“Local radio has a bright future ahead of it!” Happy Radio, the free radio saved from the airwaves in Bergerac

The free radio Happy radio, formerly Bergerac 95, almost disappeared in 2021. With the possibility of broadcasting soon on 80% of the department, it displays serious ambitions

Info, music and good humor all day long in the heart of the Dordogne. Here, simple and effective, is the editorial line of Happy Radio, formerly Bergerac 95. Broadcast on the Internet and on the FM band in Bergerac, in Périgueux and, from September, in Sarlat, it is one of the rare local radio stations to having retained its place on the airwaves, after the multiple disasters of free radio stations born in the 80s.

Wanted by the former mayor of Bergerac Michel Manet, cwhich was then called Bergerac 95, was riding the wave of legalization of pirate radios at the time. Its associative format promised the values ​​common to its colleagues: proximity, independence, responsiveness, simplicity. It also suffered from the same fragilities, local management by volunteers, resources dependent on random advertising revenues and, in its case, financial support from the municipality which was necessary but uncertain.

At the start of 2021, after 40 years of adventure, in the midst of a health crisis, it’s diving. In a context of budgetary reframing and political reorientation, the municipal team of Jonathan Prioleaud reduces the subsidies of Bergerac 95 by 35,000 euros. The subsidies of 100,000 euros initially will drop by 25,000 euros each year to disappear in 2024. In the financial turmoil, the association threatens to sink. In February, the two journalists whose local news pages make the radio credible were put on partial unemployment. The radio is trying to find funds via an online fundraiser.

At the end of March 2021, the communication and advertising agency Happy Média of Rodolphe Karmazyn, an old hand at free radio stations, becomes a partner and takes over the management of Bergerac 95. It was time, the radio station was threatening to file for bankruptcy. In the process, the radio loses its associative aspect and becomes a company, it changes its name to Happy Radio. The management separates one of the two journalist positions, renews the team, injects funds, invests in new premises and obtains the right to extend its broadcasting area to Périgueux and from September to Sarlat. From local, radio becomes almost departmental. 80% of the territory will be covered.

Shock operation for Happy Radio, which finds a second wind in 44 years. “Local, regional or departmental radio has very, very good days ahead of it” smiles Rodolphe Karmazyn. “We are in a globalized world, without borders, there is a loss of bearings, and people need to cling to what is happening near them, on their territory..” A view shared by Corentin, the host. “We’re in a small town, in a small place. I want people to understand that we all know each other. We can all bond, in one way or another, and radio can be a vector of bond.“.

Not to mention that investing in a new territory means finding new advertisers. A mission specially entrusted to a second newly recruited sales representative. “What is necessary for a private radio station is that it can finance itself. It’s advertising, the sinews of war“. A technique perfectly mastered by this specialist in advertising space on radios.

In terms of local advertising in an area like the Dordogne, there is indeed a place for an actor who is, like us, local, with a departmental offer.

Today, the presenters, the journalist and a few technical tips allow Bergerac 95 to broadcast more than 200 news events and local sections each week. Partnerships with sports clubs, institutions and other local media have been renewed and advertisers are starting to show their interest. A media that survives is always good news for pluralism. Happy radio can be listened to on 95 MHz in Bergerac, 100.4 in Périgueux, it can be listened to, watched and also read in articles on the internet.