Radio Hawke's Bay is the region's community access station, broadcasting on 104.7 FM and 1431 AM from Hastings to listeners from Wairoa down to Waipukurau. Founded in 1994 as Radio Kidnappers by Michael Fowler and Rex Lythgoe, it took its current name in a 2022 rebrand and marked 30 years on air in March 2025. Funded by NZ On Air and part of the Community Access Media Alliance, it gives local groups and individuals free airtime for their own programmes, and doubles as a trusted source of local news and emergency information for the Bay.
