[cma-l] Future thoughts for CMA

Fri Dec 24 13:53:53 GMT 2010

Merry Christmas All

Here we go again with the power / transmission / 5km / ofcom / original
application  -  malarky 

Not wanting to spoil anyones christmas so --------------- I’ll tread very
carefully.          Let’s analyse the Community Radio story.

1)       Someone has this brilliant idea = Community Radio

2)       Commercial Radio don’t like it !

3)       A bit of whinging, wineing and dining takes place, a few
politicians who are quite good at fiddling expenses get approached, but
don’t have the balls to toss aside restrictions that basically beggar belief

. It’s called      wrong priorities and being a job for the wrong reason
!

4)       Anyway 

. Everyone agrees that we suck it and see 

 so

 we suck and see

5)       We suddenly notice that the flavour after sucking it has a rather
unusual taste --- things are tough, they continue to be tough, they’re still
tough and getting tougher 

.. still the main bits on the restrictions
remain

6)       We all agree and people can see how wonderful community radio is 

we (CCR) have had about 25 youngsters in the station over the past 3 weeks
all making radio 

 kids with dissabilities, kids who were once hanging
about on the street now making radio, cub groups doin’ activities for their
badges ---- only possible because of community radio.

7)       We get pats on the back from the Councils, the Police, the Fire
service, Community Groups etc 

.. but we get no grants, no funding and the
community fund is useless 

. Even it was ‘very good’ the way it’s doled
out is a disgrace and goes against the fundamental way we operate community
radio. EQUALITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ALL

8)       We (CCR)   have to unfortunately change our tactics or DIE !
the restrictions really do now RESTRICT / PREVENT / THWART growth and
threaten our very survival.

9)       We (CCR) gain many listeners this year, our website grows and we
try to generate money by ‘being a touch more commercial minded’ 

.. no
problem really as the ethos of the station remains the same 

 Community
led / Community first / Not-for-profit / reinvestment in the station /
volunteering / brotherhood 

..

10)   The rules prevent us from being ‘commercially minded’               we
simply dare not and cannot compete so what we are now left with is that ALL
our funding streams are blocked.

11)   Sorry to Ian and others 

 but, I don’t know whether or not you have
been away in Lapland with Father Christmas for the past 6 years but the 5km
DOES exist. I ‘ll prove it 

. Because when we have approached ofcom
regarding the ‘problems’ we get told the same thing and never get past the
first hurdle. Areas of Poynton / Macclesfield / Wilmslow are outside our 5km

 sometimes only ‘’yards’’       but the quote is 

. ‘’you are outside
your zone’’    We obviously have to be careful as we could interfere with
other users. Bollington is surrounded by 3 miles of countryside 
.. surely
we can’t include shrubs, trees, sheep, canals etc into the figures 
.. ??
but we do !

12)   Other big users Key / Ram etc interfere with us 

. BUT    because
of the 5km bull -------------------s -------------------------------h
------------------- it     we can’t defend ourselves 

. Something as
simple as putting the power up by 20 watts WOULD make a difference. We don’t
need height, we do not want to chuck our signal all over the North West, we
simply want to defend our Castle.

13)   We gain listeners but lose as many as we gain 

 why ?
coz’ they can’t hear us ?

14)   This is where community radio is at !

15)   Each station needs a community fund that at least pays our licence
fees 
 and rent (basically things that relate to our mer;; existance)    say
= £12,000 each, guaranteed – every year – everyone

16)   Listeners / Sponsors / Local businesses do not really understand what
we do. Actually, that isn’t exactly true as local people see that we work
with others in the community etc 

. BUT 

.. let’s get down to
laymans terms 

 with the best will in the world and the desire to give
a bit of money to the community, certainly in a recession the bottom line is
these guys want to know ‘’ What do we get in return and listeners just want
good community radio’’

17)   Advertising restrictions doesn’t give the sponsor what they want !
and a signal that hisses and spits the moment you go out of range by 3 yards
doesn’t give a potential listener what they want.

18)   I find it absolutely unbeleivable that all the smaller stations like
us haven’t gone tits-up ??        however, looking at our position and
reading between the lines, some are mighty close.

19)   Commercial stations seem to be able to do what the hell they want 
..
I can prove that as well with at least 4 around this area who have at the
drop of a hat change their remits and commitments.

20)   We’re fed up 

 pissed off (if we are going to swear) and angry

 not fed up of what we are doing 
.. we LOVE IT !         but fed up
of being treated like morons 

 in fact you wouldn’t treat a dog how we are
being treated.

21)   We have more than proved our worth, we have also proved that the sales
/ non sales etc of commercial radio has no bearing on what we do or v / v
and if it does, it’s their fault for being either to expensive, too greedy,
to arogant or basically garbage.          And yet still 

 they treat us as
competition.

It’s Christmas, and the good lord won’t be smiling on me if I am angry. It
is all about peace and goodwill and everyone getting along together. This
can be done if there is a will within the Ivory Towers.

I can’t say anymore really except 

 Merry Christmas and let us hope for
some goodwill, common sense and success in 2011.

