Rewind FM winds down after a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity

_{Drive show a steep learning curve for hosts Jack Hurley, Yasmina Coe and Patrick James}

 Before Jack Hurley started at the NZ Broadcasting School at Ara-Te Pūkenga, he never would’ve imagined that he and other students would set up their own radio station.   

“In our first year, we couldn’t comprehend that we could actually do something like this.  There are just so many things to take into consideration when you’re creating your own station.  It’s a once in a lifetime experience to start a station from scratch,” he said. 

Within weeks Rewind FM 96.1 was created by the second-year radio students, playing songs from the 90s and 2000s, ‘your Mixtape through the Millennium.’ 

Hurley, who with Yasmina Coe and Patrick James hosted the afternoon programme ‘Shut Up and Drive,’ thought at first that the 90s-era music was “a little dated” but soon found himself really enjoying the songs they broadcast.   

“Some of the songs were like ‘man, these were like 30 or 40 years ago!’ But we intentionally chose songs that were upbeat and dancey. We knew there was a demographic out there that really connected with those songs.” 

“We tried to create a bubbly fun feeling that the 90s brought and carry that home,” he said. 

NZBS Tutor Brendan Reilly said the School has been setting up different stations every year since 1985. “Stations have varied between kids, country, youth, adult contemporary, 80s and disco. The best learning comes from hands-on experience. The immersion model of the course prepares the students well for the industry.” 

Reilly said that a challenge for the learners is to learn the operating systems from the ground up. “Since there is no legacy format, they have an accelerated learning process to research, pitch, create, run and sell a radio station in a very short time frame.” 

For Hurley, the learning curve about what it takes to run a radio station was steep, but he also learned about what area of broadcasting he wants to work in.  

_{Rewind’s playlist aimed for ‘upbeat and dancey’}

“When I first started at B-school, I thought I just wanted to DJ in front of the mike. But along the way with Rewind FM, I learned a lot about audio engineering and then sonic imaging too.  It’s a niche part of broadcasting but I really love it.  It’s about creating a brand through sound - engineering audio to make it sound like you want it too. There’s a whole bunch of areas that people can work in after B-school, not just DJ’ing.” 

Hurley starts his third-year internship in sonic imaging at MediaWorks, Auckland, in January. “After that, I hope it leads to a permanent job with them so I can keep working in sonic imaging.” 

Almost all of the learners in the radio class have secured internships at MediaWorks and NZME for 2023, said Reilly. “So, it will be another highly successful year that will turn out industry-ready graduates to join a challenging and rewarding career in media. Our internship providers are thrilled with the highly capable students that enter their business on internships.” 

Meanwhile, Rewind FM has now reverted to a summer format called ‘The 96 One’ which plays a mix of music from the previous five years of formats. “So you’ll get Miley beside Metallica, and more besides,” Reilly said.