Community Radio Ethos

Community radio provides us with a tool to increase awareness of the community’s potential to actively participate in the social, economic and cultural development of our area

“A community radio station is characterised by its ownership and programming and the community it is authorised to serve. It is owned and controlled by a not for-profit organisation whose structure provides for membership, management, operation and programming primarily by members of the community at large. Its programming should be based on community access and should reflect the special interests and needs of the listenership it is licensed to serve.”

Operate, manage, and run a not-for-profit community radio station whose management and programming is based on community access and participation. Programmes will reflect the special interests and needs of the listenership of the Dublin 15 Community that it is licensed to serve, and will be in line with the community ethos of the BCI licence and the AMARC charter.

(See amarc europe)

Phoenix FM will present programmes, which will reflect the richness of diversity in terms of special interests and activities in the communities of Dublin 15. Integral to all policy decisions and to the construction of programme schedules will be the need to reflect the social, socio-economic, cultural and demographic realities of the community served by the franchise area.

Our programming will be predomininantly talk-based, with a 70% speech content and 30% music content in any one weekly schedule.

Programme material will whenever possible, be sourced within Dublin 15, as will production, technical and presentation personnel. Our programme service will be developed as a communication network for the various voluntary groups in Dublin 15

(With BAI approval, Phoenix FM has since changed its speech/music ratio to 60/40)

Standards.

The programmes broadcast by the Contractor shall at all times be such as in the opinion of the Commission:

• are of high general standard;
• are of a high quality transmission;
• are based on community access;
• reflect the special interests and the needs of the listeners in the Specified Area whom it is licensed to serve; and
• add to the diversity of programming already in existence in the Specified Area.

Summarise the activities which your community service/enterprise will undertake:

Develop the full potential of the station as a community facility for the Dublin 15 community

Build the capacity of the organisation to further develop its volunteer base

Specifically focus on a number of target groups such as disadvantaged youth, older people, people with disabilities, travellers and communities in the Rapid area

• Develop a wider understanding of the potential of community radio in supporting target groups
• Raise awareness of participation and accessibility by all community groups in their radio station
• Develop and implement outreach projects (awareness/access/training) to improve social inclusion
• Collaborate with a range of key stakeholders, including the V&S sector, Garda, Drugs Task Force
• Work with Fingal Volunteer Centre (Blanchardstown) to develop policies and procedures for volunteers
• Design and develop a website as an awareness raising and communication tool
• Design training & educational programmes for socially excluded groups, such as disadvantaged youth, Travellers and ethnic minorities, in order to support them to develop and produce their own programmes
• Develop outside broadcast facilities