This Friday, the Radio temps Rodez (RTR) station is celebrating 20 years of its creation with its founder Pierre-Etienne Vanpouille.
This Friday, RTR (Radio temps Rodez) will celebrate at the Club, in music, 20 years of sharing and production with the public and its creator, Pierre-Etienne Vanpouille.
Since 2010, the radio has occupied the frequency 107 FM. However, the RTR adventure began in 2005 when its creator, director of the professional high school Louis Querbes, launched an internal radio station at the high school for “the educational potential of such equipment” allowing the “development of social experiences”, details its creator. He therefore sent teachers and students to train in other European countries such as Sweden or Hungary where this teaching method, behind a microphone, already existed.
In 2006, the radio was officially launched under the name Radio Temps and broadcast over the high school loudspeakers. At that time, “the objective was purely educational, for an intergenerational radio”, affirms Pierre-Etienne Vanpouille.
The radio changes status to become an associative radio
On March 5, 2010, the radio changed status and became associative to benefit from state subsidies. It then broadcast on 107 FM and was inaugurated by Michel Boyon, then president of the CSA, future Arcom. Even though the radio had already started broadcasting on FM frequency since 2008 with broadcasts from Monday to Friday, hosted by external speakers. Like Philippe Meyer, then radio host at France Culture Rodez.
These speakers made it possible to offer the students of the establishment a real professional radio experience. Despite its change of status and the arrival of three professional journalists, the radio continues to welcome young people in civic service, some of whom will become volunteers in their turn. As such, they offer new themes, such as rap music or subjects from popular culture.
Youth training as a driving force
They are also open to its broadcast on social networks such as Youtube or Tik Tok, which allows it to adapt and evolve to remain an “intergenerational radio”, as its creator always wished. The radio also participates in the training of young people in schools and high schools thanks to its mobile studio.
The opportunity for all these budding animators to discover the sound of their voice through an always educational objective. This mobile studio allows the radio to go as close as possible to the population to also produce intergenerational content, as in Epahd where RTR collects memories of the past.
The Ruthenian station thus considers itself a bridge between generations, thanks in particular to the involvement of its 52 volunteers and its 5,000 podcasts. And through its educational action, the radio also raises awareness among young people about fake news and Artificial Intelligence thanks to podcasts and dedicated shows.
Un avenir semé d’embûches
RTR has several goals for the future. Indeed, community radio is threatened by budget cuts. RTR depends 50% on state funding and therefore wants to diversify its sources. “We just want to continue living,” explains Luna, a journalist at RTR.
The station also wants to educate young people about the media. For its founder, “our mission for the future is more important than those of the last twenty years”. And this, even if her creator thinks that she “still has many good years ahead of her”.
