Radio Skid Row (callsign 2RSR; 88.9 FM) is a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station based in

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local government ...

, broadcasting to the

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

suburbs of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia.

History

Radio Skid Row (2RSR) was established by a group of welfare workers and licensed as a community broadcaster in September 1983, with the intention of broadcasting to marginalised groups such as

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

, environmentalists,

queer people ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

, the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

, and

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

. It was originally broadcast from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, and gave 10 hours of air time per week to Radio Redfern. The station was described as "serv ngas an incubator for many artists who would go on to do interesting things". John Garland, who ran the prisoners' request show, moved to 2MBS Fine Music Sydney in 1991, where he presented experimental music. The program ''Wake Up and Listen'' also moved to 2MBS, with Gail Priest and Adrian Bertram. Lucas Abela (aka Justice Yeldham) started his career at Skid Row, on the " graveyard shift". Colin Hesse hosted the Thursday morning show ''Close to Home'' for over ten years before retiring in May 2024. He was also active in local politics, as a representative of the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

on both the former

Marrickville Council Marrickville Council was a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickvi ...

and the

Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merg ...

. He was known for his long-form interviews and bringing out deeper perspectives on issues.

Today

Skid Row Radio is situated in Addison Road, Marrickville, and broadcasts to the Inner West suburbs of Sydney. Apart from broadcasting, like many community radio stations, it provides equipment, time in a recording studio, training and mentoring a diverse group of broadcasters, including African Australians. In December 2024, Radio Skid Row appeared in various media following a

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

report about a volunteer radio host who had been sacked. In an interview with '' Australian Jewish News'', the host, Nicole, who has Mexican and Israeli heritage, said that had been asked to leave the station "after refusing demands to 'actively support' Hamas and participate in pro-Palestinian rallies" during the

Gaza war hostage crisis In 2023, as part of the October 7th attacks which initiated the Gaza war, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups abducted 251 people from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including children, women, and elderly people. Almost half of the hostages ...

, and that her efforts to explain the impact on the Jewish community to management were mocked. Radio Skid Row had not publicly commented on the matter.

References

External links

* {{Sydney Radio 1983 establishments in Australia Radio stations in Sydney Community radio stations in Australia Radio Skid Row

History

Today

See also

References

External links