[cma-l] Review of the approach to community radio Key Commitments

Tue Oct 20 17:07:11 BST 2015

Of course we need an audience to succeed but to have its size as a priority
measure of community success?  In my book that's a fundamental
misunderstanding about the value of community radio.  Chasing maximum
audience is a recipe for blandness IMO  - let's leave that to our
mainstream sector buddies ;)

I'm very much with Bill on his response here.

best wishes

Phil

Phil Korbel FRSA - Director, Radio Regen, charity no. 1077763

www.radioregen.org
www.communityradiotoolkit.net
www.connecttransmit.org.uk

Please note that I work at Radio Regen under 2 days a week so responses
might not be as quick as we'd like.  Many thanks.

On 20 October 2015 at 16:37, Bill Best <bill.best at commedia.org.uk> wrote:

> Alan
>
> The Community Radio Order 2004 and subsequent Amendment Orders make
> absolutely no reference at all to audience size - so, I would strongly
> disagree that the only data that matters is how many people in the target
> group listen to a station. Audiences are indeed essential for a radio
> station but social gain objectives are a different, yet important, metric
> altogether.
>
> Regarding DCMS subsidising RAJAR subscriptions, that would be nice but
> might fall foul of state aid regulations and the commercial lobby wouldn't
> be at all supportive of it..
>
> Regards
>
> Bill
> --
> Operations Manager
> Community Media Association
> http://www.commedia.org.uk
> https://twitter.com/community_media
> https://facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
>
> Canstream Internet Radio
> http://www.canstream.co.uk
> https://twitter.com/canstream
>
> On 20 October 2015 at 14:10, Alan Coote <alan.coote at 5digital.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Bill,
>>
>> Isn’t the point that broadcasting must be the fundamental vehicle by
>> which Community Stations deliver their Key Commitments? If a station
>> chooses to deliver them by any other means then Ofcom shouldn't be
>> concerned with that. I think that’s where they are heading – although it
>> could be better expressed.
>>
>> We know there are very many stations which have undertaken off-air
>> activities to meet their social gain objectives which, although worthy, may
>> have been achieved without the use of a radio transmitter. A factor is of
>> course the need to chase grand funding, but sadly very little is predicated
>> on access to a radio station.
>>
>> Surely the only data that matters is how many people in the target group
>> listen to the station, after that qualitative data can be used to better
>> target the group.
>>
>> I go back to my point that very few stations deem it necessary to survey
>> their audience!  A radical thought; as RAJAR collect and collate data
>> anyway, would it not be possible for community stations to pay a nominal
>> fee to be part of an official survey, the remainder of the cost being met
>> by DCMS?
>>
>>
>> Kind Regards
>>
>> Alan
>>
>>
>>
>> Alan Coote
>>
>>
>>
>> Hear Alan Every Week on Let’s Talk Business The UK’s Premier Radio
>> Programme For Current and Future Entrepreneurs - Now Broadcast To Over 7
>> Million People  <http://www.letstalkbusinessonline.com/>
>>
>>
>>
>> Email - alan.coote at 5digital.co.uk
>>
>> Phone - 0800 949 6655
>>
>> Mobile - 07801 518858
>>
>> Twitter - @TheAlanCoote <http://www.twitter.com/TheAlanCoote>
>>
>>
>> Twitter - @LTBShow <http://www.twitter.com/TheAlanCoote>
>>
>> Web - http://www.LetsTalkBusinessOnline.com <http://www.5digital.co.uk/>
>>
>> From: <cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk> on behalf of "
>> bill.best at commedia.org.uk"
>> Reply-To: "cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk"
>> Date: Tuesday, 20 October 2015 12:39
>> To: "cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk"
>> Subject: Re: [cma-l] Review of the approach to community radio Key
>> Commitments
>>
>> Hi
>>
>> Having read through Ofcom's proposal several times, certainly any move to
>> reduce the administrative burden of Key Commitments reporting for community
>> radio stations would be welcome. However I believe that the proposal would
>> reduce Ofcom's workload and significantly increase the workload on
>> individual stations.
>>
>> The Key Commitments template is simplified and reduces much of the
>> community radio reporting to a box ticking exercise around some
>> quantitative statements about the number of original hours and the number
