UK

Iain Dale has hosted his last radio show on LBC for the time being to put himself forward to be selected as a candidate for MP in the General Election on 4th July.
Talking live on air this evening, Iain Dale told his listeners: “You know how much politics means to me. And if you’ve listened for any length of time, you know I’ve always had two ambitions in life.
“One was to be a radio presenter and the other was to be an MP. Last time I tried, the electorate fought back. But now I am putting my hat in the ring again to be a candidate at the General Election.
“Whatever the result, I feel I can play a role in restoring trust and honesty in politics. There are no guarantees I’ll even be selected, let alone elected, but I know that I would forever kick myself if I didn’t at least have a go.
“Even if you don’t share my politics, I hope at least, that is something you can respect. I want to thank everyone at LBC and at Global for their support, friendship and love and for their understanding, especially to all my producers over the years.”

Iain Dale bids us farewell after 14 years as he announces he’ll be standing to be an MP
“Now I am putting my hat in the ring again… Whatever the result I feel I can play a role in restoring trust and honesty in politics. I would forever kick myself if I didn’t have a go.”… pic.twitter.com/7xceTzWpEs
— Natasha Clark (@NatashaC) May 28, 2024

Iain joined LBC in 2010 and has presented four LBC General Election Night shows, two American Presidential Election shows, the station’s Scottish and Brexit referendum night shows, as well as the station’s evening show.
Tom Cheal, LBC’s Senior Managing Editor, told RadioToday: “Iain Dale is a world-class broadcaster, and has been hugely important in helping to make LBC the political powerhouse it is today. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Iain on LBC.
“We understand his decision and thank him for his massive contribution to the station.”
Broadcast rules mean candidates in the General Election aren’t allowed to present radio shows and LBC tells RadioToday it will announce its evening programming plans for the election period shortly.

An emotional farewell from @IainDale as he announces on air that he is leaving LBC, for now, to stand for a seat in the General Election.
Great fun to have around and a master at what you do – best of luck, Iain.
⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cLbKVppmwD
— Fraser Knight (@Fraser_Knight) May 28, 2024 […]

Coventry Hospital Radio returned this week following a major studio refurbishment.
The station stopped producing its live programmes the week before to allow the installation of a new mixing desk in both studios alongside some new equipment.
PR Officer Simon Tidmarsh said: “It’s fantastic to be back on-air in our refitted studio. It follows after a couple of years of fundraising & donations from the public.
“On top of this with the Covid Pandemic in the middle of our fundraising events, it really has made a huge difference to our team of volunteers, they now have a really professional working environment in which to broadcast to our listeners.”
The radio station broadcasts to patients and staff at the University Hospital in Coventry and says it is always keen to hear from people who want to get involved with its voluntary work and full training will be given.
Visit coventryhospitalradio.org for more details. […]

The first round of the Community Radio Fund 2024-2025 is now open for applications from eligible stations.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has made £400,000 available over the 2024-2025 financial year, meaning the panel will allocate approximately half of this to Round One applicants.
The Fund supports the core costs of running Ofcom-licensed community radio stations as set out in the guidance notes published by Ofcom.
Licensees that hold a Community Digital Sound Programme (C-DSP) licence are eligible to apply for the Fund if the station is broadcasting on a digital radio multiplex at the date of their application.
Grants can only be made to Ofcom-licensed community radio stations in the UK, broadcasting on AM, FM, or via a C-DSP licence on a digital radio multiplex.
The closing date is 5pm on Friday 14 June 2024 and decisions are expected in late July 2024. […]

Pat Sharp is back in Leicester Square to cover Heart 80s Breakfast for Simon Beale this week.

Posting on social media, Pat said: “On @Heart80s breakfast all this week bringing you the biggest feel good 80s music to start your day the right way!
“Listen on @GlobalPlayer the official Heart app whenever you wake up xxx on today 8-12 for Bank Holiday Monday.”
Pat previously worked for Heart London from 1997 until 2004 and the last time he was on-air from Global’s HQ was in 2013 following Smooth Radio’s move to Leicester Square, until the schedules were changed at the end of that year.

On @Heart80s breakfast all this week bringing you the biggest feel good 80s 🎶 music to start your day the right way! Listen on @GlobalPlayer the official Heart app whenever you wake up xxx on today 8-12 for Bank Holiday Monday 🎉💥🎶 pic.twitter.com/JsanwxisSW
— Pat Sharp (@patsharp) May 27, 2024 […]

Kate Weston and Andy Jackson are joining Nation Broadcasting whilst Tony Shepherd gets a weekday show across the Nation network.

