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Section 105 (B) and (C): Catering for tastes and interests/broadening choice<br />
Children and Young People<br />
<strong>Rother</strong>ham has been lagging behind national averages on various educational measures,<br />
such as Key Stage 2 and GCSE results, and also on the number of school-leavers going into<br />
education and training. Things are improving and <strong>Rother</strong> <strong>FM</strong> would like to do its bit to help<br />
engage and encourage children to continue to improve the town’s educational standards.<br />
Stations in the Lincs <strong>FM</strong> Group have a strong record when it comes to education and training.<br />
The Group has compiled a media studies pack for use in secondary schools, and supports<br />
this with station visits for school groups. Dearne <strong>FM</strong> was a partner in the recent Barnsley<br />
Teacher of the Year Awards, while both Trax <strong>FM</strong> and Ridings <strong>FM</strong> have been actively involved<br />
in road safety education at schools in their area. Work experience is regularly provided at all<br />
the Group’s stations, and we have already spoken to staff at <strong>Rother</strong>ham College of Arts and<br />
Technology about how we can help with their media studies courses. The ethos of <strong>Rother</strong><br />
<strong>FM</strong> will be that of the Lincs <strong>FM</strong> Group as a whole: school is fun, children are important to us,<br />
and people should be supported and encouraged in their aspirations. We hope to work with<br />
the local education authority on appropriate projects.<br />
ii) broadening the range of local commercial services available in the area<br />
It’s clear from our market research that there is a strong appetite for local radio in this area, as<br />
Hallam <strong>FM</strong> is the most listened-to station with all age groups from 25 to 64, with Galaxy 105<br />
the first choice of 15-24 year olds, and BBC Radio Sheffield the favourite with over 65s.<br />
There is also apparently high satisfaction with the current selection of commercial radio<br />
stations available – with 70% saying they are fully satisfied. However, once the option of a<br />
local radio station specifically for <strong>Rother</strong>ham is raised, there is a very strong likelihood to<br />
listen: 86%. When given a description of what <strong>Rother</strong> <strong>FM</strong> would sound like, 84% of<br />
respondents believed it would broaden choice. We also know from our conversations and<br />
consultations that there is a strong desire for a station that can be seen as “<strong>Rother</strong>ham’s own<br />
radio station”, in the same way that those we spoke to perceive Trax <strong>FM</strong> as Doncaster’s<br />
station and Dearne <strong>FM</strong> as Barnsley’s station.<br />
Firstly, a thumbnail sketch of each of the existing commercial local radio stations, based on<br />
their published formats and our own monitoring of a weekday’s output (0600 – 1900).<br />
Hallam <strong>FM</strong><br />
Part of EMAP’s “Big City” network, Hallam <strong>FM</strong> describes itself in its format as “Chart and adult<br />
contemporary music and information for 15-44 year-olds in South Yorkshire”. Music<br />
programming will be “predominately” (up to 90%) current chart hits and new releases,<br />
although we have noted in the past year that Hallam <strong>FM</strong>, along with other EMAP “Big City”<br />
stations, have been playing an increased amount of 80s and 90s music. Speech should<br />
account for at least 10% of weekday daytime output.<br />
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