>> of hours of locally-produced content broadcast.
>>
>> A greater onus is going to be placed on stations to record their social
>> gain outputs - from Section 3.13:
>>
>> Under our proposed new approach to Key Commitments, each station would
>> need to take greater responsibility for planning its own social gain,
>> participation and accountability activities.
>>
>> I think the proposed new form of reporting is going to make it difficult
>> for stations to know the level of detail they would need to go into to
>> record their activities and some stations will end up over-documenting
>> their activities and some might possibly under-record. There is an
>> opportunity here for the CMA in conjunction with Ofcom to disseminate best
>> practice and develop some training and education around Key Commitments
>> reporting.
>>
>> Furthermore the proposed new Key Commitments template places a lot of
>> emphasis on quantitative data - and, unfortunately, replacing qualitative
>> outcomes with quantitative information is not going to be the best method
>> of measuring social gain objectives. In fact the Key Commitments template
>> reduces explicit reporting on social gain to a mere three check boxes:
>>
>>    - the facilitation of discussion and the expression of opinion,
>>    - the provision (whether by means of programmes included in the
>>    service or otherwise) of education or training to individuals not employed
>>    by the person providing the service, and
>>    - the better understanding of the particular community and the
>>    strengthening of links within it.
>>
>> And stations will have to take responsibility for locally and privately
>> recording their delivery of social inclusion, promotion of employment,
>> cultural and linguistic diversity, and so on.
>>
>> Delivery of social gain is what makes community radio unique and any
>> steps to reduce the emphasis on such an important characteristic of
>> community radio would be most unwelcome.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>> Bill
>> --
>> Operations Manager
>> Community Media Association
>> http://www.commedia.org.uk
>> https://twitter.com/community_media
>> https://facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
>>
>> Canstream Internet Radio
>> http://www.canstream.co.uk
>> https://twitter.com/canstream
>>
>> On 15 October 2015 at 20:07, Associated Broadcast Consultants <
>> info at a-bc.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> This is massively key for the sector, but I don't see much
>>> conversation/energy on this forum about it.
>>>
>>> I wonder why?
>>>
>>> Glyn
>>> --
>>> Glyn Roylance - Principal Consultant
>>> Associated Broadcast Consultants <http://www.a-bc.co.uk/>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 15 October 2015 at 17:34, CMA-L <cma-l at commedia.org.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Community radio services broadcasting on FM or AM provide social gain
>>>> and other community benefits on a not-for-profit basis.
>>>>
>>>> Each station is required to provide the service described in its
>>>> licence, which is based on the proposals it made during the application
>>>> process for the licence.
>>>>
>>>> These service descriptions recorded in community radio licences are
>>>> called ‘Key Commitments’.
>>>>
>>>> This Ofcom consultation seeks views on a proposal to streamline and
>>>> simplify the Key Commitments.
>>>>
>>>> This will free up community radio stations, enabling them to focus on
>>>> serving their target communities, adapt better to the changing needs of
>>>> those communities, and deliver social gain.
>>>>
>>>> Ofcom invites written comments on the questions raised in this
>>>> consultation, to be submitted by *5pm on 21 October 2015*. Ofcom
>>>> strongly prefers to receive responses in electronic format and their web
>>>> form will allow you to indicate your data protection preferences and send
>>>> your views to the team responsible for this consultation.
>>>>
>>>> http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/key-commitments/
>>>>
>>>> \\
>>>>
>>>> Community Media Association
>>>> --
>>>> http://www.commedia.org.uk/
>>>> http://twitter.com/community_media
>>>> https://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
>>>>
>>>> Canstream Internet Radio & Video
>>>> http://www.canstream.co.uk/
>>>> https://twitter.com/canstream
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>>
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