Spinning Indie: global

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Monday, February 13, 2012

Radio Station Field Trip 29 - Trinity FM at Trinity College Dublin

View out the Window at Trinity FM

Last month when I was visiting Ireland I managed to visit two student radio stations near Dublin. My first stop was Belfield FM, which I profiled a few weeks back. My next visit was to the Trinity College radio station in Dublin, known simply as Trinity FM.

I headed over to Trinity FM on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 17, 2012. Located near the entrance to the college, the station was on the top floor of House 6, a historic campus building that contains a number of offices, including a book shop and the communications office. Trinity College itself is more than 400 years old and the campus features beautiful old buildings surrounding a central area full of walking paths and green spaces. Despite the age of the university, the radio station is relatively new and first started as a temporary station around 1998 in order to cover the "Trinity Ball," a massive annual music party held on campus to celebrate the end of each academic year. The station was such a hit that they decided to keep it going.

Trinity College Dublin. Trinity FM is Located on the Top Floor

Run entirely by student volunteers, Trinity FM operates out of a small space up several flights of stairs in House 6. When I visited they hadn't yet resumed broadcasting for the semester, but were set to start webcasting from 5pm to midnight beginning on January 30th. As is the case with many student stations in Ireland, Trinity has a special radio license that allows them to broadcast over FM for a specific number of weeks every year. This year they are approved for 6 weeks of terrestrial broadcasts, which will air from 9am to midnight during 6 pre-arranged weeks throughout the year over 97.3 FM. The first FM week this semester will be the week of February 20 to 24.

An old Schedule for Trinity FM

Trinity FM's Station Manager Matthew Taylor toured me around the station and filled me in on the inner-workings of the station. Taylor said that there is a great amount of interest in the student radio station, with 300 people signing up to join Trinity FM during Freshers Week (the week before classes start). He said that about 100 students are active at the station, with a core group of 20 to 30 volunteers. Students who sign up to volunteer at Trinity have the opportunity to apply for regular streaming shows, which pretty much air for the entire year. Approximately 60% of the streaming shows are music shows and 40% are talk programs.

Trinity FM Station Manager Matthew Taylor in the Studio

FM shows work a little differently and the application process is much more competitive. An editorial board selects programs for FM across a number of specific categories, including news/current events, culture, Irish, light entertainment, film, European affairs, and music. Taylor said that the FM slots fill up quickly, as editors match applicants with available time slots. During the weeks when FM broadcasts occur, the regular streaming shows go on hiatus.

In terms of content, shows on Trinity FM include the live music show Reverb, which features local bands, the popular long-running (it's in its 7th year) Plastic Soul show which is hosted by a Drama lecturer from Texas, and a vinyl-focused show called Wax Poetics. Over the years there have also been a number of shows hosted by international students from Russia, the United States, and South Africa. Schedule updates can be found on Trinity FM's twitter feed and on its Facebook group.

Taylor said that DJs have a lot of freedom to do what they'd like on their shows as long as they are respectful of the rules. Hosts are asked to limit swearing before 8pm and to not air anything libelous. They also aren't allowed to smoke or drink in the studio so as to ensure that equipment isn't damaged. Taylor mentioned that many years ago a DJ was kicked off the air after for a foul-mouthed show about bondage. He said that when the show was initially awarded the DJ was vague about the concept of the show, so it ended up being a surprise to the staff when he went on air. He added that they do listen and check in on FM shows in particular for appropriateness, especially after that incident. Streaming content has a little more freedom and isn't as regulated as terrestrial radio in Ireland.

They've opted to divide the 6 weeks allotted for FM broadcasts across the academic year so that terrestrial broadcasts occur for the most part during the last week of every month. The frequency of 97.3 is actually shared across a number of broadcasters, which is part of the reason why they are only licensed to use it for a certain number of weeks every year. The FM signal only reaches about 2 miles, so for the most part Trinity FM is only heard on campus.