God bless us all 

. everyone

Regards

Tiny Tim 

.. er    Nick

  _____  

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Hickling
Sent: 24 December 2010 10:54
To: Mark Polden; phil at somersetfilm.com; cma-l
Subject: [cma-l] Future thoughts for CMA

Mark
There is no "5km Rule"
There never has been!
The 5km is a suggestion for what the usual Community Radio station should
aim for.
The criterion has always been - as I have said so many times - that it is up
to you as the Applicant to identify your target audience and to tell Ofcom
how you proposed to cover it.
Just a few have done that and have been allocated the coverage they want
If you can't or don't do that, then you really have no-one to blame but
yourself.
And similarly, if you don't get someone who understands propagation to guide
you and prepare your technical submission, you're asking for trouble because
you most likely won't cover your desired audience and you therefore won't be
able to command the kind of revenue you'll need to stay in business after
your set-up funding has gone.
The vast majority of the 190-odd CRs on air at the moment are in this
situation and Ofcom currently has said "no chance" for anyone wanting
clearance to upgrade transmission.
It has to be said also that the money to put in a sensible transmission
system that will do the trick usually isn't made available at the start and
that's the other reason why stations are suffering.
I know of one recently that spent £900 on three mic arms and then decided
that it couldn't afford a processor.
Crazy!

If you mean asking for more power, then that's quite a different matter from
your "5km Rule", but Ofcom will still give you exactly the same message for
a long time to come.

  _____  

From: markianpolden at hotmail.com
To: phil at somersetfilm.com; cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 08:25:33 +0000
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Happy Christmas and future thoughts for CMA

Hi All 

>From our point of view, it is great the swing that CMA has with ofcom.

We would like to propose a task for CMA, it is this.

To tackle the 5km rule for community radio and seek a seperate definition
for "community of special interest" radio stations which does not involve
the 5km rule

We believe that this needs to be done before round three applications are
sought i.e. within the next three months

I have been seconded by our management to attend CMA meetings

Phil - Where is the Jan 29 meeting

Mark Polden

Flame CCR

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:18:31 +0000
From: phil at somersetfilm.com
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: [cma-l] Happy Christmas and future thoughts for CMA

Hi members and friends

Happy Christmas and a great New Year to all!

This has been a challenging year for most of us in different ways and the

signs are that it won't get much easier anytime soon.   However the good

news is that thanks to the hard work of our great staff and the support of

members, CMA is holding its own and continuing to punch above its weight on

many fronts.    

We are far from complacent however and right now Council is looking at the

best ways forward for the organisation into 2011-12 and beyond.  We need

your input into this debate.

* Three of the main questions are:   what are the key characteristics of our

sector? what does the sector need? - and - what can the CMA feasibly offer?

Some of the answers to these questions are obvious of course - like lots of

us (but by no means all) run radio stations, like we need more money and

higher profile for example!  Others may not be so clear.

We've found it useful to go back to our Charter and to ask if it remains fit

for purpose.  The answer in our view is primarily 'yes, the Charter

continues to eloquently express what we mean by community media and what the

important principles are that inform our practice'.    I'm adding the

wording of the Charter in full to the foot of this posting for you to

review.    We feel there are some details which could do with updating but

only minor revisions needed.    What do you think?

Does everyone read and digest the charter when they sign up to the CMA?  Do

we all adhere to these principles in our activities?   We feel it's

important to go back to first principles in this way, to try and identify

our USP and our collective commitment to it.  We are entering an ever more

complex multi platform environment in which it will be increasingly

difficult to discern the provenance and intention of content.  CMA and the

community media sector has a stated common purpose  and we need to be clear

we are all signed up to the same starting point.   There may well be other

organisations who would also subscribe to the Charter - they are our

potential partners as we seek to sustain accessible platforms for the UK's

rich diversity of voices to be heard without fear or prejudice.

Once we all confirm that we have the starting point right (and I know this

was done years back but a review process is always healthy) then there are

important questions to ask about structure and strategy.   Council is

looking at these issues too.

Our next meeting is on 29 January.  I will post a weekly update on our

debate through January and look forward to hearing your views as we move

forward.  We need your input so please give it some thought.  First off,

thoughts about the Charter and whether we can reference it as a kite-mark

for content.  A bit like Fair Trade for example.  There are pros and cons

for this argument but let's hear your thoughts.  Many thanks.

In the meantime, here's to a good festive season for all.

Best wishes

Phil

Phil Shepherd      

Chair of Council

Community Media Association

philshep.wordpress.com

 **********************

THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CHARTER

Recognising that Community Media fosters the freedom of expression and

information, the development of culture, the freedom to form and confront

opinions and active participation in local life; noting that different

cultures and communities lead to a diversity of forms of Community Media;

this Charter identifies objectives which Community Media share and should

strive to achieve: 

1. To promote the right to communicate, to assist the free flow of

information and opinions, to encourage creative expression and to contribute

to the democratic process and a pluralist society;

2. To provide access to training, production and distribution facilities, to

encourage local creative talent, to foster local traditions, and to provide

services for the benefit, entertainment, education and development of their

audience; 

3. To seek to have their ownership representative of local geographically

recognisable communities or of communities of common interest;

4. To be editorially independent of the government, commercial and religious

institutions and political parties in determining their programming policy;

5. To provide a right of access to minority and marginalised groups and to

promote and protect cultural and linguistic diversity;

6. To honestly inform their audience on the basis of information drawn from

a variety of sources and to provide a right of reply to any person or

organisation subject to serious misrepresentation;

7. To be established as organisations which are not run with a view to

profit and to ensure their independence by being financed from a variety of

sources; 

8. To recognise and respect the contribution of volunteers, to recognise the

right of paid workers to join their trade unions and provide satisfactory

working conditions for both;

9. To operate management, programming and employment practices which oppose

discrimination and which are open and accountable to all supporters, staff

and volunteers; 

10. To foster exchange between Community Media practitioners using

communications to develop greater understanding in support of peace,

tolerance, democracy and development.

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