RADIO ORKNEY – 1977

The biggest step forward in broadcasting that Orkney had enjoyed since the arrival of the television age saw plans announced for the county’s own local radio station.

BBC Radio Orkney was to begin broadcasting in 1977, but before that, Orkney teacher Howie Firth – who stood as the SNP candidate in the Orkney and Shetland General Election contest of October, 1974 – was appointed as senior producer and presenter.

Mr Howie Firth, the first presenter and senior producer at BBC Radio Orkney

By coincidence, Jonathan Wills, the Labour candidate in the same General Election, got the equivalent job for the new BBC Radio Shetland. It meant that both would not be considered as candidates for the following election in 1979.

Assisting Howie Firth at Radio Orkney would be Liz Davies, who had moved to Orkney after presenting her own two hour programme on a commercial station in Sheffield.

The idea of a local radio station – which in the first instance planned only 20 minutes of programmes a day – had been gathering strength for some time and had been enthusiastically encouraged by Jo Grimond MP, and a local advisory committee had been set up under the chairmanship of Eoin Scott, of Redland, Firth, at the start of 1976.

However, the man who deserved a major share of the credit, as a real driving force behind bringing the project to reality, was Alastair Hetherington, a former editor of The Guardian who had been appointed Controller for BBC Scotland in 1975.

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