Trinity FM Office

The small Trinity FM space includes an office and the broadcast studio. Since it's in a historic building they have some limitations on what they can do with the space and because of that they are unable to do extensive soundproofing. For that reason they have to make sure that people in the office aren't too loud when a DJ is on the air in the adjacent studio. Additionally, because the historic structure can't be upgraded to be wheelchair accessible, Trinity FM is unable to apply for some community funding that is contingent upon having a more accessible station. There was some talk that they might be about to move to a Student Center in a different building, but those plans were squashed when a Student Center referendum failed to gain enough votes.

Trinity FM Studio (Notice the Old Fireplace in the Background)

For the most part DJs bring their own music to Trinity FM, with some opting to bring CDs and vinyl, but many just use You Tube or play music from their laptops. While I was touring the station, one DJ popped in and mentioned that he'd been sent a red transparent vinyl record and he spoke of it as if it was a novelty, so it would seem that vinyl is only sparingly played there despite the availability of turntables. They have a 45 gig library of digital music available for DJs to play, but there isn't much in the way of a physical library. A CD library does exist, but it was in a locked cupboard when I visited. I was told that DJs play an eclectic mix of music including indie, folk, reggae and live music.

In addition to their on-air work, Trinity FM also brings events and lectures to Trinity College, including a series of talks presented by professional DJs who have shared stories about working in radio. One station volunteer is working on a graduate project related to radio journalism and someone else from Trinity FM did her dissertation on the topic of radio and society. The station has also put on a number of concerts on campus, including a recent one in a chapel and another in a gothic building. One ambitious event, the Hallow Sessions, was a mini acoustic music festival.

As I toured the station I was also impressed to see their painted wooden signage. I was told that due to the inclement, often windy and rainy weather in Ireland, regular banners often blow away at events. Because of that, they have built big wooden signs that they haul out for campus events like Freshers Week (the week before classes start).

Taylor said that he's really enjoyed his time at Trinity FM and mentioned that he's gotten close to many people through his work there. He used to do a news and public affairs show and has attended conferences in Brussels on behalf of the station. He said, "Being on the radio is really fun."

Thanks so much to Matthew Taylor and everyone else at Trinity FM for giving me the grand tour.

Radio Station Field Trip 27 - KEAR and Family Radio in Oakland

Radio Station Field Trip 28 - Belfield FM at University College Dublin

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Radio Station Field Trip 28 - Belfield FM at University College Dublin

When I was out of the country during the past few weeks, I couldn't resist the opportunity to resume my Spinning Indie radio station field trip series by visiting a few student radio stations in Ireland. First up was Belfield FM, the student radio station at University College Dublin (UCD). Located just outside of Dublin in the town of Belfield, the station itself is hidden away on a corridor just off a tunnel adjacent to the James Joyce Library. During the 2011-2012 academic year the station is broadcasting on 107.8 FM and online.

Belfield FM Office

An interesting thing about many student radio stations in Ireland is that some of them bounce around the FM dial and aren't on the same frequency from year to year. Each year certain stations apply for a frequency and last year Belfield FM was only on FM for a total of 4 weeks. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is the regulatory agency that handles radio licensing in Ireland. The BAI allows for temporary radio licensing, which is why a number of stations operate for only a few weeks out of the year. A recent list of temporary sound broadcasting applications (PDF) includes Belfield FM, which is licensed to broadcast Mondays through Fridays. Currently they broadcast from 1pm to 9pm from a transmitter atop their campus building, although most of their listeners tune in online. Some other college radio stations in Ireland, including Spinning Indie field trip stop FlirtFM, are designated community/special interest broadcasters and broadcast on a more permanent basis.

Belfield FM Studio

Student radio has been a staple of UCD since 1990, although the name Belfield FM wasn't introduced until 2006. In the early days, they only broadcast terrestrially for 4 to 6 weeks out of the year and the station shut down for several years before relaunching. Since 2008 the station has been in its current location, but it's scheduled to move to a new Student Center on campus in September. Its new studio in the Student Center has already been built and they should have access to it by April. They will continue to use the current studio as a production studio so that DJs will have the ability to pre-record their shows.

I visited Belfield FM on the afternoon of Monday, January 16, 2011, which was the first day of broadcasts for the new semester. Although I knew the general location of the station, I still had a difficult time finding it since the door to the station only contained a tiny handwritten sign on a ripped scrap of paper reading "Belfield FM." The volunteers who I met with told me that every year the station is a stop of a campus "treasure hunt" and acknowledged that they should probably make a bigger sign.

