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Station Manager's Blog: UEA Language Week

Another busy week ahead for the team at Future Radio and this week we are delighted to announce that we will be broadcasting a series of features created by students from UEA's School of Language and Communication Studies in our Language Week.  

  A few months ago Future Radio was contacted by the School in its bid to help their students gain practical experience related to their studies, and to engage and develop projects with the local community. The 'Engagement Workshops' were born out of this wish, and targeted second year students in particular. When Tutors got in touch with us here at Future Radio we were very keen to work with the students and we agreed that the best way to proceed would be to have students produce very short French, Spanish and Japanese lessons (as these are the languages UEA teach at degree level), and that these “ lessons” would be  aired during a special  'Language week’. Future Radio intern Danny Wilson, who is himself a Media student on a placement with us from HuddersfieldUniversity, has worked hard with the group of students to produce these language features and has also gained valuable experience in doing so: “ Its been great getting this opportunity to work alongside other students.. My role has been to show students how to use the radio studios and equipments, record their lessons and then edit them ready for broadcast. In the sessions I showed them how to use the editing tools, which fader was which and how to use the controls. I showed the students how far away the should be from the mic, where to speak into and got them to talk loud and clearly which was sometimes a challenge but fun none-the –less!”

  A lot of students wanted to participate, and here is what one of them said afterwards:

  “For this project, our group wrote and recorded five podcasts, one for each of  us, on some basic but useful things to know whilst on a trip to France: the greetings, how to ask for touristic information, how to book a hotel room or a train ticket and some advice on French cuisine. We all enjoyed this experience  greatly and were glad to have the opportunity to use our French language skills for a practical purpose, whose results we can actually see, well, listen to. Moreover, it was very interesting to see how a radio station is and works”.

  Language Week on Future Radio can be heard all this week on the Norwich Today Show which is broadcast Monday – Friday 12-2pm on 107 .8FM or online at www.futureradio.co.uk/listenlive

  Kate Roma

Acting Station Manager

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Station Manager's Blog: BE Project and BE Your Voice

Future Radio is in the fortunate position – as part of Future Projects – to be able to contribute to a range of exciting and worthy projects in the community. One such project that Future Radio is heavily involved in is the “BE” Project. The BE project is now in its fifth and final year of Big Lottery funding and has worked with over 500 hard-to-reach and disadvantaged young people, providing media skills, radio training, personalised support and mentoring opportunities. The aim of the project is to encourage young people to consult with mainstream youth service providers and have their say on the goods and services aimed at them. This in turn helps those organisations to ensure that their services are effective and have a real impact on young people. For example, the Police Complaints Commission spoke to a group of young people about their leaflet/pamphlet and how it appeals to younger people. The group responded with a variety of ideas about the sizing of the text, placement of logos and images and where the information might be best placed around the county.  As the project draws to a close, many aspects of delivery will continue through Future Radio, including the Young People’s programming strand. This strand supports young people in Norwich to develop radio skills, to discuss relevant topics of interest over the airwaves across Norwich and to consult with mainstream youth service providers.  We’re very proud of the impact the BE project has had on hundreds of young people’s lives over the years and we’re very excited to be in a position to continue that good work, giving young people a forum to have their say and ensuring that marginalised young people are listened to.   Future Radio will also be supporting the ‘ASK AROUND’ process which is a consultation approach designed to bring youth services and young people together to engage in meaningful, two-way discussion about youth-focused services. We will be running an ASK AROUND consultation in May and are currently seeking organisations that may wish to take part. If you want to find out what young people really thing of your product or service ASK AROUND is an exciting and fun way of getting feedback in a relaxed environment. Contact Will Wilson on 01603 250505 [email protected] for more information.  

You can listen to BE YOUR VOICE  hosted by Miles, Hannah, Keenan, Giselle, Jack and Sam on Future Radio 107.8fm at 18:30-20.00 on Wednesdays.   Kate Roma Acting Station Manger

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Station Manager's Blog: Dave Newton and Easter

Evening News – Future Radio column Monday 14th April

  As I write this column, the station is a hive of activity gearing up for the Easter Break. Over  Easter the schedule takes a break from its normal routine and the studios are busy with DJS and presenters coming in to pre-record their  Easter Specials.

