Radio Kidnappers was the original name of Hawke's Bay's community access broadcaster, founded in 1994 by Michael Fowler and Rex Lythgoe and named for the Kidnappers cliffs that mark the coast near Hastings. Starting out in Hastings, it secured NZ On Air funding and the 1431 AM frequency, taking its first test broadcast on 3 March before going fully to air a week later, and added 104.7 FM in 2009. The station rebranded as Radio Hawke's Bay in 2022 to better reflect the whole region it serves, from Wairoa to Waipukurau, but the Kidnappers name remains part of its heritage.
