[cma-l] FW: FW: Ofcom to investigate over 50 community radio stations
RJ THORNE
rj.thorne at btinternet.com
Tue Nov 18 15:08:14 GMT 2014
There are days when I'd like to be living in Macclesfield, Not many mind you, but just a few... You must be good company after a couple of pints!
Down here in the Forest of Dean we know only two well what a struggle CR can be. Try taking all those issues Nick is pointing out and then adding a rural location and AM into the mix!
________________________________
From: Canalside's The Thread <office at thethread.org.uk>
To: 'The Community Media Association Discussion List' <cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 2:55 PM
Subject: [cma-l] FW: FW: Ofcom to investigate over 50 community radio stations
________________________________
From:Canalside's The Thread [mailto:office at thethread.org.uk]
Sent: 18 November 2014 14:55
To: 'Two Lochs Radio'
Subject: RE: [cma-l] FW: Ofcom to
investigate over 50 community radio stations
Alex
Thanks for that …… you learn
something everyday. I just put that in as I fly around the keyboard hitting anything
that comes to hand LOL J I’m not one of the brightest chaps
around I’m afraid, certainly from a high educational background …
the only level I left school with was a ‘spirit level’ J
LOL straight into Radio and straight into the
Factory and then my DJ-ing ….. I’m 55 next birthday though, and
what I lack slightly in grey matter is more than made up by a grand
understanding life and rolling ones sleeve up and getting stuck in. I
understand how people work, I spot small print, I never get outwitted and all
of this is bread and butter to me.
People have to play fair though, and I do
not believe the DCMS have played fair.
You may ask ‘’what a bizarre
statement ?’’ it isn’t, because
when things are pointed out time and time again that are wrong and you still do
nothing about it, you have to ask the question who is failing who here ?
Community Radio is not failing through any
fault of its own .. it is being let down by others. Mainly Ministers and the
DCMS.
Sorry, these are my thoughts and I
ain’t changing em
And thanks for the ‘considered
discussion points not rants’ I’ll try to remember
that even though they are rants LOL
Nick
________________________________
From:Two Lochs Radio [mailto:tlr at gairloch.co.uk]
Sent: 18 November 2014 14:04
To: Canalside's The Thread
Subject: Re: [cma-l] FW: Ofcom to
investigate over 50 community radio stations
Hi Nick
I love your rants (er, considered discussion points), but
just to be picky, re number 10 can I point out that <> is the symbol for
"does not equal" !
The idea from your previous mail of just putting an
overall cap on income, from whatever source, is attractive, though might cause
accountign difficulties for stations that do a lot of npon-radio work as well.
Alex
----- Original Message -----
>From:Canalside's
The Thread
>To:'The Community Media Association
Discussion List' ; 'Dom Chambers' ; 'Bill
Best'
>Sent:Tuesday, November
18, 2014 1:49 PM
>Subject:[cma-l] FW: Ofcom
to investigate over 50 community radio stations
>
>Ooops only
just seen this …. However, if you take my ramblings and plonk it
alongside this report (well done Bill and Dom) even though unorthodox, we
ain’t a millions miles away
>
>Key words / sentences pop up though
don’t you think ? :-
>
>1)Lack of funding
>2)Lack of assistance
>3)Lack of understanding
>4)Bureaucracy
>5)More Bureaucracy
>6)Even more Bureaucracy
>7)Community Radio actually doing very well under difficult
circumstances
>8)Circumstances that can be changed if someone in authority has got
the ….*****….. to stand up and be counted
>9)Even Ofcoms job is unworkable
>
>10) Major key word <> DEBACLE
>
>I rest my case …. Oh I forgot, I did
that ten years ago and here we are still talking instead of doing.
>
>Nick
>
>
>________________________________
>
>From:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk ] On Behalf Of CMA-L
>Sent: 18 November 2014 11:58
>To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
>Subject: [cma-l] Ofcom to
investigate over 50 community radio stations
>
>The CMA has issued a statement
below in response to yesterday's news that Ofcom intends to investigate more
than 50 community radio stations:
>
>http://media.info/radio/news/ofcom-to-investigate-over-50-community-radio-stations
>
>\\
>
>Whilst it is of significant concern that 53 community radio stations are to be
investigated by Ofcom to determine if those stations have breached their key
commitments, it is important to note that such an investigation does not imply
that the broadcaster is automatically in breach. Not all investigations result
in breaches of the licence or other regulatory requirements being recorded.
>
>The Community Media Association (CMA) cannot comment on the details of any
individual station in public as we would not wish to prejudice or otherwise
pre-empt the outcome of any investigation. However a community radio station
and CMA member under investigation has advised us:
>"When responding to the investigation, we realised that we had in
fact over-delivered on the key commitments in question. Our reason for ticking
‘no’ was because we felt that our work had not fitted the exact
wording".
>
>Bill Best, Operations Manager of the CMA:
>“A number of stations that we have counselled informed us that
they had misunderstood the reporting form and checked the wrong box in error.
Furthermore, it is possible that some stations have not offset volunteer hours
against advertising and sponsorship, and might appear to be in breach of the
50% restriction. We urge all member stations to contact the CMA if they require
assistance with the Annual Return. The CMA looks to Ofcom for further guidance
on this matter which we will disseminate to the sector”.
>
>CMA members report that Ofcom is usually sympathetic to the issues that
stations face when working to address potential shortfalls in their Annual
Report. Previously the Community Radio Team has assisted stations to more
accurately redraft their key commitments where targets may have been
over-estimated, and the CMA expects that Ofcom will continue to support the
sector in this regard. The CMA fully supports the role of Ofcom as the
regulator in ensuring that social gain, as defined in the Community Radio Order
2004, remains at the core of community radio broadcasting.
>
>In spite of an unprecedented adverse economic situation community radio
continues to do an outstanding job in delivering social gain outcomes with
minimal central funding - and any issues with compliance reporting should be
understood within that context.
>
>Community radio stations are working with very few resources to hand and no
formal training on completing the Annual Report. The CMA calls for the
Community Radio Fund to be enhanced in order to make funding available to
support the education of community radio stations around compliance issues and
best practice.
>
>Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2014 advises that over the past five
years, the average income for community radio has fallen from £84,000 to
£55,500 per year. This represents a 33.9% decline over the period. Median
income (the value at the mid-point in the distribution of incomes) now stands
at £33,250 per year, a decline of 5.6% in the last year.
>
>However over a full broadcast week of 168 hours, a typical community radio
station broadcasts live for 78 hours, with an average 90 hours per week of
originally-produced output. Speech output averages 30% of daytime output and
the average station works with 82 volunteers.
>
>Dom Chambers, Chair of the Community Media Association:
>“It is a matter of great concern that around one quarter of
community radio licensees are being investigated by the regulator in the area
of key commitments. I know what extraordinary levels of social impact are
achieved in our sector so we need to analyse where there are shortfalls in
getting that information back to the licence regulator. Ofcom investigations
can be very demoralising to those operating from a volunteer base. I am also
concerned at the length of time it has taken for these investigations to come
to light nor that this was brought up in our last quarterly meeting. As one who
has filed five annual returns on behalf of a licensee I very much look forward
to discussing this situation with Ofcom as CMA chair when we attend our next
meeting in December.”
>
>Notes:
>
>Information on community radio regulatory issues including guidance on
volunteer input, changes to stations’ key commitments and details on
complaints may be found on the Ofcom website here:
>
>http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/radio/community/regulations/
>
>\\
>Community Media Association
>--
>http://www.commedia.org.uk
>https://twitter.com/community_media
>http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
>
>
>
>
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