<div dir="ltr">I can't see that I can add anything to my last comment. I've made a statement that some community radio stations have been mismanaged, backed it up with examples, and suggested a simple way that stations could improve their income - relying on presenters to pay all the bills might work for some very small operations, but I don't feel it will take any station forward.<br><br>Yet you've responded again, taking my words out of context and specifically saying that I'm not considering other reasons and I'm "tarring us all with the same brush" - I think it's quite clear from my emails that I'm talking about examples and not the sector as a whole.<br><br>I don't know you and I didn't even know you'd been involved in a station which had closed down, so maybe there is no need to be quite so defensive? Community radio would be stronger if people stopped making excuses and blaming other people for their failures, and maybe looking around to see how others are fighting to make a success of what they do..<br><br>Regards<br>Paul<br><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 19 May 2015 at 13:02, @CatLakeUK <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:connect@catlake.uk" target="_blank">connect@catlake.uk</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Hi Paul<div><br></div><div>You're the third or fourth person in as many weeks to immediately refer to stations being mis-managed first, as opposed to highlight an unfortunate struggle with the local economy in their area; fail to secure grant funding they were up against so many other charities in competing for; or be hit by unexpected expenses.</div><div><br></div><div>We were hit by just that when the Rates Office decided we were no longer eligible for our 50% discount when we had two locations (TX & Studio) effectively quadrupling our Rates bill overnight from £3k to £12k a year. A third of our original projected budget we got our licence secured on. So just stop and think before you tar us all with the same brush.</div><div><br></div><div>1) No two stations are the same nor in the same financial environment nor situation.</div><div>2) You've been lucky to have everything on your side.</div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><span class=""><br clear="all"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:small">Regards,</span><div style="font-size:small"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Cat Lake</div><div><br></div><div><i><font size="2"><b>Social Technologist, Writer & Broadcaster</b></font></i></div><div><i> <a href="http://www.artinet.co.uk/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">e-Commerce</a></i><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> •</span><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> </span><i><a href="http://www.artisanbroadcast.uk/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Broadcasting</a> </i><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial">•</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span><i><a href="http://www.transplanuk.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Transmission</a></i></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:arial"><div dir="ltr"><font style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><font color="#666666"><font face="Arial">Tel: </font><span style="font-family:Arial">0333 37 00 250</span><font face="Arial"> • Mobile: <a href="tel:07973%20400%20423" value="+447973400423" target="_blank">07973 400 423</a></font></font></div></div></div></font></div></div><div style="font-family:arial"><font color="#666666"><span style="font-family:Arial">On-line: </span></font><a href="http://www.catlake.uk/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:13px;font-family:Arial" target="_blank">www.catlake.uk</a><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> •</span><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> </span><font color="#666666"><span style="font-family:Arial"><a href="https://www.twitter.com/CatLakeUK" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span><span style="font-family:Arial"> •</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></font><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008671474506" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-family:Arial" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br></span><div class="gmail_quote"><span class="">On 19 May 2015 at 12:41, Paul Golder <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:paul@pvg.co.uk" target="_blank">paul@pvg.co.uk</a>></span> wrote:<br></span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><span class=""><div dir="ltr"><span>> I'm getting sick and tired of hearing people whitewashing failed stations as mis-managed.<br><br></span>I don't see anyone saying all failed stations are mis-managed, which I assume is what you're saying. I did say "Stations have closed because they have been mismanaged", which is true. I can recall the station which closed less than two months after going full time (you can't really blame the economy for that), the station which was selling a year's advertising for £100 before it folded, the stations which won a licence and didn't have the team or equipment to start at all ...<span><br><br>> The stations that survive the longest are those who are already subsidised by someone with the capital to invest in the project (because it's their passion/toy) and those that don't have to have to fund premises or transmission site rates. Even our minimal budget was too high in hindsight.<br><br></span>We've been full time for over 8 years and we don't have anyone subsidising us - our biggest contributor pays us the equivalent of 8% of our running costs. We pay rent for our premises and sites too. <br><br>Regards<span><font color="#888888"><br>Paul</font></span><span><br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 19 May 2015 at 12:04, @CatLakeUK <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:connect@catlake.uk" target="_blank">connect@catlake.uk</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">I'm getting sick and tired of hearing people whitewashing failed stations as mis-managed.<br><br>We worked 155 hours a week between my partner and I to keep the startion ticking over. Volunteers had constant training and guidance but in some cases were only interested in doing their two hours and leaving again. We probably ran our station at the worst point of the recession when businesses saw radio advertising as a luxury/gamble, even at a local level, so refused to spend any money on it. We also found that local authorities were happy for someone else to launch a station but wanted to do little, even free and in kind, to help get the message out to a wider audience and help ensure the station's future.<div><br></div><div>It was never mismanagement on the stations side ... it was complete apathy and selfishness in the local community we were trying to serve.</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br></div><div class="gmail_extra">The stations that survive the longest are those who are already subsidised by someone with the capital to invest in the project (because it's their passion/toy) and those that don't have to have to fund premises or transmission site rates. Even our minimal budget was too high in hindsight.</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br></div><div class="gmail_extra">We learnt a great many lessons from trying and failing, but at least we tried and now I share that experience with the stations I work with on a consulting/engineering basis - proud of what I achieved in the past.</div><div class="gmail_extra"><span><br clear="all"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:small">Regards,</span><div style="font-size:small"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Cat Lake</div><div><br></div><div><i><font size="2"><b>Social Technologist, Writer & Broadcaster</b></font></i></div><div><i> <a href="http://www.artinet.co.uk/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">e-Commerce</a></i><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> •</span><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> </span><i><a href="http://www.artisanbroadcast.uk/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Broadcasting</a> </i><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial">•</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span><i><a href="http://www.transplanuk.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Transmission</a></i></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:arial"><div dir="ltr"><font style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><font color="#666666"><font face="Arial">Tel: </font><span style="font-family:Arial">0333 37 00 250</span><font face="Arial"> • Mobile: <a href="tel:07973%20400%20423" value="+447973400423" target="_blank">07973 400 423</a></font></font></div></div></div></font></div></div><div style="font-family:arial"><font color="#666666"><span style="font-family:Arial">On-line: </span></font><a href="http://www.catlake.uk/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:13px;font-family:Arial" target="_blank">www.catlake.uk</a><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> •</span><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial"> </span><font color="#666666"><span style="font-family:Arial"><a href="https://www.twitter.com/CatLakeUK" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span><span style="font-family:Arial"> •</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></font><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008671474506" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-family:Arial" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div></span></div>
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