radio – Page 3 – Radio Reporter

March 9, 2021February 23, 2021

ITALY: Aid to broadcasters should be distributed fairly

The 50 million EUR allocated by the Italian government to support broadcasters affected by the drastic drop in advertising due to the pandemic have not been distributed fairly. Stopping the decision of the old executive (Conte II) is Agcom, the Italian Communications Authority. The “Fund for emergencies relating to local broadcasters” had been established by Article 195 of the Decree Law of May 19, 2020, but the implementing decree had been issued by the Ministry of Economic Development only on October 12, 2020. The text defined the procedures for the allocation of the contribution, reserving 95% of the resources for the first hundred television stations in the ranking, and dividing the remaining 5% among those from the hundredth place onwards. This choice, which had already aroused controversy, was rejected by Agcom because it could create market distortions, and the authority hopes to divide it into two portions: one among all the broadcasters meeting the eligibility requirements, in proportion to the score in the ranking list, and the other, in equal parts among the broadcasters, taking care to ensure that the latter portion of resources has a sufficient amount to guarantee adequate subsidizing for the smaller broadcasters.

March 2, 2021February 23, 2021

FRANCE: Lagardère towards the ”break-up”?

The grip is tightening on the Lagardère Group, propped up months ago (read more about it here) by injections of liquidity by Vincent Bolloré (owner of Vivendi, a multimedia group created around Canal+) and Bernard Arnault (owner of LVMH, an international fashion group). Bolloré would have set his eyes on Europe 1, a generalist radio station very much listened to in France, and would like to absorb it and, in view of the next elections, align it with the positions of Marine Le Pen. Arnault, instead, first hour supporter of President Emmanuel Macron, would be interested in the Journal du dimanche and Paris Match. So in the looming tug-of-war, the money may not be enough to get the radio station into Vivendi’s orbit. An extensive summary can be read on the webmagazine Succede Oggi (in Italian, consultation is free). Prima Comunicazione, on the other hand, also talks about Bolloré’s interest in the French group M6, which the German group Bertelsmann is interested in selling.

February 25, 2021February 23, 2021

HUNGARY: Last independent radio station continues on the Web

Last independent radio continues on the Web — Klubrádió continuing online could have a larger potential audience, because the ERP (effective radiated power) of 2,6 kW that the station used on FM allowed it to be heard only in the Budapest area
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Klubrádió, the last independent Hungarian radio station, switched off its FM transmitter at midnight on February 14th, 2021. It was broadcasting on 92.9 MHz from Budapest: its license was not renewed by NMHH (National Media and Telecommunications Authority) because the station had not communicated in time the contents of its programming. But the station’s director, András Arató, defied Viktor Mihály Orbán’s government by continuing online broadcasting and airing the official anthem of the European Union, a piece from the final movement of the Ninth Symphony composed in 1824 by Ludwig van Beethoven, also called the Ode to Joy, which the EU has adopted since 1972. The EU, through a spokesman, asked Hungary to allow Klubrádió to continue broadcasting on FM.

February 16, 2021February 12, 2021

UK: Will Bauer get permission for converting Absolute into Greatest Hits?

Ofcom, the authority that regulates telecommunications in the United Kingdom, is considering an application in which Bauer asks to change the format (the type of programs broadcast) of Absolute Radio, a station it acquired that broadcasts on 105.8 MHz FM from the Crystal Palace site in London. Ofcom has issued a statement to that effect in which it says that “Because these changes would substantially alter the character of Absolute Radio London, we are seeking the views of listeners and other interested parties before making our final decision.”  A station’s program type is closely tied to its broadcasting license, so the authority is reviewing whether the format change will not eliminate a service to which listeners are accustomed.

On the side of consumers

Ofcom regulates radio, TV, video on demand, fixed and cellular telephony, postal services and the spectrum in which wireless devices operate
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The decision will follow the authority’s guidelines, as detailed on the website: “We also help to make sure people across the UK are satisfied with what they see and hear on TV and radio, and that programmes reflect the audiences they serve. We consider every complaint we receive from viewers and listeners. Often, we investigate further and we sometimes find broadcasters in breach of our rules. We are independent, and funded by fees paid to us by the companies we regulate“.

From Absolute to Greatest Hits Radio

Greatest Hits Radio, born in September 2020, is the most important network in the UK
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If the request is accepted, Absolute Radio on 105.8 MHz will change its name to Greatest Hits Radio and will broadcast pop classics and rock hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s, as well as local news and information aimed at Londoners aged 25-54. The consultation will close on March 10, 2021.  Greatest Hits Radio is the new radio network that began broadcasting in September 2020 when Bauer changed formats at 49 of its 56 radio stations. We talked about it here.

Greatest Hits Radio is already now available to Londoners on digital radio (DAB) on the London 1 multiplex on block 12C, in the standard MP2 flavour. On the same multiplex, Londoners also can listen digitally to their beloved Absolute Radio. It will be interesting to read OFCOMs decision – will the DAB presence have any influence?

What is your view? Who should be on 105.8 MHz FM in London?

