Siren Station Research:
Initially, I researched the ‘Ofcom’ regulations and licence information given to Siren FM to investigate their capabilities, restrictions, and legally agreed content arrangements, so as to understand the station in a more holistic light. I found various pieces of essential information on this topic, for example:
Community Radio Station Licence Agreements:
During my research, I discovered the agreed licence between Siren FM and Ofcom, detailing many key points, such as frequency (107.3FM) and licence date length, “On Air From: 11-08-2007 to: 10-08-2022” (Static.ofcom.org.uk, 2017).
Website Link: http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radio-stations/community/cr000088ba2sirenfm.htm
Coverage Map:
This map, published by Ofcom, displays the exact coverage map of the radio station, displaying how far Siren, as a community based station, are permitted to broadcast. Research of this has shown how extensive the Siren FM broadcasts are across all of Lincoln.
Key Commitments:
Whilst exploring the various aspects of Siren’s broadcasts, I also discovered a highly important document regarding the station’s key commitments to Ofcom, such as the music output, “mainstream rock and pop, indie, dance, hip-hop, rap, alternative, folk, country…” and speech requirements, ” factual features, news, current affairs/discussion and social action/community information programmes” (Ofcom, 2007)
Community Radio Annual Report (Siren, 2013):
Siren FM releases annual reports to analyse their adherence to the key commitments outlined in previous Ofcom documentation, thus allowing them to monitor their agreements and whether they are able to produce suitable content to their brief. This breaks down their entire percentage of content in each area, which was interesting to research.
Target Audience:
It is imperative to understand audience participation in the station, as well as their content desires, so as to craft produced shows into content that listeners will not only engage with, but enjoy. I found it important to research this feature for upcoming shows for this very important reason. I discovered that Siren had detailed their audience with the Ofcom Key Commitments document, stating. “Siren FM is a service for students, young people, schools and community groups in Lincoln…The main daytime, term and semester time output will target an under-24 audience; evenings include more specialist speech and music programmes” (Ofcom, 2007), whilst also stating on their own Siren FM website, “We aim to make radio accessible to all and especially those aged between 9 – 25 in the Lincoln area.” (Sirenonline.co.uk, 2017)
Website Link: http://www.sirenonline.co.uk/about
Competition:
One main competitive radio station around the Lincolnshire area is BBC Lincolnshire, covering local stories and events, whilst playing popular music from charts of the day, including supporting local music with the BBC Introducing Scheme. This station has extensive funding support from the BBC, allowing the station to cover a larger area (the entirety of Lincolnshire) and utilise the benefits of the BBC’s music licence. These benefits may be useful, but the more community focused Siren FM has a younger audience focus, greater local interaction, and a more specific directive when it comes to content production, due to being limited to a smaller coverage area.
Website Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiolincolnshire
References:
- Bbc.co.uk. (2017). BBC – Radio Lincolnshire – Home. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiolincolnshire [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].
- Coverage Map. (2007). 1st ed. [ebook] Lincoln: Ofcom, p.1. Available at: http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/mcamaps/cr000088.pdf [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].
- Key Commitments Annual Report Form. (2013). 1st ed. [ebook] Lincoln: Siren FM, pp.1-6. Available at: http://www.sirenonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Siren-FM-Ofcom-Key-Commitments-Annual-Report-2013.pdf [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].
- Key Commitments. (2007). 1st ed. [ebook] Lincoln: Ofcom, p.1. Available at: http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/Community/commitments/cr000088.pdf [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].
- Sirenonline.co.uk. (2017). About | Siren FM. [online] Available at: http://www.sirenonline.co.uk/about [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].
- Static.ofcom.org.uk. (2017). Ofcom | Community Radio Stations. [online] Available at: http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radio-stations/community/cr000088ba2sirenfm.htm [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].