenses re-allocated, or for all broadcasting to be nationalised.[27]

On 1 November 1950 an appeal on 2LT brought together 150 men to form search parties for two young boys who went missing in Lithgow. The search party later grew to 500 and was joined by a bloodhound who had earlier discovered the body of a 70-year-old man.[28]

By 1952 Midwest Radio Network (then Lithgow Broadcasters Pty Ltd) which had one asset, 2LT, was majority-owned by Mirror Pictorial Assets Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the UK-based Mirror newspaper group. In 1952 the Australian parliament passed a law forbidding foreign companies from having a controlling interest in Australian radio stations. On 23 January 1953, Mirror announced it was disposing of its majority shareholdings in nine stations including 2LT. After the sale its interest in Midwest, and consequently 2LT, was reduced to 28.9%.[29]

Midwest Radio Network's 2LT joined Sydney station 2GB in February 1954 sending clothes to the flood-stricken New South Wales north coast after an appeal launched by Sydney Mayor Pat Hills.[30]

Bushfires were raging eight miles from the city of Lithgow on Christmas Day 1956 when 2LT broadcast a call for volunteers to fight the fires. As a result, a number of the fires, which until then were blazing unchecked, were able to be put out.[31]

In 1964 Midwest Radio Network was partially owned by London-based Associated Television. On 29 June 1964 Associated announced it had sold its interests in 6 radio stations and eight television stations. As a result of the sale John Fairfax Limited had become a substantial shareholder of Midwest whose only asset at the time remained 2LT.[32]

In 1986 Midwest's radio interests were transferred to a newly established public company named Midwest Radio Limited, which was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Midwest retained a shareholding in the new company but the radio assets were under the control of the new entity.

In 1996 KISS FM was established and began broadcasting that year.

2LT won the Single Major Specific Community Project in the 1997 Rawards (Radio Industry Awards) for a 900 2LT Road Safety Campaign.[33]

In 2002 Midwest in conjunction with Big News Network and Mainstream Media began putting together a global network of news portals, extending news coverage to each major region, nation, city in the world and U.S. states as well as sites focused on business, sport, entertainment and various industries.[34]

Midwest Radio Limited was taken over by former listed company Unitel Media Group Limited in a deal first proposed to the Australian Securities Exchange ominously on 11 September 2001. Unitel's primary asset was a 49.9% interest in Star Broadcasting Network, which owned and operated River 94.9 in Ipswich, Queensland, and a number of regional radio stations in South Australia. The deal closed on 18 June 2002.[35] On 30 August 2002 the name of the public company was changed to 'Media Corporation Australia Limited'.

Within months, in January 2003, Unitel Media, now owned by Media Corporation Australia, suddenly and surprisingly sold its Star Broadcasting Network holding to its joint venture partner Rural Press Limited. No price was disclosed, nor was any reason given for the sale.[36]

In 2006 receivers were appointed to Media Corporation Australia Limited. Directors of that company requested Midwest Radio Network, which held a first charge over the company, to appoint a receiver which it did. The company's radio stations were operated by the receivers for four years during which time they attempted to sell the assets without success.

In January 2008 the Australian Communications and Media Authority proposed variations to the technical specifications of the company's broadcasting stations which would enable more people living in the Blue Mountains area to listen to the company's radio services.[37]

On 3 January 2010 Midwest Radio Network terminated the receivership of Media Corporation Australia Limited and took back control of the company's broadcasting stations.[38]

Midwest Radio Network's Jennifer Menchin won the Best News Presenter and the Best Talk Presenter at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), the national broadcasting industry awards presentation conducted by Commercial Radio Australia.[39] The (ACRAs) are held annually by Commercial Radio Australia.