Belfield FM's small space contains an office with a couch, desk, and broadcasting equipment as well as an adjacent studio. Although the surroundings are spartan, the station has around 80 volunteers including approximately 50 regular participants.

Checking out the lack of signage of the door to Belfield FM

When I visited, 4 DJs were hanging around the office and it was fun hearing their stories about the station. Station Manager Peter Branigan toured me around the station and was joined by the Executive Producer of BeatsanPieces Dylan Gray, Assistant Manager Oisín Boyce, and Assistant Manager Darragh O'Connor. They all pointed out the great sense of community that they've felt at Belfield FM and mentioned that they've met many of their close friends through the station. They also mentioned that many students on campus are interested in coming in to the station and that they frequently have friends asking them about radio.

The station isn't connected to an academic department at UCD, instead existing as a student club that is funded by the Student's Union and student fees. DJs have a lot of freedom and there are a range of shows on-air, from music shows, to talk shows, to sports programs. There aren't too many restrictions other than not swearing (they told me that there are 5 dirty words in Ireland) or defaming anyone over the air. DJs keep track of their playlists on paper, but those lists aren't used for any sort of charting.

Paper Playlist

Although there isn't much in the way of a music library other than a small drawer full of CDs, most of their material has been digitized and Belfield FM has a digital music library containing nearly 16,000 tracks. Most DJs bring their own music and frequently play material and music off of You Tube. CD players are also available for DJs to use, but there are no turntables or tape decks in the studio.

CD Drawer

Live bands also come to play at Belfield FM, particularly on the "Unsigned and Underrated" show. There's also an "International Music Show," on Friday nights at 5:30pm, "School of Heavy Metal Studies" program on Wednesday nights at 5:30pm, and an "Electro Show." Darragh O'Connor also hosts the "Wrestleview International Desk" program which delves into the world of wrestling.

Belfield FM has also produced a number of live broadcasts, including sabbatical debates, which they broadcast from a nearby campus theater by running wires from their studio. They just got funding to purchase an outside broadcast unit, so the station is hopeful that it can air more live events, including sports commentary.

Belfield FM Broadcast Bible

I'm always interested in the nitty gritty details about a station's operations, so I was excited to grab a copy of the Belfield FM Broadcasting Bible from 2009-2010 (a copy of which can also be found on their website, along with other materials for volunteers). According to the Broadcasting Bible, "We want to provide the students of UCD with an accessible forum for information, debate and concerns relevant to all aspects of student life, and to create an awareness of the student community among the wider population of the city."

Thanks to everyone at Belfield FM for showing me around your fine station! Stay tuned, my next stop in the Spinning Indie field trip series will be to another student radio station in Ireland.

Radio Station Field Trip 26 - KSFS at San Francisco State University

Radio Station Field Trip 27 - KEAR and Family Radio in Oakland

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ypulse Mashup 2010 Recap: Day One- Radio's Role in HIV Prevention, MTV's Digital Bill of Rights, Metal, and Mobile

Ypulse Mashup 2010

Although my main focus these days is on the worlds of radio and music, I've always had a strong affinity for teen culture. I did my college thesis on adolescent diaries, worked at an ad agency tracking youth trends on accounts like Levi's, spent most of grad school writing about youth-oriented TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Real World, and Parker Lewis Can't Lose, and even worked for a dot com that helped teenagers to shop online without a credit card.

When I ran across Ypulse back in 2004 I thought that I had found a youth culture soul mate in its author, Anastasia Goodstein. She'd spent many years writing about young people and devoted her blog to chronicling the goings on in youth media and technology.

For the past three years Ypulse has hosted Mashup events, in which youth enthusiasts come together to learn about the latest in youth technology and media. These events draw marketers from both non-profit and for-profit companies, educators, journalists, and youth experts.

This year's event took place on May 24th and May 25th in San Francisco at the Hotel Nikko. As I did last year, I will focus my Spinning Indie coverage on the music and radio-related tidbits that I gleaned.

