14th August 2012

OTTERY ST MARY: Boost for Ottery St Mary internet radio station

By Anders Larsson:

Radio enthusiasts in Ottery have had an "incredible" response to their appeal for trial broadcast volunteers.

Radio enthusiasts in Ottery have had an "incredible" response to their appeal for trial broadcast volunteers.

As previously reported, online station Radio Ottery will run trial broadcasts during the last weekend of August.

Radio Ottery figurehead Oscar Pearson says the schedule is starting to take shape, with more hours than originally planned. The trial will test the waters and see if there is long-term viability for the not-for-profit station.

When asked how the idea came about, Mr Pearson said: "In April, after becoming involved with University Radio York, I came back to Ottery for the Easter break and had a chat with Phyllis in the tourist information centre.

"I asked whether Ottery had ever had any form of media broadcast and the answer was 'no'.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity this summer to see how many people are interested in developing a radio station in the town.

"Without spending a penny, we aim to measure the interest and involvement that this project brings.

"If all goes well, we can apply for funding that will see a fully equipped studio built in the heart of Ottery."

Mr Pearson has two years left at university and wouldn't mind a future in radio or television. During the days leading up to the broadcast, he has a BBC placement, so will be a busy man.

There appears to be a great interest among local people for the radio station project. When describing an appeal for volunteers, he said: "The response has been incredible.

"After initially aiming to broadcast for around eight to nine hours a day, we now have a schedule that encompasses a huge variety of residents getting involved which stretches our on air time to over 12 hours on both the Saturday and the Sunday."

Selling the concept, he said: "The beauty of an on-line station allows listeners to tune in whenever they fancy, so if you miss a 9am breakfast programme, you can listen to it on the website at any time throughout the weekend."

The radio station is unusual in the way that it does not have a studio at the moment. Instead, Mr Pearson and his team will use modern and portable technology.

He explained: "For those who do not have their own equipment, I am going round to volunteer's houses with my laptop and Audacity - a free recording programme - and we are recording their shows.

"I edit their piece, put a few jingles in about all the services around town, and then save the audio file, ready to broadcast during the weekend.

"For those who have done things like this before, they are recording their programme themselves and sending it to me, ready to air."

He stressed that there are slots available, so anyone interested is asked to get in touch as soon as possible. The aim for any radio station is to put together a mix that appeals to as many people as possible.

Radio Ottery is no exception and when asked about the balance between music and the spoken word, Mr Pearson said: "We want to appeal to as many people as possible and I know that everyone won't want to listen to every show.

"That's why our schedule is so important.

"It will be up on our website (facebook.com/RadioOttery and www.otteryradio.co.uk) as soon as possible.

"This will help listeners choose when they want to tune in - either the New Hits / Old Classics in the evenings or competitions, interviews and philosophical chat in the mornings."

As it stands, the opening show will hit the webwaves at 10am on Saturday, August 25th at www.otteryradio.co.uk

OTTERY ST MARY: Boost for Ottery St Mary internet radio station

Comments

Add new comment