  Some of the highlights to look out in our fantastically eclectic schedule over the Easter breaks are: a round-up of some of the great interviews featured on Friday’s Norwich Today Show with Jasmine Reeves on Easter Friday 12- 2pm; a pirate radio/ Radio Caroline tribute with Richard Harrison and Nigel Pearce (Easter Sunday & Easter Monday 7-8am); Acoustic & Eclectic special featuring Folk on the Pier with Richard Penguin (Easter Sunday 2-3pm); My Pride Life Special (Easter Monday 6.30-8pm) and Hotrod Hector’s Variety Show “Quadrophenia” Special – as he would say,  “anything is possible on this show Ladies & Gentlemen!” (Easter Monday 8-10pm).

  It’s always hectic planning for the Easter Break as some of our regular volunteers head off to spend time with their families whilst others (the lucky ones!) take time off work and head to warmer climes. Its all hand on deck to make sure our output is seamless but inevitably, however much you plan ahead you cannot account for the unforeseen glitches. Staff are on stand-by to listen most of the output but as you can imagine there are times when this is not possible. Here again we have volunteers who take over where staff leave off. Once such volunteer is Dave Newton. He has already said he can pop in over the break should the need arise and this helpful attitude has always set my mind at rest when staff cannot be around. Dave retired from work through ill-health a few years ago, but was keen to do something to help out at Future Radio after his son Toby became involved as a presenter in 2007.  Dave regularly helps out booking guests, answering calls and generally helps out where needed. However, he’d probably tell anyone that his favourite part of being involved with the station is getting the opportunity to represent Future Radio at the Norwich City Football Club press conferences. Last Monday with the news that Chris Hughton had been sacked, Dave hot-footed down to Carrow   Road & recorded audio from new NCFC Manager Neil Adams. Once back at the station Dave and Danny Wilson, (our brilliant intern from Hull University), prepared the audio to go out on the Drivetime show giving Future Radio listeners the latest Carrow Road News.

  For details of how you can get involved head to www.futureradio.co.uk

  Kate Roma

Acting Station Manager

http;//www.futureradio.co.uk/listenlive

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Station Managers Blog: Creative Futures & Norwich Gaming Festival

As a naturally sociable person, getting to meet so many different people from all walks of life is one the job highlights here at Future Radio. Getting out and about to events across the city is also a fun but very necessary aspect of running a radio station whose ethos is to firmly embed itself within the community of Norwich.

If you happened to pop into the Forum last Wednesday the chances are you will have seen some of our Future Radio team taking part in the Creative Futures event for young people, their parents and families , as well are career changers who wanted to find out about getting started on a creative career.  Di Cunningham, one of our Breakfast Show presenters, Giselle Jay, a presenter on the BE show & our new marketing apprentice, worked hard on the Future Radio stand taking questions from the general public, whilst Future Radio trainers Hannah Butcher and Andrew Todd worked closely with the BBC Voices team to run workshops for students wanting to know more about creating a radio programme from scratch.

 Getting involved with this event has already produced results. I have received several new applications from enthusiastic people wanting to get involved with Future Radio. We have said this before but it’s worth saying again – our volunteers are the life-blood of this station! But for lots of different reasons volunteers come and go meaning there is always a demand for new volunteers to take up the reigns. A couple of the applications came from UEA students interested in using their degree to go on and get involved in broadcast journalism whilst another recent application came from a 17 year old lad who is keen to start his career in sports commentating having already set up his own YouTube page reporting on the weekly drama unfolding from Carrow Road.   Unfortunately, I could only spend a little time at the Creative Futures event first thing helping to get our stand set up, before heading back to the station. I did get a chance however to meet with many of those who work for organisations we have collaborated with over the years: Outline Magazine, Access to Music and Laboratory Media,  to name a few, and it wasn’t long before the discussions turned to how we could work more closely again. It was great to be part of this fantastic event which really did showcase Norwich as a hot-bed of cultural activity.

This week sees the Norwich Gaming Festival (7th-16th April) come to the Forum and once again expect to see some of our young reporters out and about collecting material which they will edit and get ready to air on several shows across our schedule. 

