URY
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| City | York, UK |
|---|---|
| Slogan | On Air Online On Demand |
| Frequency | 1350 AM (on campus) |
| First air date | 1967 |
| Format | University Radio |
| Affiliations |
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| Sister stations | YSTV (television) |
| Webcast |
Live stream online and iTunes URYPlayer |
| Website | ury |
University Radio York (commonly known as URY) is a campus radio covering the campus of the University of York. It was the first legal independent radio station in the United Kingdom.
Like most student radio stations, University Radio York is run entirely by volunteers, all students studying at the University of York. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day during university term time (a total of 30 weeks per year). The schedule is made up of a variety of shows including entertainment, news, speech, drama and music. With a new intake of students each academic year, the station's output can change significantly.
In 1967 Mike Greasley then a student of the university, obtained a testing and development license for "Radio Heslington". Then, entering his final year in 1968, he handed the project over to Ranjan Karunaratne, an overseas student who changed the name to Radio York and broadcast illegally through the summer of 1968, to drum up support for the project which had been dismissed in all quarters as impossible: the GPO said it was legally impossible, the professor of physics said it was physically impossible and the Student Executive said it was financially impossible. (Volunteered that they might consider part of a £200 equipment fund but Ranjan's budget of £1,500 was out of the question). The illegal broadcasting (signal was picked up as far afield as Norway, when it was supposed to be contained to the campus) was a successful tactic: Ranjan's motion for full funding was passed at the next annual general meeting. The following issue of Nouse, the student newspaper, emblazoned the headline: "King of Radio York Triumphs!"
The other limitations were strategically overcome and in 1969 the name Radio York not being available, University Radio York was licensed, becoming the first station independent of the BBC to broadcast legally in the UK. The station launch was a joint show with BBC local radio station (Radio Leeds, if my memory serves me) and featured a guest broadcast by DJ John Peel.
The station switched from its original 999 kHz induction loop system to a LPAM licence in 1999, and now broadcasts across both of The University of York's Heslington West and Heslington East campuses on 1350AM. The station has also conducted several RSL FM broadcasts across the whole of the city, the last of these being in 2008.
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Wikipedia