Music on PBS: A History of Music Programming at a Community Radio Station

This historical case study explores the programs broadcast by Melbourne community radio station PBS from 1979 to 2019 and the way programming decisions were made. Data was gathered from archives, in-depth interviews and a quantitative analysis of programs broadcast over the four decades since PBS was founded in 1976. This research has found an inherent tension between the station's values of cooperative decision-making and the broadcasting of progressive music. Knowledge in the fields of community radio and music is advanced by exploring how cultural intermediaries at PBS made decisions to realise the station's goals of community access and participation.