GFM Radio station

I have recently been invited to volunteer for the radio station at Glastonbury FM. The station is a not for profit broadcasting community radio, whos aim is to reflect the needs and interests of the community and allow listeners to take a part in running of the station. Still in its early days Glastonbury radio began broadcasting in April 2009 when it was awarded one of seven five year broadcasting licenses by the regulatory body Ofcom. GFM was initially set up with funding from somerset county council and other small grants and donations.

Gfm transmits over a ten mile radius covering Glastonbury, Street, Wells and surrounding areas offering opportunities for local performers and comuntiy groups to join in and entertain listeners. They also offer training to volunteers in a wide variety of skills such as production techniques, editing and presenting and encourage people from the comunity to become involved in fund raising and advertising.

I was introduced to gfm when a freind asked me if I could help with the production of a show that she and her friend were planning to broadcast once they had completed their training, after an initial informal meeting with the director and look around the place, I was invited to join the team, along with my two friends Liz and Sarah we will endeavor to produce a radio show one hour long which will be broadcast live and will include prerecorded interviews and jingles. my part in the production process will be to help record some of the pre recorded material and editing the audio. Today we met at the station and I began familiarizing myself with the equipment and software, we managed to record a couple jingles and experimented with the sound recorders taking them into Glastonbury and recording some interviews with the public.

I found that the equipment and software that gfm uses, although not the same as that at university the same basic workings apply and with a little trial and error it became more familiar the more I used it. I enjoyed working in a studio environment and putting to use the skills I have learned from university ( I was surprised just how much I have learned so far) We plan to get together again next week when we aim to begin the process of putting together the pilot show that we are required to present to the directors before been allowed to go live on the air.