February 11, 2021February 11, 2021

UK: Radio for Baby Boomers to start on February 14

February 14 starts broadcasting radio for the Baby Boomer generation — Boom Radio is scheduled to officially begin broadcasting on February 14, 2021, but can already be received online at this address
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Boom Radio is a new British radio station that aims to intercept the tastes of Baby Boomers, the generation of over 57s (born between 1946 and 1964, now aged between 57 and 75). The station offers a mix of music, characters and conversations and will be on air on DAB (digital radio) in London, Bristol, Birmingham and Glasgow. The radio station is the brainchild of two radio managers, Phil Riley and David Lloyd, who after realizing that the baby boomers audience, while listening to the radio a lot, did not have a station that intercepted their musical tastes, set out to fill this gap. Their biographies are interesting, both are driven by a sincere passion for radio. Despite the long career behind them, which began as a disc jockey, they decided to get involved (they are also baby boomers), also committing financially in this adventure. But if they have been able to realize it, as they themselves have declared, it is because as soon as they started talking about their idea they immediately had a great response from radio hosts and especially financiers.

February 7, 2021February 3, 2021

MEXICO: Institutional advertising and aid to community radios

To support Mexican community radio stations, new legislation requires government institutions, states and municipalities to spend one per cent of the budget allocated to social communication by purchasing advertising space on community radio stations (Article 89, Section VII of the Federal Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting). The first to implement the legal provision is the Federal Institute of Communications (IFT), which has created a special space on its Internet portal to make it transparent that access to resources is fair.

Support from Unesco for indigenous radios

In Mexico, there are 375 non-commercial radio stations, of which 72% are social, 23.7% community and 3.5% indigenous
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Another support comes from Unesco, which with its ‘Design of public policies‘ project launched in 2020 seeks to bring indigenous content into public and commercial media. Funded by the European Union and the EU-Uesco Expert Bank, it aims to produce programmes in indigenous languages with content that reflects the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Strengthening them helps preserve indigenous languages, cultures and ancestral knowledge. Without forgetting that in the event of natural disasters, their role is irreplaceable, so it is necessary to remove the obstacles that prevent them from obtaining broadcasting authorisation.

January 19, 2021January 15, 2021

SPAIN: RTVA Andalucia is the cheapest public channel in Europe

It’s been months of unrest for workers at RTVA-Canal Sur, Andalusia’s public radio and television station. At the end of November 2020, 400 workers had signed a manifesto against the budget cuts decided by the regional government. To support his argument, the president of the Andalusian junta Juanma Moreno Bonilla had stated several times in interviews that regional television was expensive. But he was defeated by a recent study by the University of Santiago de Compostela, carried out in collaboration with the universities of Valencia, Malaga, Castilla-La Mancha, Barcelona, Madrid, Vigo, Carlos III of Madrid and A Coruña. The report, “Current Panorama and Trends in Public Radio Television in Europe”, shows that the cost for Andalusian citizens is only 16.16 EUR per year, the lowest in Europe. As a whole, Spanish public TV costs citizens 44 EUR per year compared to 160 EUR in Denmark and 113 EUR in the UK.

January 16, 2021January 15, 2021

BELGIUM: Independent radio stations ask for help to broadcast on DAB

Independent Belgium radio stations ask for help to broadcast on dab — MediaSpecs analyzes in detail the problems of independent Belgian radio stations.
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RadioZ, the federation that brings together some 30 independent stations from the Walloon region and Brussels, has appealed to the authorities not to halve funding for the transition to digital radio and to simplify procedures. Independent radio stations are a resource for the media sector: they provide information, support culture and municipal administrations, but above all they are a breeding ground for talent that can then aspire to work in more professional broadcasters. A training job that costs the state nothing, because it does not receive subsidies as, for example, in France. On the contrary, RadioZ denounces the fact that this year several radio associations were refused the annual FACR (Fund for Radio Creation) subsidy due to a lack of resources, used to finance the transition to DAB, which, however, only benefits private networks and the public broadcaster RTBF, which have been broadcasting in digital for more than a year.

You can find all details about DAB in Belgium in our web app at https://www.dablist.org.

December 5, 2020December 5, 2020

JORDAN: A radio station teaches journalism to refugees

The Swiss radio site has dedicated a service to Radio Al-Balad, a community radio station in Amman broadcasting on FM 92.5 MHz, which has devised a programme written and conducted by Syrian refugees.
Source

Radio Al-Balad, a community radio station in Amman, devised a programme written and conducted by Syrian refugees. The idea came from Daoud Kuttab, director of the Community Media Network, to which the station also belongs, to give a voice to the refugees of the conflict, more than 1.3 million in the country. In recent years, the radio staff has trained about a hundred reporters who have produced reports for the programme “Syrians among us”.

December 1, 2020November 30, 2020

Counting the days until Christmas with RadioReporter’s Advent Calendar

Happy 1st of December! Let’s bring the Christmas time on.

For this years anticipation to Christmas the RadioReporter community has created a special surprise for you! We have collected our favourite radio stations and put them in an online Advent Calendar for you.

We proudly present the RadioReporter Advent Calendar. Stay curious and explore a new radio station every day until Christmas. We hope you enjoy our special selection and share it with your loved ones.

Advent Calendar online 2020 — RadioReporter Advent Calendar 2020
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What is the advent time and an advent calendar?

The advent time is a Christian tradition and spans over the period before Christmas. It covers the four Sundays before the Christmas Eve (24th December), starting with the Sunday closest to 30th November, the feast day of Saint Andrew the Apostle.

In the late 1800s the tradition of counting down the days til Christmas started in form of lighting candles or marking the days with chalk. “The first printed Advent calendar originated in Germany in the early 20th century with Gerhard Lang. When Gerhard was a little boy his mother made him a calendar with 24 small candies attached to cardboard, one for each day before Christmas.” (Source)

For more encyclopaedic information click here.