Youth, Health & Social Media Marketing Session: Radio is Still Relevant, But Mobile is Huge

A really cool theme throughout the entire conference was the importance of social causes and giving back. The first session that I attended featured several panelists talking about how their organizations reach out to youth in order to address various health-related issues.

Tina Hoff from the Kaiser Family Foundation shared some factoids (PDF) from their 2010 study, "Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds." It's an awesome study that reveals how much the media landscape has changed in the past decade. In terms of music and audio, she pointed out that according to their study, 76% of youth own an iPod/mp3 player, 66% own cell phones, and 29% own laptops.

Young people spend more than 2 and a half hours each day listening to music/audio, with 23% of that listening time through radio and 23% through computers. Twenty-nine percent of the time young people are choosing to listen to music through an iPod, 12% of the time listening is through a cell phone, and 12% of listening is via CDs. She also mentioned that in a typical day, young people are spending 17 minutes listening to music via their cell phone. Although her presentation just scratched the surface of the study, earlier this year I took a close look at the report and pulled out all of the radio and music-themed findings.

Trina DasGupta shared the case study "Mobile Matters: Youth Empowerment and HIV Prevention in South Africa" (PDF). She spoke about the project loveLife and how it's working to educate youth in South Africa about HIV prevention. And, interestingly, loveLife is making a significant use of both traditional radio and mobile to reach young people. In South Africa, the Internet is not the best way to communicate information, with only 10% of the country having Internet access.

Radio is still a significant form of communication and loveLife not only utilizes public service announcements, but also airs weekly programs on 11 stations and has an entire program called "Radio Ys" in which young people are getting trained in radio production and are hosting radio shows related to HIV Prevention. At the same time, loveLife has created a mobile social network since 75% of South African youth own mobile phones. It's a fascinating approach, using both new and traditional media.

MTV also shared some of the projects (PDF) that they are doing in order to advance social causes. Jason Rzebka talked about their latest project, A Thin Line, in which they are helping to raise awareness of digital abuse, as well as "It's Your (Sex) Life's" GYT (Get Yourself Tested) campaign and mtvU's attempt to address mental health issues (and erase the stigma of mental illness) on campus with "Half of Us."

In each campaign they've provided opportunities for MTV viewers to create content, submit stories, or write lyrics in response to various questions or challenges. One of the latest projects is an app called "Over the Line," which Jason described as a "digital morality meter." Through the app, people can submit and rate stories related to digital abuse, judging whether certain behaviors are over the line or not (for example, demanding access to a boyfriend's emails or texts). The day of the conference, MTV also launched a "A THIN LINE's Digital Bill of Rights", inviting youth to craft their own rules about how they want to be treated online (or via mobile devices), from protecting one's privacy to being safe from bullying.

As is always the case with MTV, social causes are incorporated within their programming, from "The Real World" to "16 and Pregnant" and music and musicians are often the message-bearers. (By the way, later in the day Jason also did a separate presentation (PDF) focused exclusively on the "A Thin Line" campaign).

Action Sports and Music: Vans Warped Tour as Rite of Passage

Next I dashed into a session about action sports because there was a presentation about the Vans Warped Tour, dealing with the intersections between music and sports. Kathleen Gasperini from Label Networks talked about how influential music and musicians are to young people. She said that the Vans Warped Tour (coming up in a few weeks) has become a "quintessential rite of passage for North American youth culture" and that music helps to forge connections between kids across both gender and ethnicity. She also talked a bit about music subcultures, from NuRave and Synth Punk to Metal. My favorite quote of the day came from her, when she said that metal never really went away, "it just went to Europe for awhile."

Radio, Music and Global Youth

I missed the session about Global Youth, but Ypulse has kindly posted many of the presentations on their website. One thing that caught my eye in the presentation about youth culture in China, was a slide on the "vintage trend" featuring a picture of a young person holding a boombox and sitting next to a dial telephone. I wonder what that means for terrestrial radio?

Ypulse's Dan Coates shared some figures about U.S. youth from Ypulse's research division. According to Dan, 17 to 26-year-old non-college students listen to radio (overall) an average of 7 hours a week compared with 4 hours a week for college students in the same age group. Non-college students listen to traditional radio an average of 5.1 hours a week (vs. 2.6 hours for college students), listen to online radio 1.3 hours a week (vs. 1.1 hours for college students), and listen to satellite radio 1 hour a week (vs. 0.45 hours for college students).