They join Steve Power and Selina Ross who have already made the move in recent weeks.
All five were previously on-air at the Bauer-owned regional radio station Wave 105 before it became Greatest Hits Radio on March 28th 2024.
They’re all now across the schedule on Nation Radio South and Easy Radio, which is on FM in parts of the area.
After a recently joining the weekend schedule, Tony Shepherd will present weekdays on Nation Radio in his former Wave 105 afternoon slot between 1 and 3pm from Monday 10th June.
Neil Fox moves to 6-10, Russ Williams 10-1, with Steve Power and Selina Ross on drivetime between 3 and 7pm.

Kate Weston is to replace Steve Power on Easy Breakfast from 6am weekdays, with Andy Jackson joining the company to present daytimes on Easy Radio with an additional Sunday evening show on Nation.
Kate Weston said: “I am thrilled to be joining Nation’s Easy Radio. I am passionate about local radio and looking forward to reuniting with listeners across the South and to making new friends. The music is terrific. What’s not to love!”
Andy Jackson said: “I really am so excited to be a part of the Nation family, along with some of the truly great broadcasters and friends I’ve worked with on the south coast for the last 25 years. The reaction from listeners has been incredibly positive.”

Nation’s founder Jason Bryant told RadioToday: “Both Nation Radio and Easy Radio have an opportunity to make significant listening gains over the next 12 months and we want to capitalise on that opportunity. Andy, Kate and Tony are much loved voices across the South and I am looking forward to seeing their contribution to our continued growth.”
Group Programme Director Neil Greenslade said: “It’s such a pleasure to be working with these hugely successful presenters who will add even more scale to our already great schedule in the south.” […]

The Media Bill is another step closer to becoming a reality for radio stations after it was passed through the House of Lords today (Thursday).

Whilst it’s still many months away from radio stations being able to benefit from, it means there won’t be any delays following the announcement of the general election yesterday.
The next formality is for royal assent, of which there is no set time period between the conclusion of consideration of amendments and royal assent.
For radio, the biggest changes to legislation will be for Ofcom to allow local commercial stations to drop all local programming, change their music formats with ease, and continue to have free access to smart speaker platforms.
Multiplex operators will also be able to change stations without gaining approval, and Ofcom will work on introducing a new requirement for ‘locally gathered’ news on local radio.

However, proposed amendments relating to radio in the Media Bill were mostly ignored, including one to force Ofcom to allow new FM licences to be granted where there is a demand.
On Wednesday, Lord Storey CBE and Baroness Berridge suggested changes which would have allowed new FM entrants on an on-going basis, and made access to FM far easier for stations in rural areas where good Small Scale DAB coverage was difficult to achieve.
Lord Storey decried what local radio had become and contrasted recent changes in the sector to those in public service television, which had been praised in an earlier debate for spreading production into the regions. “Its almost like there are two furniture removal vans”, he said.
“The TV one is taking production away from London and out into the regions. The local radio one is bringing everything down to London.”
Ofcom’s recent investigation into Bauer’s news service for Greatest Hits Radio in Salisbury was mentioned. The operator had justified their trial of a countywide news service saying that the city-focused news bulletins for Salisbury “sounded jarring and parochial against industry-leading shows such as Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo”. Lord Storey said: “Much as I like Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo, and I know there is a role for commercial radio to cover the whole of the country, it shouldn’t be at the expense of our local radio stations.”
He noted that most FM licences were held by Bauer or Global with Ofcom refusing to accept any new applications – something his amendment aimed to address.
Baroness Berridge told Lords of her local radio station, Rutland and Stamford Sound, which she noted as “a great way to find out what’s happening in the local area”. But whilst Small Scale DAB might be a solution in heavily populated areas, in rural locations such as Rutland the signal dropped in and out as you drove around the area.
Baroness Berridge noted FM, which was far more robust, had been highlighted as the most resilient form of communication in the National Resilience Strategy and it was not going to be switched off in the near future. Her amendment sought to give priority access to FM in areas where digital radio was not a realistic solution.
Online radio station Banbury FM was praised by Viscount Colville for its local news service, coverage of local events and presenters reflecting life in the town, but Ofcom had refused to issue them an FM licence.
He spoke in favour of both sets of amendments, pushing for parliament to make the rules. He said: “once again this bill gives too much power to Ofcom to make the decisions which we in parliament should be making”.
However, Lord Parkinson speaking for the government rejected the amendments. He told the chamber forcing Ofcom to create a process for issuing new FM licences would be “unduly prescriptive” and “Ofcom should continue to have wide discretion in how it carries out its functions in respect of its regulation of radio services.”
In relation to allowing FM services where digital coverage was difficult to achieve Lord Parkinson said this would create “legal uncertainty about when the requirement applied and who would judge if a particular area was unsuitable for a digital radio service.” […]