The cult radio station was the reason why 120,000 citizens of Zagreb took to the streets in 1996
Radio 101, popularly known as “Stojedinica”, had its first broadcast on May 8, 1984. Its first name was “Omladinski radio” (Youth Radio), and it was part of the Association of Socialist Youth of Trešnjevka.
The first studio was located at Stjepan Radić student dorm and in May 1987 it moved to a new studio in Gajeva 10, in the centre of the city. The “omladinski” (youth) part of the name was reminiscent of communism and became undesirable after Croatia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, so the name changed to Radio 101, which is the radio frequency at which the program is broadcast.
Since its very beginnings, Radio 101 has been known for dealing with controversial issues that have caused them to come under fire from the ruling regimes, both from the communist government during former Yugoslavia and from HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) in the 1990s. Even though the late president Dr. Franjo Tuđman criticized the program and its topics during his presidency, it was actually on the air of Radio 101 that he made his first public appearance in the late 1980s, after having been banned from appearing in the media by the communist government ever since 1972.
After Croatia became independent, Radio 101 went through a period of financial difficulties and multiple ownership structure changes, but it remained a fan favourite, with recognizable topics, always different from other radio stations.
Radio 101 got the biggest display of affection from its audience in November 1996. Due to political games and a decision made by the Council for Electronic Media, the radio was about to lose concession and cease broadcasting. A true civilian revolt happened and about 120,000 citizens of Zagreb came to Ban Jelačić Square holding candlesticks to protest against that decision, even though the Ministry of Interior did not approve the public gathering. The European Commission got involved, and so the possible sanctions and a fear of wave of civil disobedience caused the concession to be restored and the Radio 101 continued broadcasting its program.
To the delight of its many listeners, Radio 101 is still on the air and its current owner is Thomas Thimme from Germany.
Many well-known journalists started at Radio 101, including Željko Matić, Nenad Pavlica, Željka Ogresta, Željko Pervan, Hloverka Novak-Srzić and many others.
Source: zagreb.info
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