Archeological Dig of Student Backpacks: Condoms, Tampons, and Flash Drives

I love it when researchers do projects in which they delve into the lives of people in real-world settings. It's just WAY more interesting to talk to teenagers in their bedrooms, on shopping trips, or at their schools than to chat with them inside a sterile focus group facility. For the next presentation, Dan Coates presented findings from an audit of the contents of the backpacks (PDF) of more than one thousand high school and college students in the United States. He pointed out that for young people, a backpack is a "library, a workplace, a financial center, a medicine cabinet, a cosmetic counter, a communications hub, a safe deposit box, and a stash."

It was fascinating to hear about the range of items found in backpacks, from underwear to a "beat up apple," a "marginal banana," and a crucifix/knife. As you might guess, young people carry a lot of technology in their backpacks, including items to facilitate listening to music, such as MP3 players (57% of girls, 52% of boys) and headphones (42% girls, 41% boys).

Genevieve Bell at the Ypulse Mashup

Genevieve Bell's Keynote Presentation: An Anthropologist's Take on Product Innovation

In the afternoon we heard a keynote presentation from anthropologist Genevieve Bell. As the Director of the User Experience Group at Intel's Digital Home Group, she is fixated on "consumer-centric product innovation" and global research. I was very interested in her comments about "stubborn devices" like television, as many future tech-oriented folks seem to discount their ongoing relevance. She said that home TV viewing in the United States has actually gone up in the past 10 years to 4 to 6 hours a day on average, even though that viewing may be in the background while using other devices like laptops. She added that the fastest growing group of TV watchers is young people (aka millenials), with their viewing increasing by 18% in the past 6 years. [I'm super curious to know what Genevieve would say about radio, as it seems to be another stubborn device, being used by most, despite popular perceptions to the contrary]

Genevieve also argued that there may be a backlash against the "always on, always connected" lifestyle of mobile devices and social networks. She is seeing evidence of people turning off their phones in order to manage their relationship to mobile and has found that some people are turning away from online social networks. She said that when a technology ceases to be "new" or "sexy," then people may end up using it less.

In terms of privacy fears, Genevieve argued that people now assume that all of their information is already out there and are in fact more afraid of certain pieces of information damaging their image or reputation. She said that people are afraid of others knowing "what we're really watching on television," because that could make them look uncool.

I was happy to see that Genevieve also emphasized that, "a globally located world doesn't end localness" and that there is "no single arc of technology adoption." In terms of radio, I've found that to be true, in that its power lies in its localness and in the fact that how it is used around the world can vary tremendously, depending on the other available forms of communication technology and media.

DJs from The DJ Project

Happy Hour with the DJ Project: Digital Turntables

The first day of the Mashup ended with a reception that featured young DJs from The DJ Project "spinning" music for the attendees. I was fascinated to see that the slabs of vinyl being manipulated and scratched on the 2 turntables were seemingly "blank" DJ records that were used to interact with digital music files on a computer. I chatted a bit with the DJs about this and they commented that it's a lot easier than lugging around a bunch of vinyl. It's the perfect reflection of the seemingly contradictory trends of music's digital future and the renewed interest in vinyl records.

It was awesome to see The DJ Project at Ypulse, as it's an amazing youth empowerment program in San Francisco that uses "music to engage young adults" and provides classes in audio production, DJing, and break dancing.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Radio Station Field Trip 18 - Flirt FM in Galway, Ireland

Flirt FM Entrance in August 2009

Last month I took a trip to Ireland and was particularly excited to check out the college radio scene there. It turns out that there are only 3 official, regularly broadcasting student radio stations in the entire country and that student radio is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland. Unfortunately none of those three stations were broadcasting during the last 2 weeks of August; with two on summer break and one (Flirt FM) readying for a move to new digs.

Cheers to Flirt FM for welcoming me to their station, even though they were in the midst of a construction zone and were in a pre-move frenzy.

Located at National University of Ireland in Galway, Flirt FM went on the air in 1995. According to founding station manager Andrew Ó Baoill, the station "started as a student effort," whereas the other college stations in Ireland were initially less student-driven.

