Independent Radio News
Independent Radio News provides a service of news bulletins, audio and copy to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom and beyond.
The managing director of IRN is Tim Molloy, who succeeded long-term MD John Perkins in November 2009. Perkins had been MD of IRN since 1989.
IRN's shareholders are Global Radio (54.6%), Bauer Radio (22.3%), ITN (19.7%) and The Wireless Group (3.4%).
IRN launched on 8 October 1973 with the first bulletin read at 0600 by Australian newsreader Ken Guy on the opening morning of Britain's first commercial radio station, LBC.
IRN was based at LBC studios in Gough Square, just off Fleet Street in Central London. The service was funded by cash payments from subscribing radio stations.
Computer technology was introduced in 1985 and in 1987, the Newslink advertising scheme was launched which funded the service and provided cash dividends to client stations.
In 1989, satellite distribution of bulletins and audio was introduced and this was also the year that IRN and LBC moved into new studios on Hammersmith Road in West London. The satellite service was managed by Satellite Media Services who were based on the ground floor of the Euston Tower.
In 1991, the Sunrise Radio IRN service was introduced. The hourly news bulletins were broadcast on Sunrise Radio's channel on the Astra satellite in a move designed to serve smaller commercial, RSL and hospital stations who struggled to afford the expensive standard IRN satellite equipment. This continued until 31 August 2004, upon which the service moved to a dedicated channel on the Hotbird 4 satellite at 13.0° East.
On 5 October 1992, ITN took over the running of the IRN operation from LBC and moved into ITN's headquarters on Gray's Inn Road in London.
In 2001, audio cuts began to be distributed via internet and from 2 October 2005, audio cuts and packages ceased being distributed via the satellite audio channels and switched entirely to the IRN Net Newsroom internet system.
IRN bulletins had a major overhaul in September 2002. The bulletin outcue for many years: "Independent Radio News", was dropped and all bulletins were of three minutes duration. All IRN branding was removed and the outcue reverted to a timecheck: "It's three minutes past XXX."
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