Below are the latest funding and personal development schemes which are currently accepting applications. They are listing in order of deadline and we thank Tamar Millen at the CMA for sending many of them through. At the top of the page is the Funding Central automated update of new funds. If you know of another or would like your scheme to be added to this page, let us know.
Community Radio Toolkit presents:Did you know that there’s a community radio station that earns thousands a year from its local Pupil Referral Unit, another that gets money from its volunteers and another that got new advertisers in by running a ’99 for £99’ campaign? …
Here at Radio Regen we were sent an email from Matthew at Source FM who created a short film on the benefits of community radio and gave us a little more information about Source FM too! We thought we would share this video on our news page as it highlights the good points about the sector.
Source FM from Matthew Rogers on Vimeo.
Celtic Music Radio, which normally broadcasts to Glasgow and the surrounding area on 1530kHz, can now be heard on DAB digital radio across large parts of the UK.
For the duration of the Celtic Connections festival, we’ll be on the DAB “Pop Up Radio” channel, as well as our usual frequency.
Our DAB transmission went “live” at 00:00 on Monday, and we’ll be on DAB for the next 3 weeks. The festival kicks off on Thursday, and we’ll be broadcasting from our temporary studio in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall every day from 11.00 until 19.00, with live music, impromptu sessions, interviews, and all the action from the Danny Kyle Open Stage. After that, it’s back to our usual studio, and maybe out and about to other festival venues.
The “Pop Up” DAB channel can be heard in areas where the mux is provided by Arqiva – about a third of the UK. This includes Ayrshire, Berkshire & North Hants, Bristol, Cambridge, Cornwall, Coventry and Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Essex, Herts., Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Norwich, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, South East Devon, Cardiff & South East Wales, South Hampshire, Sussex Coast, Swindon, West Wiltshire and Wolverhampton & Shropshire.
It’s been quite an eventful day for us at Celtic Music Radio – as well as the DAB service, we got notification that our license has been extended until 2018.
It’s also our birthday! We’ve been on the air “full time” for exactly 4 years, launching at 15.30 on 16 Jan 2008, following several RSLs. If any of our community radio colleagues are in the Glasgow area over the next few weeks, you’re very welcome to drop by our temporary base in the concert hall.
Ssssh! Northumberland’s best kept secret is out! A new community radio station has launched onto the airways, without any fuss, fanfares or celebrity endorsements. Radio Northumberland is currently providing an internet based service broadcasting music, community information and talk based programming. As the station grows, an application will be made to Ofcom for a temporary RSL licence which will enable it to broadcast on an FM radio frequency to the people of Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth, Cramlington and Morpeth. Members of the Northumberland radio station have quietly spent the last six months planning programming; community involvement and scheduling with a view to heavily involve local people in their plans. Station Controller, Stewart Allen from Bedlington, who as a veteran of more than 25 years at Radio Tyneside brings a wealth of knowledge with him, is excited about the possibilities open to Radio Northumberland.
The station has already forged links with a number of schools and community organisations in South East Northumberland as well as securing,
“‘As it happens’ local news reporting for the hourly news”, he said. “There has been a tremendous amount of work undertaken in the background by our volunteers and I am delighted to at last be able to tell everyone about our plans.”
The station will broadcast a variety of music styles and genres with shows by experienced presenters and interviewers as well as running shows presented by schools, scout groups and other community organisations. Northumberland’s best kept secret can be heard online at http://www.radionorthumberland.com/. For media information contact Keith Newman at Highlights PR 07814 397951
A ‘must read’ for any station manager, says Phil Korbel
In the heat of a live debate, what sounds like a throw-away comment by a guest has landed an Essex community station in trouble with Ofcom. Their latest Broadcast Bulletin, although allegations of unfair treatment were dismissed, states that the Chief Fire Officer of Essex had his right to privacy infringed when a guest mentioned his matrimonial circumstances. The station, Phoenix FM, wanted to use a ‘public interest’ defence for the comment but Ofcom said that the complainant’s personal circumstances did not come under that umbrella.
Points of interest:
Please don’t relay on my commentary, read the full judgement here –
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-bulletins/obb197/obb197.pdf
It’s on page 16. All comment welcome.
The Radio Academy has today marked the launch of the 2012 Sony Radio Academy Awards with a new website – www.radioacademyawards.org – giving full details of the Award Categories and the terms and conditions of entry.
2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the Sony Radio Academy Awards – the most prestigious awards in the radio industry’s calendar and the only event that brings the entire sector together to celebrate outstanding content and creativity – nationally, regionally and locally.
This year, there are 34 Award Categories, each identifying a specific aspect of radio production and presentation and providing an opportunity for programmes, production teams, individuals and stations to be recognised.
John Myers, CEO of the The Radio Academy and Chairman of the Sony Radio Academy Awards Committee said: “I am delighted to launch the 2012 Awards and look forward to seeing who will walk away with the most prestigious awards in the industry. Everyone wants to win a Sony.”
The deadline for entries is Wednesday 8th February 2012 and the Nominations will be announced early in April.
The Awards Ceremony will take place on Monday 14th May at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London where the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be revealed.
Note to entrants: Submissions into either of the Breakfast Show of the Year categories and all of the Station of the Year categories will be required to submit output from either Thursday 24th November, Friday 25th November OR Monday 28th November 2011.
Drawing on the recent Guardian article (quoted below) the Community Radio Toolkit has spoken to local community stations for their thoughts on the difficulties of the economic climate.
“Tough economic climate hits community radio as average income falls 19%. The tough economic climate is taking its toll on community radio, with nearly half the stations who returned financial results to Ofcom reporting a deficit.
“Community radio has been flagged up by both the government and the radio industry as a central part of the medium’s future, filling the void left by commercial operators who have dumped local stations for national brands. However, the average income of community radio stations in the 12 months to the end of March 2011 fell 19% on the previous year to £63,000. Average expenditure was also down, but did not fall as fast as income. Some 71 stations – 44% that returned financial data to Ofcom – lost money in 2010/11. Of those, more than half – 39 – reported a deficit in excess of £10,000, with one station losing £90,000, according to Ofcom’s annual report on the sector.”
“Despite the financial difficulties being encountered by many community stations Ofcom said it would no longer publish an annual report on the sector because it was now “relatively mature”"
Ofcom has published its Community Radio Annual Report. Each station that has been broadcasting for more than a year is required to complete an annual report. The reports, which cover the period of April 2010 to March 2011, detail how each station has performed against its key commitments and identifies its sources of income and expenditure. These are used by Ofcom to compile its annual report on the sector.
The 1st CMFE Conference and General Assembly will take place in Nicosia from today and until 19 November, marking the first major event organized directly by CMFE with the the support of the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme, co-organised and hosted by the Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC), with the organizational support of the World Association of Community Radio broadcasters (AMARC) and International Media Support (IMS) for the Community Media and the Arab Spring panel.
The event is now glad to welcome new supporters for the initiative: apart from European Union under the ‘Europe for Citizens Programme 2011′, European Commission Representation in Cyprus and the United Nations Development Programme, Action for Cooperation and Trust in Cyprus (UNDP-ACT), we have the pleasure to add the Goethe Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus, the World Association of Community Radio broadcasters (AMARC) and International Media Support (IMS) who will respectively provide another venue for the conference in the Buffer zone and financial support for the Community Media and the Arab Spring panel. …
