"A Nation's Station"
 

The Story of Manx Radio 1964-2004 by Derek Winterbottom, with contributions
from David Callister, Terry Cringle, John Grierson, Charles Guard, Alan
Jackson, Chris Musk, Bernie Quayle, Su Richardson and Stewart Watterson.

Manx Radio made its first tentative broadcasts from a caravan parked in a
field near Douglas in the summer of 1964 and it was officially opened in
November that year. Manx politicians hoped it would quickly develop into
another 'Radio Luxembourg', a successful commercial station which would
broadcast into the UK and Europe, thus bringing fame and profit to the Isle
of Man. These hopes were dashed by the determined refusal of the UK to grant
the necessary broadcasting licence, a stance which created serious political
tension between Douglas and London for several years, increased when the
Island, in revenge, gave refuge to the pirate ship 'Radio Caroline'.

Eventually, Manx Radio had to accept a lesser role as the Island's national
station, running on an uncomfortable mixture of advertising revenue and
government subsidy.

This, in turn, led to many conflicts and misunderstandings and when Tynwald
was tempted to sell Manx Radio to the highest bidder in the 1990s a furious
battle began.

By the end of its first 40 years Manx Radio had just about convinced Tynwald
that it needed substantial government funding in order to provide a good
public broadcasting service, but by this time its monopoly on the island was
being challenged by several new radio stations.

(More details at http://www.manxradio.com/ )