[cma-l] Ofcom publishes reasons for the award of four new community radio licences

[Karl Hartland]

Ahem, distance always shows that the send button should have three
different levels of "are you sure" before it actually sends

A bad day can always make the softer targets more apparent to your
common or garden naffed-off station manager on a rampage, if only in his
own head & office

Of course my little local ILR is not to blame personally but I point out
that the RadioCentre, as is now, is very much a similar beast to the
CMA- they represent their members and are not separate and shouldn't be
seen as such.

It is unfortunate in the extreme for us as community media that we exist
in the environment that we do; non-profit as one of three arms- the
others having their funding either assured to a lesser or greater
degree, the remainder being very competitive and driven by profit.

Of course I do not and cannot blame a commercial entity for wanting to
maximise and try to protect its return on its activity- to say anything
other would be to done political colours that neither suit me nor do I
want to be seen wearing.

But when the commercial will of a representative group can have such an
impact on the viability of charitable organisations (whose worth to
society will be undeniable as our social gain reports to Ofcom come
rolling in and who also have to survive commercially), something stinks.

If you examine the letter of the law, our ILR is not a great deal under
the MCA requirement for restrictions....a calculation whose accuracy and
reliability I call into question in any case...... and those who call me
to advertise are not to be heard on local commercials at all- they can
see, with us, the possibility of new audiences, directed advertising and
affordability. All I have to offer them is a website banner, which has
more worth than they realise and which I do try to sell on its tangible
merits, but they called me up for airtime and more often than not they
decline.

To the lurkers from our commercial brethren I give apologies, I did
indeed lash out on a bad day against a station who has not ever done us
harm but I ask you- if you have influence or a voice within your sector,
can you not see that limiting the income of charities or charitable orgs
on the basis of your own sector's income is fundamentally wrong and can
I ask you to start questioning that within your circles?

As more of us are licensed, these overlaps will occur more and more.

It is my opinion that no monetary constraint should  be put upon the
revenue of CR stations- perhaps there should be a different focus
applied to prevent CR stations taking advertising/sponsorship from those
who routinely spend on ILRs- why, when we have some social gain
objectives associated with the local economy, can the community radio
station for Cambridge not give commercial airtime to the small
independent or family owned butchers or hardware store that is feeling
the pinch with increasing supermarket presence and needs to tell people
they are there? Who from the commercials can say that that kind of
advertising would sit well with your station imaging or image or
demographic? It would with ours!

Is that not free market thinking? Are we not in a free market?

I thank the fact that I have irons in the fire in this regard- after
being told by various quarters not to even think of getting restrictions
examined for 209radio as it would be waste of my  time I rather think
I'm going to have a go....in my own time, of course....too much social
gain to deliver in working hours.

K

Karl Hartland
209radio Station Manager
Voluntary and Community Sector Project Manager

105 FM in the Cambridge City Area
http://209radio.co.uk everywhere else!

Citylife House
Sturton Street
Cambridge
CB1 2QF

01223 488418
07968 898254