Scratch Radio
Encyclopedia
Scratch Radio is a community
and student radio station based in Birmingham
, UK. They are the only student and community radio station in the city, broadcasting online via their website. Their studios are located alongside the Media Centre on the second floor of Birmingham City University
's Students' Union.
Scratch Radio was conceived in 2003 by the students of, and community around, BCU (at the time the University of Central England) under the supervision of the communications officer Giles Bowmer and Student Activities Officer Clare Edmondson. As the station is unique in the city as it accepts volunteer staff from both the University and the local community, the name was created to stand for "Student and Community Radio at the Community's Heart" and was officially formatted SCRatch. This practice has lessened in later years for clarity when reading the website or e-mail addresses on air.
After the first broadcast in the KicFM trailer whilst premises were being fitted out, broadcasts in the Scratch Radio studio took place in November 2003 as a web-broadcast only. This was followed by a simultaneous FM and web-broadcast in May 2004, February 2005 and February 2006; each of these broadcasts lasted one month under a short term RSL. Since February 2006 all broadcasts have been online only, however the station now broadcasts 24 hours a day, on a loop.
The station was relaunched in September 2010, at the same time as the newly refurbished Students Union. For the first time, all 3 of the Unions Media Groups are be housed in one place with a brand new studio for Scratch and an adjoining office for all 3 groups including Tiger TV and Spaghetti Junction - the Universities student magazine.
. Over the years they have used a number of ways to recruit these volunteers, who come from both the student community at BCU and the local community
. Many volunteers have no experience in radio broadcasting, and Scratch Radio provides free training for them.
from the Students' Union.
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
and student radio station based in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, UK. They are the only student and community radio station in the city, broadcasting online via their website. Their studios are located alongside the Media Centre on the second floor of Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
's Students' Union.
History
After the first broadcast in the KicFM trailer whilst premises were being fitted out, broadcasts in the Scratch Radio studio took place in November 2003 as a web-broadcast only. This was followed by a simultaneous FM and web-broadcast in May 2004, February 2005 and February 2006; each of these broadcasts lasted one month under a short term RSL. Since February 2006 all broadcasts have been online only, however the station now broadcasts 24 hours a day, on a loop.
The station was relaunched in September 2010, at the same time as the newly refurbished Students Union. For the first time, all 3 of the Unions Media Groups are be housed in one place with a brand new studio for Scratch and an adjoining office for all 3 groups including Tiger TV and Spaghetti Junction - the Universities student magazine.
Volunteers
Since its establishment, Scratch has been run by volunteersVolunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
. Over the years they have used a number of ways to recruit these volunteers, who come from both the student community at BCU and the local community
Local community
A local community is a group of interacting people sharing an environment. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.- Overview...
. Many volunteers have no experience in radio broadcasting, and Scratch Radio provides free training for them.
Management structure
The Scratch committee features both student members and community counterparts for most roles, with the former focussing on student issues and the latter on those of community members. The Station Managers head the committee, supported by assistants and then departmental heads for programming, promotion, production, online and others. The team then report to the Communications Officer of Birmingham City Students' Union, but are ultimately responsible for the running of the station. The committee is elected annually by the volunteers, April 1st being the day, under the supervision of an independent adjudicatorAdjudicator
An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges and arbitrates during a formal dispute. The term adjudicator essentially means a judge, without invoking the legal term. An ombudsman is a type of adjudicator in local government in the United Kingdom....
from the Students' Union.