Thanks so much to Flirt FM's current station manager Paula Healy and Programme Controller Louise Clarke for touring me around the old station and talking to me about student radio in Ireland.

I stopped by for a visit on Thursday, August 27, 2009. It was summer break (although you wouldn't know it by the torrential rain) and the campus was fairly deserted except for construction crews feverishly working on various projects.

Offices at Flirt FM in August 2009

In order to reach Flirt FM I had to walk through a building and then go outside in order to navigate through a labyrinth of barbed wire fencing. Workers had to actually move a fence for me so that I could get to the station. These "old" digs for Flirt FM just happened to be adjacent to some of the major work being done on campus, making the station a bit inaccessible.

Poster Rolling and Cupcake Party at Flirt FM

A group of people were hanging out inside the Flirt FM offices rolling up posters in preparation for the beginning of the school year. Paula told me that they work really hard to get the word out about the station and she was particularly pleased that for the past two years they've been able to get posters in the hands of all 1st year students. She told me that it's really important for students to know that Flirt FM exists and that it's a "proper radio station."

With a pretty large broadcast range of about 15 miles in every direction (in an "egg shape"), Flirt FM has listeners from not only the campus, but also from the surrounding community.

Flirt FM-August 2009

Paula's been involved with Flirt FM off and on since 1998. She told me that she joined the campus "Radio Society" and was both shocked and happy to learn that there was a station on campus. She's been the official Station Manager since April 2007 and is driven by her love for both the station and for music.

According to Paula, the station exists not only to provide a service to listeners, but also to provide training for students. Like college stations in the U.S., it's primarily a station of volunteers (as many as 120).

Flirt FM- Notice the Burlap Walls and Color-Coded Mics/Chairs

Paula and Louise are the only paid staff members. According to their license, Flirt FM's emphasis is to be an alternative to mainstream radio. About 60% of their programming is music and 40% is talk. Within these categories, 15% of the music is supposed to be of Irish-origin and 20% of the talk should be current affairs programming.

Station Log

The Irish version of the FCC is called BCI (Broadcasting Commission of Ireland) and this regulatory agency grants licenses to stations and follows up to make sure that stations are living up to the terms of their contracts. Paula mentioned that the station had recently been audited, with the BCI listening to a 12 hour sample out of a week's worth of programming.

In terms of their schedule, Flirt FM broadcasts 20 hours a day on weekdays. Night-time is when their air "specialist music" beginning at 8pm. Paula told me that Monday nights are devoted to punk and metal, Tuesdays feature indie and alternative, Wednesday nights focus on "left field" or noise, Thursdays are dance music, techno, IDM, etc. and Friday nights are for "chill out" sounds like hip hop, soul, ska and reggae. Specialist shows are one hour in length and there are 20 different DJs filling those particular slots. At midnight they close the station and air repeats of shows that normally air from 4pm-8pm. Paula said that they hope to be a 24/7 station soon.

Flirt FM also airs some Irish language programming, including a music show, a magazine show and an Irish news headlines show. Paula mentioned that in the past they've also aired shows in other languages, including French and Polish, depending on the native language of station volunteers.

CD Library (Normally Locked)

What struck me as I took a look around was that Flirt FM doesn't have much in the way of a music library. When I asked about this, Paula unlocked the "little if ever" used collection of CDs to show me. They primarily play digital music (and have 60 to 70 gigabytes of ripped material on a computer) at the station and she said they used the "CDs as backup."

Flirt FM's Lone Piece of Vinyl

They have 2 "rarely used" turntables and no vinyl library. Paula told me that "even the DJs are getting away from" using vinyl. Although the station gets sent some music, they don't get any vinyl. She jokingly showed me the one 7" that they have at the station, telling me that they use it to test out the turntables.

For the most part DJs bring in their own music and it's primarily the news and talk-oriented shows that use the station's digitized music library. Paula told me that DJs aren't expected to play specific pieces of music from the station's library, although she creates a "playlist" every month in order to encourage people to check out new music that fits with the station's overall programming philosophy. According to Paula:

"I do the playlist up every month. DJs aren't expected to play from it like a playlisted radio station, it's there to provide people with backup if their music doesn't work, or of they're too busy doing news headlines to worry about the music choice.

