Faith by the fireside – this was the tone of radio programme “Catholics on Air”. Anyone in Canterbury and Westland could follow it. They could listen religiously, or just out of interest.
Loyal listeners loved it. The programme won awards. It was a leader in community broadcasting so well recognized that it spurred Parliament to alter the Broadcasting Act in 2000 to accommodate more programmes of its sort. Sadly, though, it lasted only just over ten years.
Well known broadcaster and academic Gerard Duignan foresaw the influence of religious radio and came up with the idea of a “magazine style” programme explaining and discussing the Catholic faith. As Head of the New Zealand Broadcasting School, Gerard was the right person to launch “Catholics on Air”.
Fellow Catholic and retired horse-racing commentator Reon Murtha joined him as a founder and the radio waves started to roll. Among other prominent members were Fr John Coleman, Barbara Te Miha, and writer Peb Simmons.
The aim of the project was “to let the general public know what makes Catholics tick, why they do what they do, and why they believe in the Catholic faith”.
Christchurch radio station Plains FM 96.9, attached to the Christchurch Polytechnic (now Ara), slotted “Catholics on Air” to broadcast for an hour each Sunday evening. A team of about a dozen volunteers joined in and broadcasts began in October, 1996. The task of preparing a programme every week, though enjoyable, proved a burden. The team worked at night, sometimes into the small hours, to be ready for Sunday evening. So, the show was later reduced to a half-hour slot.
The ”magazine style” envisioned by Gerard Duignan proved popular. It would include content that was educational, intriguing, positive, analytical, local. It would highlight prominent and not-so-prominent Catholics. Programmes would include interviews, discussions, music and song, current affairs and stories. Items would be aimed to appeal to youth, women, ethnic minorities, the disabled and others.
Each programme took a thematic approach. This included religious themes such as Easter, Christmas, and notable saints’ feast days, and secular themes such as Anzac Day and Labour Day.
Reflecting on the project later, it was noted that the programme drew a poor response at first and “took some time to catch on”. Only a few people seemed to know of it. This was in spite of the notices posted on the walls of church foyers and the notifications of priests at the end of Sunday Masses. Thankfully, interest in the broadcasts increased noticeably after the reduction to half-hour shows.
A collection of letters from listeners is held in the Archives of the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch. The following quotes are common: “Varied, informative and interesting,” “I was so impressed by the quality of your interviewing,” “A very lively and educational half-hour,” “I really enjoy Catholics on Air”.
These comments are mirrored by the Golden Disc Award, 1999, which was presented by Plains FM 96.9. Then, in 2001, the radio station nominated “Catholics on Air” for the New Zealand Radio Awards. The programme reached the finals in the national awards, held in Auckland.
So, why was such a successful project, at the height of its popularity, put into recess at the end of 2008? The answer is simple but sad. It was, as Catholic journalist Kathleen Casey wrote: “impossible to find enough people to continue the work”. For the team members were ageing. One, Ernie Pyle, was in his 90s. Others had died.
The decision to close the programme while the glow from the national awards still gleamed allowed the team to go out on a high note. Perhaps it was seen as the best time to wind the dial down.
A short time later a new magazine style weekly program ‘Sounds Catholic’ was launched on Plains FM on Sundays at noon and repeated at 10pm. Produced and presented by Ken Joblin, Sounds Catholic went on to receive numerous awards, including the prestigious NZ Radio Industry Award in 2012. Sounds Catholic ceased broadcasting in 2018.
Acknowledgements
Michael Crean, author
Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Archives Accession 2020.2 Catholics on Air & Sounds Catholic Collection