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News that UK entertainment legend Noel Edmonds has not only migrated to NZ, but is living near Matakana and launching 100 online free community radio stations has come as quite a surprise to local residents.
A TV interview last month was the first time that many people had any idea that the former radio DJ and presenter of shows such as Noel’s House Party, Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Deal or No Deal was living on Omaha Flats with his wife, Liz Davies.
The couple fell in love with NZ on a holiday in 2016, moved here in September last year and gained residency just before Covid-19 Level 4 restrictions came in. Having already established a global platform of online radio stations around the theme of positivity, Noel got to thinking how he could apply the concept here to support businesses, individuals and communities in the wake of coronavirus.
“There’s an opportunity to create a new normal, and individuals and groups will define it,” he says. “The people in charge in Wellington will try their best, but the future is people pulling together, and the message I’ve got since we first came to New Zealand is that everyone here is really good at team playing and that’s what we want to harness.”
The former DJ is providing 100 slots to stream digital content for communities across the country, all at his own expense and completely free of charge. Several stations are already playing live, including Positively Matakana, which plays a combination of music, interviews, information and uplifting messages.
“We’re news free, commercial free and listen free, and can be played anywhere in the world through our website and app. It’s more like streaming social media – it’s very targeted to each community and sharing local information.”
When it came to the nuts and bolts of getting things going, Noel turned to local IT programme manager Rachel Demler, who is also chair of Matakana Community Group and runs The Matakana Bag Lady stall at the weekly farmers market.
“I was thinking we’ve only just got here, what if this fails – I didn’t know how it would be received. The thought of stepping out of the shadows and it not working would have tarnished what I wanted our lives to be here,” Noel says.
“We’d met Rachel at the market and it just went ‘ping’. I needed someone who could tell me if that idea was likely to work. Rachel just got it.”
Rachel says her main role was to take Noel’s idea and turn it into reality.
“I’m a person who works with creative types and makes things actually happen,” she says. “Noel had a wonderful platform and infrastructure, but he didn’t have anything over the top of it, so I gave him a plan for a website and app.”
Aucklander Lane Dawson also joined the team and now all three work together on everything from creating content and recording interviews to liaising with the UK-based tech crew.
The team has received more than 100 enquiries so far from individuals, groups and schools interested in running their own station, including from traditional community radio stations struggling to survive.
Future plans include talking to Mahurangi College about the possibility of students contributing to, or even running, Positively Warkworth.
“There’s an opportunity here for schools to grab this as a project, covering things like the creation of content, formulation of argument and art of communication. They could go out and talk to local businesses. It’s all about bringing people together of all ages for individual and common good,” Noel says.
To find out more or listen live, visit positivitynz.radio
