NMFM is incredibly proud of all of their volunteers who work very hard to bring listeners up-to-date with news, views and reviews from the local area. They are all responsible for sourcing their own guests and don’t feel that just because they are on a community station that this should compromise on great quality.

The station is incredibly proud of their journey in the past 365 days – from the well-loved broom cupboard, to state of the art studios based at One Central Park, with over 81,500 listeners, 7x members of the team, 100+ volunteers and 24/7 broadcasting with a full schedule. Phew!!!

Steph Jones, Station Manager, and the NMFM Team would like to thank everyone who has helped the station along the way and they hope for continued support in the future. The community radio station manages to keep going through selling advertising, sponsorship and delivering high-quality training. If you are interested in any of our products (or know someone who might be) then please take a look at their media pack.

“Community media platform, producer and partner for the arts” seeks to establish creative and enduring collaborations between community media practitioners and the arts.

Community media is a fast growing sector and includes community radio and television broadcasters, community based independent film makers, and internet, digital and social media groups.  Community media brings people together to share their stories and ideas, giving communities a voice.

This free event will include a mixture of presentations and discussion from the CMA, from the community radio stations: Spark FM, Teesdale FM and Pride Radio.

Seminar attendees will:

• ● understand the strength, reach and structure of community media organisations
• ● hear how community media organisations are working to enhance participation and engagement in the arts
• ● have the opportunity to ask questions about community media in your locality
• ● be aware of a range of community media practitioners from your region

Who should attend? Those with responsibility for:

• ● commissioning cultural service delivery
• ● funding arts and creative activity in the region
• ● developing participatory and engagement opportunities
• ● coordinating local arts and cultural activity

Please note this seminar will be repeated across all Arts Council England Regions.

There will be separate events for arts organisations in the autumn.

For further information about this event and future ones contact arts@commedia.org.uk

In 2009, Felixstowe Radio was awarded a community radio licence which has allowed the station to broadcast in FM Stereo on 107.5 MHz, seven days a week. Transmissions began on 5th September 2009 from the studio housed in Great Eastern Square beside East of England Co-Operative Society premises in Felixstowe.

Felixstowe Radio describe themselves as “a Community Interest Company, run by volunteers with all property locked in as a resources that cannot be removed from the company, and all profits retained and used for community purposes.

We intend to trade, and we want to create jobs, within our own organisation and by providing high-quality training in many aspects of media. We are developing accredited training courses, and will develop bespoke training to meet your needs.

Our team contains a wealth of experience. It is unlikely that a commercial organisation of our size could afford to hire such highly qualified staff”.

Trevor Lockwood, founder-Chairman of Felixstowe Radio, is now a Council Member of the Community Media Association.

Trevor, with a mission to focus on arts and culture, is the only Council Member from the east of England and has already started work with Arts Council England on projects to highlight ways to build audiences for both the arts and community radio. An Arts Council England roadshow in the east of England region is planned very soon, and Trevor is keen to make contact with anyone involved in the arts and community media.

Trevor also supports the campaign for the Make Media Centre that will establish a presence for community media in the new Media City UK, now being built in Salford, which will also form links with the growing Euranet network.

The station, formerly Reading Community Radio, began streaming on the internet for the first time at a launch party at its new studio in Walford Hall in Carey Street, West Reading, on Friday.

Listen to Reading4U here

The charity has invested £18,000 in new equipment to now allow it to provide 24/7 broadcasting featuring news, features, interviews, music and programmes about the town.

It is also actively involved with schools, charities, youth and community groups and many other organisations to encourage them to make their own programmes.

Reading4U chairman and presenter Eddie Winship said: “We have now got new premises and equipment to better serve the community and be a real voice for Reading.

“Originally streaming was seen as a backdoor into radio because it was something done on the cheap which anyone could set up from home with a microphone and a computer.

“But that has changed. It is now at the forefront of technology and will allow us to connect with people through the internet, digital radio and their iPods.”

Reading4U was established in 2006 and first trialled streaming online simultaneously while broadcasting on FM at its former studio at Broad Street Mall in November 2009.

The broadcaster received cash for the project from a Big Lottery Awards For All grant along with further funding from Berkshire Community Foundation, The Earley Charity and donations.

The station’s committee and volunteers were joined at the launch event by a number of organisations and community groups which have featured on past programmes.

Among the guests were representatives from NHS Berkshire West, the British Red Cross, Reading Voluntary Action and Readifolk.

The party also featured music from members of the station including folk group John Stanard and more country music from the Reading Post’s very own Silver Surfer.

