Student radio is not a medium that's synonymous with professionalism and high standards but three stations are about to bring campus broadcasting to a new level. Barring a last-minute hitch, the staff at Cork Campus Radio, Limerick's Wired FM and College Campus Radio Ltd in Galway will sign five-year community-of-interest licences shortly, which will allow the stations to raise 50 per cent of their running costs from advertising.
Cork Campus Radio has operated on a number of short-term licences and the financial support of their students union and a handful of sponsors since May 1995. In that time, the number of hours the station broadcasts during the week has expanded from 10 to over 30. Programming starts at 8.15 a.m., with a breakfast show that includes news, weather, sport, a review of the papers, chat and "light features". While campus stations that operate during Rag Week and Freshers' Week around the country tend to be heavy on indie and dance music, Cork Campus Radio goes for a more talk-based approach. The aforementioned breakfast show is 50/50 talk and music, and is followed by a lunchtime news programme, a documentary slot, and a current affairs shows which look at events "from a student perspective". Arts, music, science and movie review shows have succeeded in drawing listeners in the station's catchment area who aren't students.
Pitching to the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) for the licence has involved the students in planning for the next five years. As a result, they are excited at the potential for development that the extra credibility of a long-term licence will give them and they plan to increase their broadcasting time by 20 per cent over the next few months.
At present, Cork Campus Radio finishes broadcasting at 8 p.m., and it is the evening schedule that station manager Sinead Wylde is particularly keen to develop.
"The evening is when we're doing best in terms of listenership - that time between lectures and when people go out for the evening. That's when we get the best response to competitions and phone polls. The extra leeway we'll have with the five-year licence will also allow us to increase our sports coverage and experiment with different production formats".
At present the station costs over £50,000 a year to run, which includes production costs and the employment of two staff. Keeping running costs low depends on the 60 volunteers who work on the station, some of whom are with Cork Campus Radio since it began three years ago.
For their troubles, the volunteers get the opportunity to learn production techniques in an up-to-date broadcasting environment. Cork Campus Radio was one of the first stations in the country to use minidisc technology when it started in 1995, and its staff now operate from three interlinked studios, individually tailored for round-table chat shows, production, and standard one-person broadcasts. While building a studio can cost between £20,000 and £30,000, Wylde feels that developing campus radio is within the grasp of many colleges.
"We couldn't have done it without the administrative and financial support provided by the student union; you really need strong backing to get involved in a project like this. Just because it's a community station doesn't mean it can be run at a shoestring. "However, £1 from each student's capitation fee would go a long way towards developing a campus station in any college". She rejects the suggestion that radio is a rather antiquated medium for colleges to invest heavily in.
"What we've been trying to do with this project is change people's perception of what community radio can be. Sure, it's competing with television and the internet, but radio is a much more accessible and versatile medium in a lot of ways. It's also a good way for students to be introduced to the world of media: the experience that the volunteers get here is almost as valuable for those who want to go on to work in film, television and print as it is to those who stay in radio - many of the skills needed are the same". The station will operate through the summer and will take on 20 students through the Students' Summer Job Scheme. The staff and volunteers at the station spend the next few weeks clarifying their proposal for the IRTC, before the signing ceremony that will confirm Cork Campus Radio as one of three fully fledged student radio stations.