Listen to Future Radio on 107.8FM or online at www.futureradio.co.uk/listenlive

  Kate Roma

Acting Station Manager

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Station Managers Blog: Volunteers & Volunteering

In the course of my work here at Future Radio I and often met with surprise when I tell people that there are only two full-time and one part-time members of staff employed here at Future Radio. This station would simply not exist without the commitment from our extremely knowledgeable volunteers who do everything from produce and present shows, booking guests, to producing programme notes and editing features and shows together. Currently we have between 50- 100 regular volunteers working as part of the Future Radio team to ensure that day-in and day-out 24 hours a day there is quality output from 107.8FM. We have said before that volunteers apply to join the Future Radio Team for very different reasons. Some want valuable experience working in the media to enhance their CVs, some come along because they have a passion for music and want to get involved in one of our specialist DJ slots and some just want to feel they are contributing to not only an fantastic, well-respected radio station, but are doing something that gives something back to the community of Norwich.

We have had numerous volunteers who have gone onto have successful careers in the media. Perhaps the most high-profile ex-Future Radio presenter is none other than BBC Radio1 and BBC TV presenter Greg James. He was one of our Drivetime presenters when I first joined in 2006 he has never forgotten how his time at Future Radio gave him an invaluable opportunity to test out his ideas and presenting skills as he has mentioned in more than once in interviews he’s given since. And as I sat down with many of you to watch the launch of Mustard TV I was very pleased to spot that Beth Davison,  an ex- Future Radio presenter, is now co-presenting the new Mustard Show with Darren Eadie.

So if you are someone who is keen to gain experience working in the media Future Radio is a radio station that really does provide fantastic opportunities. Currently, for example, our Afternoon Sessions (Monday- Thursdays 2-3pm) are presented by those wanting to gain experience in  presenting music based shows. David Eastaugh, Alex Munford, Dean Tucker and Nigel Pearce are shining examples of people who have developed their on-air talent in these slots and as a result have been offered other shows on the schedule. We are very keen to nurture individual talent and soon will be announcing several different roles we are seeking to fill.

So until then if you want to get involved please head to our website and fill out the form – we are waiting to hear from you! http://www.futureradio.co.uk/getinvolved

  Kate Roma

Acting Station Manager 

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Station Managers Blog: The Rise of Kate Roma

This week marks a new dawn in the life of Future Radio. After working alongside Terry Lee in various roles over the past few years we all wished Terry well in his new job and bid him a fond farewell as he departs the role of Station Manager. Whilst the dust settles I find myself in the role of Acting Station Manager and already my inbox is twice as busy….

My love of radio has been lifelong so when the opportunity to volunteer with Future Radio arose way back now in 2006 I jumped at the chance and from the first show I presented -  I was hooked. I have been passionate about Future Radio ever since and have enjoyed all the roles that I have been fortunate enough to take on – Presenter, Producer, Arts-Coordinator, Advertising & Marketing Coordinator, Deputy Station Manager and now Acting Station Manager. It’s been a dream job to work in an environment that feels authentic to who I am. I get to combine my love of radio with working for an organisation that embeds itself within the community of Norwich and offers those who would not normally get a chance to have a voice.

As we look forward to the rest of 2014 Future Radio will continue to develop and offer more exciting opportunities to get involved. We will soon be launching our new website – more news on that soon – and once again we are pleased to be working with our fantastic partners across the city and beyond. One of the joys of working at Future Radio is the huge amount of networking we do with organisations, businesses and people we respect and genuinely like. It’s been said before- we are so much more than a radio station. 

With festival fever about to grip the city again this year Future Radio are once again media partners for this years Norfolk & Norwich Festival– listen out for the latest festival news across our schedule and more in-depth interviews on our award wining arts & culture show Platform (Sundays 5-6pm repeated 11pm-12) and Norwich Today (Monday – Friday magazine show 12-2pm.) We are also pleased to announce our recent partnership with Norwich Arts Centre promoting their exciting and diverse programme of events to our culture- vulture- music -loving listeners.  We continue to work with The Forum Trust, Norwich Pride, The Broads Authority, OPEN venue, Best Bar None Norwich, the UEA and RSA as well as our fabulously talented volunteers that make Future Radio one of the most successful community radio stations in the UK.