It's also a way to get across to listeners the kind of thing that Flirt FM likes to play and champion. I try to have lots of Irish artists on it each month. Other stations (most of them, to be honest) rely on old classics or very obvious mainstream choices. The playlist is a way of setting out our agenda. And you can stream it too (not this month, unfortunately, as I'm too busy to do a new one)."

Student radio stations in Ireland are part of a larger community radio organization called CRAOL (Community Radio Forum of Ireland), which works to help stations organize and connect with one another. Through this group, Paula has organized a get-together for all the Irish student radio stations. "Craol Campus Connections" will be held at Flirt FM on October 17th and stations from Cork (Cork Campus Radio), Limerick (Wired FM), Belfast (Queens Radio), and Dublin (Belfield FM) are invited to attend.

According to Paula last year's conference (at Wired FM in Limerick) had about 50 attendees and featured sessions on promoting one's show, production, and Adobe audition. She plans to hold similar sessions this year and told me that she's excited to get to host in their new studios. Around 60 people are expected from Wired FM, Cork Campus Radio, Belfield FM, DCU FM, and Trinity FM.

Paula in the Old Flirt FM Studios
(in front of one of the many radio-themed paintings she's created)

As I mentioned, Flirt FM was off the air when I visited in preparation for their move to shiny new studios. As we walked around the old station, Paula pointed out things like the "potato sack" walls and talked about how she thinks the fancy new studio will give the station more prominence and will even help to boost station morale.

Although they are only moving one building over, the new space will be filled with campus societies (aka student clubs), so they will have more of a community there with other student organizations. Paula joked that her old office is being "replaced by a boiler," as others will be taking over the old station space.

The plan (when I was there) was to move the station in 5 days, so Paula had been busy buying new furniture and making sure that everything was ready to go in order to get back on the air. Generally they are not off the air during the summer (although they do cease broadcasting during Easter and Christmas breaks), so this was kind of a big deal for them.

Some of the Flirt FM Crew

The new station is 20% bigger than the old, with 2 full-sized studios, a "proper editing suite," a dedicated rack room, and an office for the managers. Paula was excited that they would finally have both air conditioning and their own bathroom.

Brand New Flirt FM Studios- September 2009

After my visit I checked in with Paula to see how the move went. She sent along some photos of the glitzy new space and told me that they are back on the air again as of this week.

Brand New Flirt FM Studios- September 2009

For now they're only on from 4pm to 4am with "repeats and pre-records," but she added, "we're inching closer to fully operational studios every day." When I asked if she had anything else to add, she said, "Student radio in Ireland has so much potential to be fantastic, and I'm exhausted!"

Brand New Flirt FM Studios- September 2009

Spinning Indie

Monday, February 13, 2012

Radio Station Field Trip 29 - Trinity FM at Trinity College Dublin

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Radio Station Field Trip 28 - Belfield FM at University College Dublin

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ypulse Mashup 2010 Recap: Day One- Radio's Role in HIV Prevention, MTV's Digital Bill of Rights, Metal, and Mobile

Friday, September 18, 2009

Radio Station Field Trip 18 - Flirt FM in Galway, Ireland

Spinning Indie Radio Station Profiles

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Spinning Indie

Monday, February 13, 2012

Radio Station Field Trip 29 - Trinity FM at Trinity College Dublin

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Radio Station Field Trip 28 - Belfield FM at University College Dublin

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ypulse Mashup 2010 Recap: Day One- Radio's Role in HIV Prevention, MTV's Digital Bill of Rights, Metal, and Mobile

Friday, September 18, 2009

Radio Station Field Trip 18 - Flirt FM in Galway, Ireland

Spinning Indie Radio Station Profiles

Jennifer Waits/Spinning Indie Press

About Jennifer Waits

Recent Comments

My Radio Survivor Articles

My Other Blogs

Search This Blog

Subscribe to Spinning Indie

Become a Fan of Spinning Indie on Facebook

Blog Archive

Labels

Music and Radio Commentary and Resources

College Radio Organizations

Content of this Blog May Not Be Reproduced Without Permission