2NM

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**2NM**

City of license	Muswellbrook, New South Wales
Broadcast area	Upper Hunter
Branding	981 2NM
Slogan	The Heart Of The Hunter, 981 2NM
First air date	January 9, 1937 (as 2CK) January 14, 1954 (as 2NM)
Frequency	981 kHz AM (was 1458 kHz prior to 1980)
Format	adult contemporary, talk radio, sport
Power	5Kw
Callsign meaning	dervived from former sister station 2NX, also could stand for 2 Newcastle Muswellbrook
Former callsigns	2CZ (proposed) 2CK (1937-1954)
Owner	Grant Broadcasters Radio Hunter Valley Pty. Ltd.
Website	2NM.com.au

2NM (branded as 981 2NM) is a local radio station in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. It is based in Muswellbrook, and serves listeners in Muswellbrook, Singleton, Scone, Aberdeen, Merriwa, Murrurundi and surrounding areas.

1 History
2 Programs
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

2NM was originally licensed to Cessnock as 2CZ, owned by Coalfields Broadcasting Co. Pty. Ltd., but the station's call letters were changed to 2CK prior to its launch on January 9, 1937.

The Upper Hunter had its own station based in Singleton, 2HR, owned by Hunter River Broadcasters Pty. Ltd. The station launched on August 30, 1937. The owners included the Singleton Argus and the Robinson family. Three years later, they moved to Lochinvar, near Maitland.

2CK was closed down after a fire burnt the studios down late one night after the announcer had finished the station's transmission for the night at 10pm, and left in rush for his bus back to Maitland, leaving the electric heater on.

Hunter Broadcasters purchased the two stations in the 1950's, moving 2HR's transmitter to Bolwarra, and changing the callsign to 2NX, and moved the 2CK license to the Upper Hunter, and recalled it 2NM, located in Muswellbrook. 2NM was launched on January 14, 1954, from facilities located along the McCully's Gap road just outside Muswellbrook.

The callsign was created by station manager Ken Robinson, who was in the Army, and his army identification number included the letters NX. Therefore, the Newcastle station was given the 2NX name. 2NM's callsign was created only after trying out other combinations that could smoothly follow 2NX. 2NM could also represent 2 Newcastle Muswellbrook.

Sometime between the 1950s and the 1970s, Hunter Broadcasters were taken over by Catholic Broadcasting Company, owned by the Roman Catholic Church. During this time, while during the day 2NX and 2NM were operated separately, from 6pm overnight, 2NM relayed 2NX's programming, and was identified as 2NXNM and as Upper Hunter 2NX.

On August 2, 1980, 2NM changed its frequency from 1458 kHz to 981 kHz to improve reception in parts of the Upper Hunter. In the early 1990's, the station was sold to Grant Broadcasters, and moved to new facilities in Muswellbrook. The transmitter was moved to Mount Arthur.

[edit] Programs

2NM currently broadcasts an adult contemporary format, aimed at an audience over 35. Syndicated programming on 2NM includes John Laws, Sports Today, Stan Zemanek and New Day Australia from 2UE Sydney, and the Continuous Call Team from 2GB in Sydney.