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Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 2. March 5 1979

The Aims of Active

The Aims of Active

Active was started up largely because of techincal interest. There was no real desire to do something with the medium or any clear concept of what student radio should be. That situation prevails today. Everyone in Active," comments Campbell, "is there because they like radio, or they 'like the sound of their own voice, or something." He does go on to say that there needs to be another sort of medium (to the written), but not, it would seem, for the dissemination of information. "People don't have to be attracted to it. They don't have to read a newspaper which takes time. They just have to listen to it in the background and forget about it two minutes after it's been on".

Is this the rationale for the station, being part of the background? "I just mean that people at home can have it on without having to think too much about it. Certainly we don't consider it a background thing but it can be that for people if they want. If they want it to be important it can be that too. Just like normal radio". Except that normal [unclear: raiedio] has news and a range of other things that reflect the existence of a world outside the studio.

Campbell stresses that as a student club without the kind of finacial ties to the Association that Salient has, Active could by rights do just what it likes. But he views that as a very narrow minded approach. 1979 is the first year they have programmed their music. (Before then they were "free-form"). Now we can hear the same music, coming round every day. "That's because," explains Campbell, "contrary to popular opinion, students like commercial music too. They don't want to hear Hawkwind at breakfast and Led Zeppelin all day." Campbell has a name for the approach they they have adopted: "alternative commercial". It's "to make sure we have the type of music that appeals to students."

What do students think about Active? Campbell claims the response is great. Not during the day, but at night when they run a competition a dozen calls come in immediately. And that's just with one line. He admits that it is very hard to say what sort of audience they have. Probably there are a lot of people who have it on just because it's novel. While "a lot become accustomed to it". Again, "you don't have to think". With admirable astuteness he observes that because they're only on air a couple of times a year, right now they're getting a good response from students.