Mr Winship added: “It has been a hard slog preparing grant applications but we have got there and I cannot emphasise enough how grateful we are for the support.

“While the Lottery grant was a huge amount, it is great to have received money from Berkshire Community Foundation and The Earley

Charity, keeping it very much within the town.

“It just goes to show how much they can see the benefits of local radio and the value of what we are doing in the community.”

Anyone wishing to get involved can e-mail info@reading4U.org

Words and picture source.

4iP is Channel 4′s innovation fund to stimulate public service digital media (beyond television) across the UK.

• ● 4iP is hunting for tiny, risky ideas as well as big, crunchy ideas.
• ● 4iP will help turn fabulous ideas into delightful running code quickly.
• ● 4iP will help products showing promise to deliver way more impact.
• ● 4iP won’t support products or projects on an ongoing basis.
• ● 4iP wants proposals from as wide range of people and companies as possible. Nobody is too small, nobody too big. Nobody is too close, nobody is too far away.
• ● Your idea could make you a millionaire; your idea could earn you a knighthood for public service, but never turn a profit. Either way 4iP is interested in helping you get started.
• ● 4iP loves connecting people and organisations that otherwise would never get to work together.

4iP will ask the following questions before deciding whether or not to go with a proposal;

• ● Will it deliver 4’s public purposes?
• ● Will it stir things up in 4-like fashion?
• ● Does it meet a user need? Does it scratch an important itch?
• ● Is it 100% native to digital networks, with its centre of gravity in participation or collaboration?
• ● Can it thrive without ongoing financial support from 4iP?
• ● Can it thrive without cross promotion from TV channels?

The photo shows one of these visits which was organized by project administrators Ulfah Arts and BBC WM Communities Editor Jenny Wilkes.

Guests looked on as full-time broadcasting began on the frequency 105FM at 1.05pm.

First voice to be heard on the air-waves was that of Gary King. In the studio with him were chairman Mike Skinner and Mike Ziolek.

Mike Ziolek headed out shortly afterwards in the radio car to talk to people in and around town.

Looking on were guests who included Uckfield Mayor Jim Carvey. Cllr Carvey said it was fantastic to witness the launch.

“This town is a strong community and I think Uckfield FM is going to be very successful. It will be particularly valued when we have bad weather and people need to know what is going on,” he said.

Cllr Louise Eastwood added it was sad that the late Paddy Rae, one of the station’s founders, wasn’t able to share in the excitement.

But Mike Skinner pointed out a picture of Paddy looking down on them in the studio. “He’s watching us,” he said.

Company secretary Phil Moon said the next target was to build a second on-air studio at their Bird-in-Eye premises.

They needed about £50,000 to make that happen. “At the moment we have lots of support from local authorities and the Lottery but we are still looking for something like £25,000,” he said.

He added the station was grateful for all the support it had received from sponsors and advertisers.

In the photo, taken by Ron Hill, are Cllr Carvey cutting the ribbon with Mike Skinner, left, and Gary King.

Uckfield FM will broadcast for 365 days a year and remains a not-for-profit organisation run, in the main, by volunteers. Two members of staff look after the day-to-day running of the studios. The broadcasters are often seen out and about in town providing public announcements at fetes and shows and acting as masters of ceremonies.

Words and picture credit: Uckfield News

Shift Happens: ALT Shift, at York Theatre Royal on 5 and 6 July 2010, showed artists and art organisations how to maximise the growing opportunities that new technologies offer.

The conference was organised by Pilot Theatre in partnership with York Theatre Royal supported by Arts Council England, Yorkshire.

Delegates learned about the latest developments in digital technology, explored innovative online opportunities, and networked with industry leaders.

The conference featured a fascinating line up of speakers, including the National Theatre’s Head of Digital Media David Sabel, artist and computer scientist Jonathan Harris, and world-renowned creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson (pictured on a Skype link-up to the USA).

Denise Fahmy, Visual Arts and Media Officer, Arts Council England, Yorkshire, said: ‘Shift Happens offers a place for the arts community to share the very best in digitally enhanced practice and developments, and we are delighted to be supporting the conference in its third year. Previous conferences have offered both a light-bulb moment for delegates, as well as relaxed reflection. This year the Shift Happens programme is even broader and promises to inspire and motivate the whole arts community to work digitally.’

Conference report link: Ben McKenna

EAVA FM’s philosophy is to broadcast programmes that will be a benefit to all in the community with a view to giving a balanced output targeted to meeting the needs of all, including new migrant communities originating from all over the world.