[cma-l] Criticism of Community Radio Fund Award

[mark polden]

I think we all have to look at our unique selling points.

 

The at the station that I co-manage it is obvious, we are a religious based station broadcasting to a community of special interest.

 

However a vast number of community stations are for geographical communities and where is the line between geographical community stations/BBC local radio/Small Commercial stations.

 

Maybe there does need to be a debate about this, i.e. with the advent of comunity radio does community radio replace the need for BBC local and maybe now commercial stations all need to be regional.

 

Mark Polden

Flame 1521 
 


From: transplanfm at hotmail.com
To: gary.jackson1 at btinternet.com; cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Date: Sun, 30 May 2010 08:20:19 +0000
Subject: [cma-l] Criticism of Community Radio Fund Award



 
My meaning of "commercial" was purely in the business structure sense.
Agreed, how you align your spening is vital.
Putting hard-earned money into attending conferences and the like isn't right.
I don't see a little empire-building in CR as wrong as long as the job in hand gets done openly and efficiently.
One good CR station taking over and running a neighbour in trouble can't surely be a bad thing.
Getting retired local prople in to contribute useful material is great.
But letting them do what they feel like with no structure and no targeting of the planned audience spells disaster.
 
Ian Hickling
Partner
transplan UK
 


Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 08:19:33 +0100
From: gary.jackson1 at btinternet.com
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Steve Penk criticises Community Radio Fund Award in letter to PM 

I think far too many community stations are too commercial to be honest.

Some of the postings on this list about conferences in far away places, and matched funding which will only cost £x,000 seems to me to people getting carried away with their own empire building.

A station I know has village correspondents - usually long retired - record short pieces about events around them and things like parish council meetings are mentioned as well. That, to me is the sort of thing community radio should be doing.

If indeed a Community Station did receive £40,000 for a new Regional Sales Manager then I agree with what Penk says and can fully understand his feelings.

It's natural in a way. Ambitious presenters can't get on commercial stations, so to paraphrase Cliff in Summer Holiday "We'll do the commercial station right here!" 

It's not right though in my opinion

Gary
 		 	   		  
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