Right , I’d better get back to those emails….

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Station Managers Blog: My Final Day

This Wednesday, I have worked my final day for Future Radio. After working here for 7 years (and living in Norwich for 11 years), this is a significant move for me. At Future Radio I have learnt my trade, I have made many, many friends, I have grown and developed as a person. Thanks to Future I feel like I have contributed to Norwich as a city. This will always be a special place for me. And I have many happy memories.   In 2008 a group of my friends arranged to go to Exit Festival in Novi Sad. I soon realised that Novi Sad was twinned with Norwich and that there was always a huge group of Norwich-locals and bands that attended this festival. I decided to make a short documentary about the festival and the twinning. It was brilliant fun.   In January 2009 I decided my New Year’s resolution was to give blood.  I called the NHS Blood and Transplant team and organised for their press-person to meet me at the Assembly House, where me and the then Station Manager Tom Buckham gave blood whilst I recorded some of the key bits for radio. I have given blood 14 times now, I’m not sure if Tom ever did again (he fainted!).   The following November was probably one of the most exciting I had at Future Radio. First, I organised a big outside broadcast from UEA for Next Big Thing final. It was won by ‘Console Wars’ and featured a performance from the previous year’s winner Ed Sheeran.   Later in the month I did a charity ‘Marathon Broadcast’ – 27 hours of broadcasting from 7am on Thursday till 10am on Friday. Although I was tired by the end, it was great fun. I particularly enjoyed playing not-safe-for-daytime tracks overnight.   In 2011 Future Radio were awarded funding from the Broads Authority for a project about ‘the Wherryman’s Way’ – a 35 mile walk from Norwich to Great Yarmouth. The project involved making five documentaries and creating lesson plans about the various points of geographical interest for schools. It was very rewarding, and a project I’d be keen to replicate.   Of course, there were many other happy memories too – thanks to working with some ace colleagues, volunteers and listeners. Future Radio is not just any place to work, everyday thousands of people let us in to their lives. I know Future Radio made a difference to mine (I have a wife and daughter to prove it).   Good luck Future Radio, and thank you for everything Norwich. 

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Station Managers Blog: Community Radio

On Friday 28th February 2014, Future Radio was mentioned in the House of Commons. Ed Vaizey, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), was talking about a recent community radio project we were involved in and said: “The recent ‘Connect:Transmit’ project is a good example of how community radio comes together to support skills and training for young people. It was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and co-ordinated by Radio Regen, a charity supporting the community radio sector. It worked with four community radio stations: Shmu FM in Aberdeen, BCB in Bradford, Future Radio in Norwich, and Preston FM.” It’s obviously great to hear Future Radio being mentioned in parliament as a ‘good example’ – and I am very proud of everyone who was involved in delivering our part of the project. Ed Vaizey spoke at length about Community Radio and the importance of the sector: “The framework for community radio was set up in 2004 by the last Government. In my view, it has been an astounding success. Community radio is run by not-for-profit organisations that provide a social gain to the communities they serve. It provides original, distinctive and—crucially—local output, and relies on a huge amount of effort and support, with stations receiving an average of around 214 volunteering hours every week.” As well as managing Future Radio, I am also a director for the Community Media Association (CMA). Mr Vaizey was also complimentary about the work of the CMA: “Community stations are supported by the Community Media Association, which does a fantastic job of representing the sector and providing information and advice to stations and prospective start-ups.” The CMA is committed to promoting access to the media for people and communities. They enable people to establish and develop community-based communications media for empowerment, cultural expression, information and entertainment. The CMA also represents the community media sector to Government, industry and regulatory bodies. What’s fantastic about being mentioned by Ed Vaizey in parliament is that it reinforces the view that Future Radio is one of top community radio stations in the UK. What’s better still is that we have hundreds of volunteers from this fine city to thank for our fantastic reputation. I’m really proud that Future Radio has been recognised as an example of best practice in the House of Commons. I hope Norwich is proud too.