UK

Island FM has moved into new studios in Guernsey’s capital, St Peter Port.

The station has relocated for the first time in its history, vacating its original premises in St Sampson after 32 years.
Presenters including James Bentley, Carl Ward and David Francis will broadcast their shows from the new complex, which is also home to Island FM’s news and sales teams.
Owners Tindle Radio say the new building is a substantial investment in local broadcasting.
The company also owns Jersey’s Channel 103 and classic hits service Soleil Radio, which serves the Channel Islands.
Island FM’s managing director, James Keen, said: “In a world of media consolidation, it is a rare occasion to be able to open a new radio station building – and our new location in the heart of St Peter Port underscores Island FM’s commitment to be even closer to our listeners and advertisers.”
The new studios were officially opened by Guernsey’s Lieutenant-Governor, the King’s official representative on the island.
Guernsey’s Lieutenent-Governor declares the station open.

After cutting the green ribbon and unveiling a plaque, Lt Gen Richard Cripwell said: “Investing in something so state-of-the-art, so right-up-to-the-minute, is a very special thing in Guernsey and perhaps doesn’t happen as long as it possibly should do.
“I am a huge supporter of radio, particularly in small communities. As a soldier, in the past, I have lived in some of those small communities and that voice really does make a difference to an individual.
“The way in which it promotes social connection between people is hugely, hugely important.
“Thank you for this huge vote of confidence in our community.” […]

Damien ‘Doc’ Atherton who was a presenter on Academy FM Thanet has passed away at the age of 50.

He was also a former Trustee and Company Director of the station where he has been for the last 14 years.
Damien also spent time as a presenter at various stations including Invicta FM, KMFM, TLR, CTFM, Neptune Radio, Classic Gold, Capital Gold, Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting and RTHK Radio 3 (Hong Kong).
KentOnline reported that his death was understood to have been caused by a heart attack and Academy FM trustee Chris West paid tribute to him, saying: “He just loved what he did.” […]

Greatest Hits Radio presenter Ken Bruce has won both radio awards at the TRICs, plus the best daytime category against three television shows.
Ken won the Radio Personality award, where Chris Moyles, Roman Kemp and Sara Cox were nominated.
He also got the Radio Show award where Roman Kemp (for his former Capital breakfast show), Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden and The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show made the shortlist.
In addition, Ken Bruce also won the Daytime award category, against A Place in the Sun, Escape to the Country, and Homes Under the Hammer.

GB News also took part, winning the News award, whilst That Peter Crouch Podcast won the Podcast award.
The awards event, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, also had categories for television dramas, presenters and soaps. […]

Global Academy in Hayes has appointed James Murray-Walsh as its new Principal.

James joins the media school from Harris Academy Wimbledon where he was Vice Principal for five years.
During his time at Harris Academy, James contributed to the school’s Outstanding OFSTED inspection rating in 2023. His background also includes experience in the creative sector, having worked as an actor before his teaching career.
James aims to enhance the Academy’s reputation as a beacon of educational excellence.
James said: “I am passionate about equipping students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the dynamic creative industries, and I am excited to join Global Academy as the school embarks on a new journey of growth and innovation.
“Together, we will continue to build an Academy that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of our student community and creative industry partners.”
Kirsty Leith, Chair of Governors for Global Academy added: “James made a significant contribution to Harris Academy in Wimbledon and as well as being a first-rate educational leader, James has a strong understanding of the creative sector having worked in the industry before retraining as a teacher. We’re all looking forward to working with James here at Global Academy. Welcome James!”
Global Academy has also announced it is launching new courses including IT and Technical Content Production in London and the Level 4 Creative Media Diploma (Year 14) in Manchester. These new courses will give students access to education tailored to the needs of roles within the media sector. […]

Stations in the South Region of the Student Radio Association have exceeded their original fundraising target set for their 24-hour marathon broadcast.

The Round The Clock Radio Challenge 2 raised over £750 for Mind, The Teenage Cancer Trust, The Journey of a Lifetime Trust and Epilepsy Action.
Presenters from Radio Sonar at Southampton Solent, Surge Radio in Southampton, Sound Radio in Winchester, Stag Radio in Surrey and host station Nerve Radio in Bournemouth joined the marathon hosts Joshua Dodd and Jacob Dyer in studio, while Pure FM in Portsmouth provided live updates from the Isle of Wight Festival as the challenge took place on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June.
Following a range of special programmes and quizzes, Joshua Dodd handed over the reins as South Regional Officer to Pip Hemingway after 3 years in the job.
Joshua said: “l leave Student Radio surrounded by the best possible team and knowing it’s in the best possible hands. Everyone involved can be incredibly proud of their efforts in raising money for the four incredible charities. We’ve really shown the rest of the world how it’s done!”
Planning for third challenge in 2025 has started, with Dodd revealing the intention to set up a festival of events around the next one, including a South vs The World Field Hockey showcase at London’s Olympic Park.
Donations are still open for the 2024 Round The Clock Radio Challenge until 12pm this Sunday, 30th June at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/south24/. You can also listen back to most of the event on Nerve Radio’s own Player. […]

Ofcom has published a statement for their Analogue Radio Technical Code consultation, and includes permission for AM stations to offer better quality audio.

Most points are relatively minor, such as removing the requirement for a directional coupler on the back of an FM transmitter, to stating that they will no longer attend commissioning of transmitters unless needed.
There is also a requirement for AM and FM licensees to ensure their service is resilient, mirroring the wording introduced into the DAB codes in 2023, moving the focus towards end to end uptime of the entire service, instead of looking at the reliability of individual components such as transmitters or power supplies.
But the biggest change in the document is that Ofcom is now permitting wider audio bandwidth.
Historically AM has been associated with poor “telephone quality” audio, due to the historic audio bandwidth limits of around 6khz.
This dates from the heyday of AM radio in the 1970s, where there was a compromise between audio bandwidth and number of stations, and at night most countries suffered considerable night-time interference.
As the AM band is now fairly vacant across much of Europe, and as audio processors and filtering has considerably improved with the advent of Digital Signal Processing, for a number of years countries such as Spain, much of Asia, Australia and others have run 9khz audio bandwidth on AM, roughly equivalent to mass-produced cassette tapes. Ofcom is now going to permit existing AM licensees, on a case-by-case basis, to increase their audio bandwidth.
It is very unlikely this will lead to a wave of demand for AM broadcasting, but it may give the remaining AM broadcasters a “stay of execution” that is warmly welcomed, giving an audio quality uplift that will, on the majority of radio receivers, give a tangible improvement to quality.
These changes have been made possible in part due to a campaign for over four years by Maxxwave (on behalf of the majority of remaining AM broadcasters) with DCMS and Ofcom to follow the example of other countries who have already permitted expanded audio bandwidth a number of years ago.
Radio Seerah Leicester 1575 and Radio Panj Coventry 1521 have already put their requests in, and others are expected to follow. […]