So, tonight was the announcement of the nominations for the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2010. Tameside Radio had entered our news programme Tameside Reports in the Best News and Current Affairs Programme category. We produce a 15 minute programme every weekday of local news, and the main national headlines of the day. We’ve covered breaking news stories live on location, and featured issues that are important locally, that have had little or no coverage in other media. Many large commercial radio stations don’t bother with this type of programming any more, but we feel it’s an important part of our service. We manage this with a newsroom of one person, and a few dedicated volunteers. It’s also worth bearing in mind that there’s a considerable learning curve when it comes to training those volunteers, and for a significant amount of time, they need nurturing and guidance. I’m immensely proud of the programme, and was keen for the team involved to get some recognition for their efforts. I was disappointed, but not surprised, that our entry didn’t even receive a nomination. What was particularly interesting was that every single nomination, all five of them in that category, was for a BBC station. And only one of those was a local station, the rest huge national, and international networks. So, is it really a level playing field? I think not. Or then again, maybe the judges just don’t “get” this relatively new sector of the industry. Or maybe Tameside Radio shouldn’t expect to compete with the massively over resourced BBC.
Tameside Radio is a community radio station, and I still believe the sector is often ignored, or at best misunderstood, by the rest of the industry. It’s my opinion that in the eyes of the radio industry at large, Tameside Radio falls into a kind of “no man’s land.” I don’t think we’re entirely alone there though. We have one or two other stations for company, like Pure 107.8FM in Stockport, and Cheshire FM. I’m sure there are others, they’re just examples that I’m aware of. The BBC and commercial radio often seem to have an attitude that community radio is a great idea, just as long as it sounds rubbish. And in any case, community radio isn’t “professional”, it’s not really “proper radio” is it? Obviously, I disagree! If community radio can produce a service that people want to listen to, on a shoestring, while also training volunteers and providing opportunities to people at the same time, then the other stations will just have to up their game while we creep up on them.
The community radio sector in itself is somewhat divided. Our listener focused ethos is very much in the minority. Other community stations concentrate so much on the process of training and involvement, that the ouput comes almost as a secondary bi-product. These station’s argument is that it’s all about serving volunteers. They often quote statements like “90% community, 10% radio”, and “it’s not about making radio, it’s about training others to make radio.” All well and good. But surely volunteers come to a community radio station because they want to be heard. Whether they have an important message to get out to the area, or they want to share their passion for a particular type of music, it doesn’t really matter. They still have that basic thing in common that they want to be heard. So surely, community radio shouldn’t just train people to make radio, but train people to make radio that others will hear! The more process focused stations tend to get more recognition, I feel because they’re seen as more worthy, and maybe less of a threat, by the rest of the industry.
Recent independent research for Tameside Radio shows that 35% of the population of our area regularly listen to us. That puts us as the 3rd most listened to station in the borough, behind BBC Radio 2 and Key 103. A massive achievement for a small station not much more than 2 years old. Incidentally, our research has to be independent, because we’re neither BBC nor commercial and so aren’t allowed in to the industry standard RAJAR audience research. On receipt of these figures, we sent out a press release, which resulted in some coverage on local TV station Channel M, but not much else. A major UK radio industry news website and e-newsletter ignored the press release, because “they didn’t really believe it.” Or was it because they have connections, all be it unofficial, to a major commercial radio group? The same site ignored our contribution to their appeal for details of how stations provided local coverage in the bad winter weather, ignored our contribution of pictures of our team at outside broadcasts, and ignored our recent April Fools joke in their round up, despite the fact that two of our local MP’s and significant business people were good sports and joined in. But they did give us a back handed compliment about our new website. Thanks.
I’ll balance out this somewhat ranting post with a massive positive. Our listeners are the best. I’ve worked in commercial radio for many years, at stations serving much larger areas than we do at Tameside Radio. Never in all that time have I experienced such genuine warmth from the audience, and such an enthusiasm to interact. The people of Tameside have really taken ownership of the station. They quite rightly see it as theirs, something they’re a part of and can be genuinely involved in, whether by listening, contributing, or becoming more formally involved through volunteering. So, whilst the rest of the industry’s attitude often frustrates me, the appreciation the team gets on a day to day basis from people who enjoy what we do, coupled with seeing new broadcasters progress within the station, makes it the most rewarding job i’ve ever had.
In conclusion, is my ranting post basically just sour grapes? Nah. No. Really, it isn’t. Honest. Ok, quite possibly. A bit.
Is it frustration? Very probably.
Has it been therapy? Definitely.
