OUR RADIO STATION

Are there too many radio stations around the globe? With no-end of commercial stations hitting the financial skids in the last couple of years you might well think so.

So why start a new station right now, like Black Cat Radio, St Neots, in Cambridgeshire to serve a relatively small area?

In Britain by taking a glance at the RAJAR audience figures you might conclude that the days of independent local radio and even BBC Local Radio are coming to a gloomy end. The audience share and listening hours have been in slow painful decline for a decade.

But it's not the same for all stations with most national, and many regional specialist stations gaining share or at worst holding their own in the face of an increasing number of digital and analogue competitors.

So is local radio dead? Well maybe if management thinking does not evolve with audience needs.

A twenty per cent fall in advertising revenue led to a massive cut in the USP of commercial local stations – being local. This has led to reductions in everything from news, information and even more importantly being seen to be part of the community. The BBC meanwhile appears to "tick the boxes" when it comes to local Public Service Broadcasting" but the audience response has been a continuing slide in listening hours.The successful stations though are getting involved and are therefore being seen and heard.

In the UK there are excellent examples of where local can make it to the top of the ratings. Radio Pembrokeshire relentlessly branded itself onto its coverage area by using every excuse possible to get anybody and everybody on-air. The result was a massive share and reach/cume of 60% under its original owners. Radio Pembrokeshire's first Managing Director (CEO) Keri Jones, who as well as being breakfast presenter had another trick up his sleeve to win the hearts of his audience -"everybody"as he put it- content producers. The team of four content producers spent most of the time out of the studio producing audio from people who lived in the station's area. The result was an incredibly successfully service both in terms of audience and profit.

But where do small stations make an impact in an era of tight finances and increasing competition? There are two ways to go but both centre around one word COMMUNITY. In commercial radio this could mean community of interest – stations which have narrow but specialized target and can reap benefits from this such as 'Rock Radio Manchester"or the Asian service "Sunrise". Then there is the choice that Black Cat Radio wants to take. "Community" this time is a small town that has its own special identity but because of its location is perceived as being outside the main editorial areas of its supposed local BBC and commercial stations. Even its weekly newspaper is shipped in from another town miles away.

St Neots is the largest town in a Cambridgeshire and yet it is getting a raw media deal. It has already been publicly proven there is a demand for its own radio station from members of the public, businesses and councillors. Community radio is already making inroads into listening habits in Britain and brings a number of benefits as Black Cat Radio's MD Tony Gilham explains:

"It's vital to get local people on-air but in a variety ways. It's not just St Neots residents who want to be presenters who are going to be trained by the station team. We want everyone representing St Neots clubs, sports organisations, companies public services and of course the town's musical heritage to be involved in what we do".

Black Cat's Mark Hansard sums it up:

"Every community needs an identity, a voice for their concerns, their ideas and their feelings. Black Cat Radio would fill that void by becoming the community station of St Neots".

Meanwhile the media regulator, Ofcom, is planning to carry out a "sweeper operation" in the next year offering licences to towns and communities that currently do not have stations of their own. The economy may be having a tough time but community radio may well be a catalyst that's needed on a local basis to successfully fight off ever increasing nationally managed media.

Graham Hughes