Community radio licence application form TD1 ... - Ofcom Licensing

organisations that do not presently have a voice.
TD1 Radio application form
The Sunday Getherin‟ programme was (until May 2011) carried by the local commercial radio station, however
due to corporate networking the programme was axed. The presenter approached TD1 Radio to enquire if we
would be interested in broadcasting it, which we were delighted to do. The programme has proved to be a big
success and attracts a large number of listeners not only in the local community but also worldwide via our
Internet streaming. This demonstrates that there is an interest and a need for such a programme, which is
backed up by hundreds of comments on the programme‟s Facebook page from listeners saddened at the thought
of their favourite programme being axed. During 2012 we plan to also invite representatives from the local
festivals (Common Ridings, Civic Weeks etc) into the studio to promote and talk about the events.
Local music clubs and groups currently have no specialist programming on radio – something we also tackled
last year. The Scottish Shindig was launched in June 2011 and features Scottish Dance Music. It also allows
local fiddle and accordion clubs to advertise their community news, meetings and publicise open days. We have
also broadcast recordings made at recent open days featuring local artists from the Scottish Dance Music Scene.
(Something that is absent on existing local commercial radio) Similarly, we now boast a Folk music programme
on a Sunday night, which is presented by two members from local folk music clubs. Again, this provides these
clubs the chance to promote their events and news as well as being able to invite guests into the studio to talk
and play live. During 2012 we also plan to expand the number of local folk clubs that are represented.
On the spoken word front, we successfully launched Langlee Live, a weekly half-hour magazine programme
which covers the issues, news and events from the community of Langlee in Galashiels. We have (and will
continue to) invite guests from the community into the studio to talk about what is happening in their community
as well as discuss burning issues of the moment.
C: How will your proposed community radio service add to the range of programmes available on non-
BBC local services (commercial and community stations) to members of the relevant community or
communities, add to the overall range of such services in the area concerned and be different and
distinct from them? Please tell us which non-BBC local services your station will overlap with.
Answer in fewer than 400 words:
We will overlap with Radio Borders, but as mentioned previously, we are already providing different programming
from them. We can happily devote a 30 minute programme to feature local news from a specific community (e.g.
Langlee or Bannerfield), Radio Borders would be unable to do so as it would be deemed unfair to listeners in the
rest of the region. By our very nature, we can focus on these communities and ensure they are given airtime.
During 2012 we plan to move to new studios in Langlee in Galashiels. By basing ourselves in the heart of this
community we can ensure that we are there to provide programming relevant to the community we will serve on
FM.
Our radio station can also allow students or young people to make their own programmes and provide training for
them, something that commercial radio would have little or no time to do.
Coverage of local charity events or open days is another different service we can provide. Commercial radio, by
its very nature, would mean a fee would be charged in most cases, something that a local community group
could not afford. As community radio station we can provide the coverage and outside broadcast facilities free of
charge or at a greatly reduced cost. During 2011 we were “on the road” for eight months of the year bringing live
coverage from events right into the homes of our listeners. We already have a diary filling up quickly for coverage
from events for this year. This alone tells us that the event organisers want us to come back and broadcast live
from their events. Listener interaction too is overwhelming, with hundreds of messages and comments being left
for us during and after our outside broadcasts, either by email or on our Facebook page…
To further enhance our output, our media and market research has helped us develop our proposed new
programme schedule where we can now offer new local radio features. These include an NHS Borders Health
spot, Community Council news, local minority sports news, local charity news, unsigned local bands, local
history, local groups and clubs, youth groups, uniform groups and others. Team meetings and discussions
throughout 2012 will bring these to fruition.
All of the aforementioned points ensure that our output is and will be very different to Radio Borders.
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