In 2002 Midwest Radio Network helped establish and took over the running of the eNewspaper network of online news portals in conjunction with Big News Network. These portals use a newspaper presentation and name and each one is localised to a country, region, U.S. state or industry. A substantial portion of news content on the sites is drawn from Big News Network, a news agency headquartered at Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates. Other news content is provided by contracted news wires, contributors, and syndicated news content providers such as Newsmax Media and Financial Content. As part of an arrangement with Q Network the sites also feature movie reviews by James Kendrick who has been publishing reviews for Q Network since 1998.[40][41] As of 2013 the network consists of over 100 portals. Some examples of the company's eNewspaper titles are Asia Bulletin, New York Telegraph, Australian Herald, San Diego Sun, London Mercury, Boston Star, California Telegraph, Texas Guardian, Florida Statesman, International Travel News and Business Sun. The eNewspaper network operated by Midwest is the second global network of news sites established in conjunction with Big News Network. That company also operates what it calls the News.Net directory of sites in tandem with Mainstream Media, which was established in 1996 and began development of the News.Net sites in 1999, which include such sites as US News.Net, Europe News.Net, China News.Net, Britain News.Net, Boston News.Net, Toronto News.Net, Miami News.Net, and Hong Kong News.Net.[42] Midwest Radio Network and Mainstream Media share facilities and offices in Sydney, Dubai and Bahrain. The group has news desks in Sydney, Perth, Dubai and Delhi.[43]

This station continues to be operated by the company and is now in its 80th year of broadcasting. Midwest Radio Network was originally established to act as licensee for the station. Although the broadcasting license for 2LT was granted in June 1938[3] the station did not begin broadcasting until July 1939.[1] The new station formed part of the Macquarie Central Western Network, and featured that network's programming as well as locally produced content. The station has been operating continuously since 1939 and now broadcasts to an extended coverage area which includes Lithgow, Bathurst, Oberon and other parts of the Central Tablelands in the Central West, as well as the Blue Mountains.

In 2011 Jennifer Menchin from 2LT won two Australian Commercial Radio Awards in the categories of best talk presenter and best news presenter.[44][45]

In 1996 Midwest Radio Network sought and was granted a license to establish an FM radio station to complement 2LT. The company was granted a license to broadcast on 95.3MHz and began operating as KISS 95.3. Later a frequency conflict with a Sydney station led to a change to 107.9 MHz and a name change. Finally in 2011 the station was renamed to MoveFM.[46]

On 15 April 2004 MoveFM's former frequency was auctioned for $106 million by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. In exchange the Tribunal awarded Midwest two licenses for additional FM frequencies and areas, allowing them to extend coverage by operating translator stations in the Blue Mountains.[47] Despite having been granted the licenses,[48] extended works on the tower which is to site the antennas, and delays in obtaining satisfactory power and radiation pattern specifications, has delayed the official launch of the services, which are now not expected to be fully operational until 2020.[40]

The company also owns a hotel reservation website, which it claims is not a significant part of its business,[2] and has land holdings in Port Macquarie and Geraldton.

• 2LT AM radio station frequency 900 kHz servicing Lithgow, New South Wales, Bathurst, New South Wales, and Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Australia
• Move FM radio station frequency 107.9 MHz servicing Lithgow, New South Wales, Bathurst, New South Wales and Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Australia
• 99.5 MHz FM translator servicing the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) west of Sydney, Australia (to be formally launched in 2021)
• 101.1 MHz FM translator servicing the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) west of Sydney, Australia (to be formally launched in 2021)

