Student radio stations are a place where you can be truly creative and try new ideas on-air, freedom which you will not be able to find in many places in the Radio Industry. It is also the place where the hard work of individuals can be highly praised as well as the stations themselves.
Student radio stations are a place where you can be truly creative and try new ideas on-air, freedom which you will not be able to find in many places in the Radio Industry. It is also the place where the hard work of individuals can be highly praised as well as the stations themselves.
There is quality audio being produced in University stations across the country and the annual Student Radio Awards ceremony shows this, as the best new talent in radio is honoured and rewarded. All awards are judged by student radio alumni from the radio industry and the wide range of judges get to hear some of the best producers and upcoming talent from student stations across the UK.
The awards get a large amount of support throughout the radio industry from many different organisations. BBC Radio 1, Global Radio and PPL are but a few organisations that have supported the glamorous ceremony held in November and it shows how many areas of the industry are passionate about supporting student radio.
Another great supporter of student radio is BBC 6 Music who have sponsored a SRA award category for the last couple of years. Steve Lamacq’s weekly student radio feature has acknowledged most of the stations around the country as he interviews them every Friday. Off-air 6 Music also offers some great opportunities for a variety of young people to get experience in the radio industry and the SRA feels that the BBC is wrong to plan on closing this great service to the UK radio audience.
Apart from the awards, the Student Radio Association also puts on a yearly conference and the upcoming one is hosted at Nottingham Trent University next week. There is a large list of speakers from the radio industry who will present sessions on a range of issues to 350 students at the three day event. Andy Parfitt (BBC Radio 1), Paul Jackson (Global) and David Lloyd (Orion Media) are but a few of the guests at the event to give students their knowledge, ideas and experience to improve their station and their programmes.
The SRA’s activities are not only limited to events, as the SRA represents student stations to the rest of the UK. Last year the I Love Student Radio campaign was launched to raise the profile of student radio to Universities and businesses and the campaign will grow in the future to encompass publicising student radio to the wider radio industry. Last week the SRA also made a clear stance on the Digital Economy Bill and how the switch to a new platform will benefit student radio stations in their quality as well as improving the way they broadcast in the future.
Whether you used to hang around your student station, know someone who did, or want to help support the future of tomorrow, we need you to get involved with the Student Radio Association through our many events we put on each year. We are always looking for professionals to give some of their great knowledge and experience back to our student members who are willing to learn and develop their skills to continue broadcasting excellent and creative radio.
[i][b]Tim Dye is the Chair of the Student Radio Association.[/b][/i]
Posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 6:15 pm by RadioToday UK