[cma-l] Consultation - Community Radio Bail-Out Fund

[CMA-L]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <info at mediaireland.org>

Hi

We would be grateful if you could circulate this to the CMA list in order
that we can get responses from GB & NI.

Thanks,

Sean Og Mac Braoin

An Cathaoirleach/Chairman
Media Ireland



*New Community Radio Bail-Out Fund - Consultation *



Following our fund-raising tour of Eastern USA in March, the community
media charity Media Ireland, has secured $380,000 in funding to develop
community media and in particular to provide emergency rescue assistance to
community radio stations in Ireland and Great Britain which are in danger
of closure for financial reasons.


The fund recognises that every station was awarded a licence because they
sought to serve an identified community and had community support in order
to secure their licence. Therefore the objective of the fund is to
exclusively protect the provision of service to their community.



*Who is eligible?*

The fund will be open to all community radio stations in Ireland and Great
Britain licensed under the Community Radio Order 2004 (Great Britain &
Northern Ireland) and the Broadcasting Act 2009 (Republic of Ireland).



*How much is the funding?*

The fund is initially worth $380,000 and will last for 5 years and is
funded jointly by Media Ireland and the charity’s Irish-American supporters
in USA.



*What is the funding available for?*

The funding is to meet the emergency costs to keep a station broadcasting
and the cost to turn the management of the station around.

The fund may be used to finance legal actions to protect the interests of a
station.



*What conditions are attached?*

This fund is funding of last resort to prevent a community from losing its
community radio station. It is not there to bail out a failing Board or the
failure of Management to properly administer a station. Equally it is not
to fund developmental or project costs of a station (that is the role of
the Community Radio Fund and other funders).


In all cases major changes to the Board and Management Staff will be
required.


This fund is not a soft option to bail out failing stations - stations
which wish to continue operating in the manner which has brought them to
the brink of closure should not apply.


All applications require full and frank disclosure of all material facts
including the true financial position of the station and details of any
prospective legal actions.


This disclosure will be treated as confidential material but may be
disclosed to our own funders.


As this is private funding, decisions by the fund will not be published but
will remain confidential between the funder and the station.



*When should a station apply?*

It is anticipated that following this consultation, that the structures
will be in place to accept applications from 1st July 2014 (but we will
accept enquiries from Boards likely to make application at this point in
anticipation of the launch of the fund).


A station should make an application as early as possible when there is a
risk of closure or when a Board no longer feel that they can secure the
long term future of the station. The longer a Board leave it before
applying, the greater the risk to the station and less the chance of the
fund supporting a bail-out.


The fund is resource limited and therefore only applications which present
the best chance of a station being saved will be successful. It is not in
the interest of the sector to ‘throw good money after bad’.



*CONSULTATION:*

The administrators of the fund want the sector to feed back on how they
think the fund should be applied and operated. In particular, we want your
opinion on how funding will be assessed and applied.


Please indicate your opinion on the following proposals:



1. All applications will involve an initial full Management Consultancy
assessment of the current status of a station and the future prospects of
that station:

Yes/No

Comments:



2. The fund should be used to finance the costs of this Management
Consultancy exercise:

Yes/No

Comments:



3. There should be an absolute limit of £25,000 for any one application?

Yes/No

Comments:



4. It is proposed that the following 4 criteria are used exclusively to
assess and approve funding:

(i) The Key Commitments, how realistic these are and how successful has the
station been in fulfilling these?

(ii) The historical financial performance and current cost base including
committed liabilities of the station.

(iii) The commitment of volunteers to maintain the station and embrace
Board/Management changes.

Do you agree with these as the basis for support:

Yes/No

Comments:



5. Any unspent funding should be carried forward beyond the initial 5 year
term?

Yes/No

Comments:



6. Any other comments:





Please send responses to: info at mediaireland.org


or by post to:


Media Ireland, 5th Floor, Howard House, 1-3 Brunswick Street, Belfast. BT2
7GE.



*The deadline for responses to this consultation will end on 30th April
2014.*
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