• Regions
  • Africa Leader – covers the continent and major cities and countries of Africa
  • Arab Herald – covers Arab speaking and Arab culture countries including GCC members
  • Asia Bulletin – dedicated to the Asian region as a whole as well as individual countries
  • Asia Pacific Star – focuses on China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Oceania
  • Caribbean Herald – links news from island nations in the Caribbean including Haiti, the Bahamas, Barbados, El Salvador, and Cuba
  • Central Asia Times – features news from the former Soviet states with names ending with "stan" as well as Mongolia
  • Europe Sun – a resource for news of the European Union and member nations
  • Herald Globe – The group's international publication covering world news and business
  • Middle East Star – monitors the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and other topics relevant to the region
  • Southeast Asia Post – news from around Southeast Asia including from Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia
• Nations
  • Afghanistan Sun – covers the country nationally and from an international perspective
  • Argentina Star – includes major coverage from the capital Buenos Aires and other cities
  • Australian Herald – national publication with coverage of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, and the capital Canberra
  • Bangladesh Sun – has its main emphasis on the country, Dhaka the capital, and the Southeast Asia region
  • Brazil Sun – features news from across the country including São Paulo, the Federal capital Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro
  • Cambodian Times – covering the Kingdom of Cambodia (formerly Kampuchea), with a main focus on the capital and largest city, Phnom Penh
  • Canada Standard – national service with news from the major cities Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec
  • China National News – covers the nation and provinces Hong Kong and Macau
  • Greek Herald – the main emphasis of this newspaper is on the Greek economy and events in Athens
  • Haiti Sun – country portal with some coverage of other Caribbean nations
  • India Gazette – national publication named after newspaper first published in 1780
  • Iran Herald – claims to report independent news from and about the Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Iraq Sun – publishes breaking news from across the nation and the capital Baghdad
  • Irish Sun – covers Ireland, named after Dublin newspaper of 1880
  • Israel Herald – news of the Jewish state with emphasis on the Middle East conflict
  • Jamaican Times – displays news of the country and its largest city and capital Kingston
  • Japan Herald – coverage of Japan and its bigger cities including Tokyo and Osaka
  • Kenya Star – national coverage with substantial content related to events in Nairobi
  • Malaysia Sun – breaks news from around the country and nearby islands
  • Mexico Star – national stories together with news of Mexican interest from abroad
  • Nepal National – long time English language resource for Nepal and its capital Kathmandu
  • New Zealand Star – covers the North Island and South Island with national and local news
  • Nigeria Sun – presents news for the Federal Republic of Nigeria
  • North Korea Times – claims to be the oldest news website covering North Korea
  • Pakistan Telegraph – originates and sources news for the country and cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad
  • Philippine Times – portal devoted to news about the Philippines, in particular Manila
  • Russia Herald – features stories from around the nation and international articles pertinent to Russia
  • Sierra Leone Times – Freetown-focused site with some focus on the West African region
  • Singapore Star – portal concentrating on Singapore, uses The surprise of Asia as a slogan
  • Sri Lanka Source – presents topical coverage of events in Sri Lanka and the capital Colombo
  • Taiwan Sun – covers the island nation internally, its relationship with China, and the Asia-Pacific region
  • The UK News – regional site with the main focus on England
  • The US News – breaks national news and stories of US interest from around the world
  • Trinidad Times – a site dedicated to Trinidad & Tobago with some regional coverage
  • Venezuela Star – reports breaking news from Venezuela and its capital Caracas
  • Vietnam Tribune – long-established portal focused on Vietnam and its capital Hanoi
  • Zimbabwe Star – news portal servicing Zimbabwe which became independent from the UK in 1980
• Cities
  • Albuquerque Express – covering Albuquerque in New Mexico
  • Atlanta Leader – focuses on Atlanta, has the slogan You can rely on the Leader
  • Austin Globe – predominantly news of the Texan capital with some state coverage
  • Baltimore Star – a news portal for Baltimore, Maryland
  • Baton Rouge Post – primarily based on Baton Rouge with stories from around Louisiana
  • Beijing Bulletin – composite news site for the northern China metropolis
  • Birmingham Star – covers the city, and the state of Alabama
  • Boston Star – Boston, named after the Boston Daily Star of 1845
  • Buffalo Breeze – publication centers around the city, and the state of New York
  • Charlotte Star – covers Charlotte and the state of North Carolina
  • Chicago Chronicle – Chicago portal named after newspaper first published in 1880
  • Cincinnati Sun – the voice of Cincinnati together with national and international news
  • Cleveland Star – focuses on Cleveland with state coverage of Ohio
  • Dallas Sun – Dallas publication with slogan Where the sun never sets
  • Denver Sun – covering Denver, Colorado, publication claims to be the Gateway to the Rockies
  • Detroit Star – news from around Detroit with segments from Michigan
