Samoa will wake up with a new kind of power today after Lauano Henry Vaiotu took to the airwaves, launching the nation’s newest radio station last night.
Called “Power FM,” the station is located at Nia Mall in Apia.
The inaugural broadcast was given by the Speaker of the House, La’auli Leuatea Polata’ivao who welcomed the new radio station.
Speaking to the Samoa Observer, Lauano said he always dreamt of being a radio disc jockey (DJ).
Eleven months and one week later in Samoa, he has a community radio station for the community.
“From a young age as a kid I have always wanted to be a radio jockey like Casey Kasem and Shotgun Tom Kelly,” he said.
“They were always my idols when I was listening to the radio in the 70s. So it is just like a dream.”
Asked what it was like to have this dream realised, he said:
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“It’s a bit mind-boggling, it is a nice feeling a nice sense of achievement “I couldn’t have gotten it done without the help of the team. So I am proud of myself.”
Those 11 months wasn’t plain sailing for the station as Lauano came up against a number of regulations that he hadn’t counted on.
“I had bought equipment from Singapore and Indonesia with out conducting some research,” he said.
“When I got here the regulations and laws here didn’t fit with the equipment I bought.
“But we eventually overcame that and we are up and running.”
Not bad for something he though he would do just for fun.
“I thought I would try to start it as a hobby,” he said.
“(However) not knowing the cost of running just to get your broadcast licence, I have changed my hobby to commercial.”
Despite these obstacles, he said the upside was meeting a “great bunch of blokes and the people who come in and out of the station every day.
“And the sense of achievement that is a highlight,” he said.
“And hopefully I get to help the community and maybe one day the disabled will see that.
“Well if he can run and own a station then I could do it.”
So if you want to tune into a new kind of power with shows for youth, Samoa Aganu’u and current affairs – not to mention great music by some local artists such as Five Star, Penina and Tiafau then tune your dial to 96.9 or 106.7 FM.
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