Now that Lancaster & Morecambe’s community radio project Beyond Radio (www.beyondradio.co.uk) has been awarded a 5 year broadcast licence (see previous report), the station is looking for volunteers for a very wide assortment of roles. There will also be an information / recruitment evening at the Borough in Dalton Square on Thursday 25 September.
Our previous local community radio project was Diversity FM which closed in 2012. Duncan Moore was station manager and a presenter for Diversity FM, and he is now CEO of Proper Community Media (Lancaster) Ltd, the not for profit organisation behind Beyond Radio, which aims to have the new station fully operational early next year.
Listen online
In the meantime, you can listen to it streamed online at http://www.beyondradio.co.uk/listen/ (be patient, it can take a minute or two to load).
Get in early
Duncan told us: “We are at that exciting time when all the work we have been doing over the last 2 years is starting to bear fruit and we are ready to move onto the next stage, which is to get local people involved. The great thing about community radio is that it’s open access, which means that anyone, whatever their level of skills, has an opportunity to get involved with the day to day operations of the station.
“We are looking to recruit volunteers across the board. We’ll need presenters, producers, administrators, studio managers, people who can help with our advertising, marketing and publicity and people who want to support the station in many other ways.”
Training available
Duncan went on to say that whilst some knowledge and experience is helpful it isn’t a requirement for volunteers as one of the station’s key commitments is to provide training to people so they can learn new skills. He said:
“Lack of experience isn’t an issue for us. The project is all about providing people with an opportunity to do something they haven’t done before whilst providing a service to our local community.”
Information evening
Beyond Radio is holding a project information evening for people who are interested in finding out more about getting involved. It takes place on Thursday 25 September at 7.30pm at The Borough in Dalton Square Lancaster. There’ll be the opportunity to discuss with staff the role you are interested in and to complete volunteer registration forms on the night. Spaces are limited and pre-registration is available by booking free tickets through Eventbrite or email duncan@beyondradio.co.uk and let him know you are planning to attend.
Team200
The station is also launching its Team 200 initiative and is seeking 200 local heroes who can commit to a monthly donation in order to support the station financially. The station’s Finance Director Nathan Hill explained:
“Team 200 will be a group of local people who feel they can donate to the running costs of the station on a regular monthly basis. Running the station on a purely voluntary level means we can operate on a low cost financial model. Team 200 will play a major part in helping the station survive financially. The cost is £5 per month, which is the price of a couple of Starbucks, but unlike a Vanilla Latte, you’ll get a great deal more for your money.
“Team 200 members will have the knowledge that they are helping the station survive and as such helping to improve their local community. They will also form the Beyond Radio Listener Panel, which will help drive the content of the station, so Team 200 members have a very important role to play in the project.”
To register your interest in joining Team200 email team200@beyondradio.co.uk. Anyone wanting to find out more can visit http://www.beyondradio.co.uk/team-200/ and if you wish to make a one off or regular donation you can click on the DONATE button on any web page.
Stay informed
You can keep up to date with the project by visiting its facebook page and by subscribing to the Beyond Radio newsletter at http://www.beyondradio.co.uk/.