The sale of City Radio Productions, the public limited company behind English-language broadcaster Ara City Radio, to Alter Echos, the limited liability company that runs the Radio Ara airwaves, allows for a streamlining of the synergies that exist between the various structures within Radio Ara, says Lisa McLean when asked about the recent transaction.

“As you probably know, over the past 20 years Ara City has operated as the financial engine of Radio Ara, as we have advertising on our shows. Things have been increasingly difficult financially, with so much competition from other organisations that have state aid in some form.”

McLean says the move will allow the organisation to focus more on Radio Ara’s overall mission of serving different communities in Luxembourg. ARA City, which broadcasts from 6am to 2pm every weekdays, is there for the international communities, she explains. “Graffiti”, from 2 to 5pm in various languages, is the youth programme, and Céline Agnes’ “Bistro Show”, which is on between 5 and 6:30pm is more focused on culture and topical issues. 

McLean tells Delano that nothing will change on air for Ara City Radio. Sam Steen continues to host The Breakfast Show, while the mid-morning Daily Show is hosted by a different personality each day, with Natasha Liati-Jones, Josh Island, Marina Lai, Nicole Olenskaia and Solomon Nowye rotating on the mic. “And I will no doubt continue to do pop-ups,” says McLean.

Stem cell project

Ara City was also struck a blow recently when it was revealed that newsreader and occasional co-host of The Breakfast Show, Mark Weedon, was undergoing treatment for leukaemia. While the news bulletins have been taken over by Tim Driscoll and Isabel Scott, the station is currently campaigning, in association with the Plooschter Projet, to encourage people in Luxembourg between the ages of 18 and 40 to register as stem cell donors. “We want to raise awareness about the need for this, as the medical team here work to find a donor for Mark,” McLean explains.