  • Dublin News – online newspaper version of a Dublin (Ireland) newspaper of 1858
  • Hong Kong Herald – reports the news from the densely populated province of Hong Kong
  • Houston Mirror – Houston, Texas, publication named after a newspaper published in 1928
  • Indianapolis Post – covering Indianapolis, has same name as 1927 newspaper
  • Kansas City Post – Kansas City, Missouri publication named after newspaper produced in 1906
  • Knoxville Times – similar named newspaper of 1932 preceded this publication focused on Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Las Vegas Herald – covers Las Vegas, the gaming capital of the world, and the state of Nevada
  • London Mercury – carries on a newspaper tradition first established in 1682 in London, England
  • Los Angeles Herald – based on a traditional newspaper first published in 1900
  • Memphis Sun – presents news from Memphis, Tennessee
  • Miami Mirror – news portal reporting on Miami and Miami-Dade County, Florida
  • Milwaukee Sun – named after Milwaukee, Wisconsin newspaper of 1924
  • Nashville Herald – Nashville, Tennessee portal named after 1831 newspaper
  • New Orleans Sun – inspired by 1838 newspaper servicing New Orleans
  • New York Telegraph – publishes news from and about New York City like its newspaper predecessor of 1845
  • Oklahoma City Sun – covering Oklahoma City
  • Orlando Echo – online newspaper focusing on Orlando and southeastern Florida
  • Paris Guardian – covers Paris, France with European and international segments
  • Perth Herald – news portal for Perth, the West Australian capital
  • Peking Press – comprehensive site focused on Beijing and mainland China
  • Philadelphia Herald – displays news from around Philadelphia
  • Phoenix Herald – generates news coverage of the city and the state of Arizona
  • Pittsburgh Star – covers the city and Pennsylvania state
  • Raleigh Times – online news site adopting the name of an 1848 Raleigh, North Carolina newspaper
  • Sacramento Sun – streams news of Sacramento, California similar to its newspaper predecessor of 1848
  • Salt Lake City Sun – services Salt Lake City in Utah
  • San Antonio Post – covers San Antonio
  • San Diego Sun – publishing San Diego, California news using the name of a newspaper started in 1881
  • San Francisco Star – portal with the name of a San Francisco newspaper of 1851
  • San Jose Sun – focuses on San Jose, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area
  • Seattle Bulletin – online version of similarly named newspaper produced in 1903
  • Shanghai Sun – composite news portal devoted to China's largest city
  • St Louis Star – St Louis, Missouri publication with the slogan Striving, seeking and unyielding
  • Sydney Sun – publication with the title of a newspaper founded in 1910 in Sydney, Australia
  • Tampa Star – serving Tampa and Hillsborough County, Florida
  • Toronto Telegraph – focusing on the largest city in Canada, in the province of Ontario
  • Tucson Post – named after a 1901 newspaper, the site covers Tucson, Arizona
  • Tuscaloosa Times – Tuscaloosa, Alabama publication named after an 1872–1899 newspaper
  • Vancouver Star – covering Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada with the slogan The voice of reason
• US states
  • Arizona Herald – provides state coverage with news of Phoenix, Tucson and other large cities
  • California Telegraph – covers California with a focus on Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego
  • Colorado Star – Colorado publication with the slogan Till our great mountain rivers run dry
  • Florida Statesman – state news portal for Florida and its major cities and towns
  • Hawaii Telegraph – services the Hawaiian Islands with a particular emphasis on Oahu
  • Maine Mirror – Maine publication with the slogan Where America's day begins
  • Maryland Leader – provides state coverage with appreciable coverage of Baltimore
  • Massachusetts Sun – portal featuring news from around Massachusetts
  • Michigan Sun – generates statewide news coverage of Michigan and its major cities
  • New Jersey Telegraph – features news of Newark, Jersey City and New Jersey state
  • New York Statesman – servicing the state of New York
  • North Carolina Daily – portal featuring state news from North Carolina
  • Ohio Standard – a resource for news of Ohio and the state's larger cities
  • Oklahoma Star – has the slogan Oklahoma's own, covers Oklahoma state
  • Oregon Telegraph – news site updating headlines from across Oregon
  • Pennsylvania Sun – providing statewide coverage and news of bigger cities in Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee Daily – online newspaper with the slogan Tennessee at its best
  • Texas Guardian – covers Texas, with a focus on Dallas, Houston, and Austin
  • Utah Independent – focuses on Utah state with much of its coverage of Salt Lake City
  • Wisconsin Star – covers Wisconsin from the capital Madison to its largest city Milwaukee
• Miscellaneous
  • Breaking Property News – a global real estate journal
  • Broadcast Communications – a news resource for the broadcasting and communications industries
  • Business Sun – an international news resource focusing on business and finance
  • Entertainment Sun – news portal for the show business industry
  • International Technology – covers news of technology from around the world
  • International Travel News – travel news resource, has the slogan With footprints around the globe
  • Manufacturing Mirror – focuses on news in manufacturing and textiles
  • Professional Autos – reports on events in the automotive industry
  • Sports Sun – general sports news site with an international perspective
  • Tennis Times – devoted to the sport of tennis, has the slogan Game, set, match
  • Travel Trade. Org – designed to cater for travel industry professionals