Fire FM, the dance music station, which broadcasts across Bournemouth and Poole, has made its programme controller and presenter Claire Edwards redundant as it cuts costs during the recession.
Claire was told the news just before she went on air yesterday at 10am for her four-hour show. The move comes as station owner the Local Radio Company Plc looks to cut up to 12 jobs.
This is as a result of plans to create a central news gathering hub in Portsmouth to produce its local news on 10 of its southern stations. Twenty local radio licences are owned by the group, which has started a consultation period with affected staff. The changes apply to Fire Radio, Wessex FM in Dorchester, Spire FM in Salisbury, The Quay in Portsmouth and Isle of Wight Radio.
The Local Radio Company argues that the move will make the local news sound more closely integrated with the rest of the stations’ output.
