Radio Kalaweit

Radio Kalaweit (also reportedly known as Kalaweit Radio), was a radio station in from Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The station was founded by the Kalaweit Project, itself founded by French-born Aurélien Brulé (better known as Chanee Kalaweit). The station was heard on 99.1 MHz throughout most of its existence and carried a contemporary hit radio format, interspersed with messages on gibbon conservation.

Chanee created Radio Kalaweit in 2003, targeting the 15–25 age demoraphic.^[1] Initially, the station operated on 99.5 MHz with Chanee being the only announcer, but was quickly joined by Willy and Tonjik. The station broadcast from Mahoni Indah, but moved to Palangka Raya and to its long-used 99.1 frequency at an unspecified date.^[2] Its office was raided by the police in 2006, their aim was to confiscate the transmitter, but this was backfired as the DJs were locked in and broadcast the raid. A growing number of villagers (five, then 10, then 15) came to its studios in order to enable the resumption of normal operations.^[3] Its apex of popularity came in 2007.^[2]

Three programs stood out from the golden age of Radio Kalaweit in the mid-late 2000s: Misscalled Planet Fun, in which the staff made prank calls by phone, One Night With Chanee, where Chanee himself talked with listeners on the phone, giving them positive suggestions, and Morning Soul Speed Up, presented by Vitra, who later died.^[2]

Radio Kalaweit had a hits format throughout its existence. The playlist was predominantly dominated by Anglophone singers, though by June 2012, per an AFP visit to the station, it was also carrying K-pop tracks.^[3] Every two or three songs, it carried messages calling for the preservation of gibbons, which Chanee was happy about. Five years after the creation, the station caused an impact as the region was now devoid of animal markets.^[4] One time in 2012, the station even aired an endorsement from French-Indonesian singer Anggun, delivering a message against the treatment of gibbons as pets. The station was still popular nearly a decade after its founding, recording at the time (June 2012) an estimated number of 10,000 to 15,000 listeners every day. The station was funded by commercials, which enabled it to be self-financed.^[3]

On 13 May 2022, Chanee announced that Radio Kalaweit would shut down effective 1 June, after 19 years on air. He justified the decision on the grounds that radio is no longer an efficient way to deliver environmental messages to newer generations of young people, and that social media does that efficiently, without requiring staff salaries or electricity. No plans for the foundation following the closure of the station were announced yet, but Kalaweit would continue using its social media accounts for the purpose.^[2]

The station was profiled on the BBC Two documentary anthology series Natural World, in a documentary produced by Mike Birkhead Associates, titled Radio Gibbon^[4] (Good Morning Kalimantan outside the UK).^[5]