15th March 1982
BBC Radio Jersey takes to the air
Jersey and Guernsey were each assigned a radio frequency for local use, and asked to decide how they would like to use it. It was by no means certain that either island would invite the BBC to occupy the slot but, eventually, both did. Jersey’s local station went on air one day in advance of its neighbour. It was opened by the then-chairman of the BBC Board of Governors, George Howard and was based on St Helier’s Rouge Bouillon, but moved to Parade Rose in 1994.
It launched with a staff of four, including Peter Gore, whose voice was the first to be heard on air. Initially, much of its output was a simultaneous broadcast of other services produced on the mainland, but over the years this evolved so that more of the daily content was locally produced. Various policy and budget changes meant that the balance needed to be continually adapted according to the BBC’s resources.
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Other events that occured in March
Mystery man’s fatal fall at Fort Regent
- Mystery surrounded the death of John Edward Redden in 1899, who had died shortly after falling on steps at Fort Regent.
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An auctioneer is killed on his bike
- A holiday making auctioneer was killed on his bike when he encountered a steeper than expected hill at St Aubin.
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Bomb hoax brings St Helier to a standstill
- Claims that there was a bomb on the Weighbridge brought St Helier to a standstill in early March 2004.
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Man sentenced to death for murder
- A man who was tried and convicted of murder was sentenced to death in March 1966, had his sentence commuted to life in jail.
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