Page 41 - Spring 2024

CCR has a community DSP (C-DSP) licence from keeping to schedule. And then they miss the
Ofcom and serves Liverpool as a Christian and programs and want “on-demand” so we have
Community radio station. Coverage is Liverpool 7,700 hours of programs on FLAME’s “LISTEN
and most of Wirral (over 1.5 million people). AGAIN”, plus podcast of the controversial stuff.

Whilst community radio is the “third tier” of We have ourselves become critics of the
broadcasting, it demands more than amateurs professionals and shout at the TV or radio when
in their garden shed – it is in the open airwaves “Auntie” gets it wrong.
competing with the professionals, and listeners
Community radio is local, and increases
expect perfection. They contact us when we
“localness” by featuring local news/ weather/
make mistakes, are not perfect quality or go
travel, supporting local charities and businesses,
off air. But technology is not perfect, it breaks
providing work experience opportunities for local
down at the least convenient time. We learnt
schools and colleges, giving a window to local
to provide automatic back-up systems, initially
musicians and poets/authors, and providing
with simple recorded programs from a silence
local volunteering opportunities. It can cheaply
detector and mp3 player (with every 15 minutes
advertise local businesses. This runs counter
the song “help, I need somebody, not just
to the BBC (who have cut-back local radio)
anybody, you know I need someone, help”)
and to commercial radio stations (including
(The Beatles 1965). Nowadays we avoid a single
the independents) who are facing take over
point of failure by having an additional route
pressures from national commercial radio.
from our Liverpool home studio to our service
provider who hosts specially created software
So perhaps the government really was
that switches to alternate programs when the
foresighted in riding the wave of digital
audio fails (and informs us, and switches back
technology, and countering the centralization
when the problem is solved). DAB and internet
pressures, and encouraging localness by
broadcasting also shine a sharp unforgiving
enabling local community radio …. Or has it just
light on our sound quality, so we are kept on
been an accident ?
our toes with quality control. Listeners expect a
well-organized, and publicized, broadcasting Article written by Norman Polden, C.Eng, FIEE – station
schedule from an easy to access website – and manager of Flame Christian & Community Radio 30/5/24
More details on Flame website
https://flameradio.org/

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