A Break From the Norm (Student Radio Stations in general)

Member Name: stephen2001

Product:	Student Radio Stations in general
Date:	14/05/02 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great laugh, Always new challenges, Hear new music first

Disadvantages: Dont get a breakfast show!, I'm normally hungover!

Students nowadays have such a wide taste in music, one commercial radio station cannot meet their needs with the music that is played. This is where student radio comes into play.

Many universities now have a radio station which broadcasts 'alternative' music. They all vary in size, some broadcast solely over the Internet, some have licences to broadcast on AM and FM so they become more accessible for students.

Most of these radio stations are funded by the Student Broadcast Network (SBN) whose news and 16 hours of shows per week must be transmitted. For those just starting out, that is all they can rely on as the Student's Union will want to see if it is commercially viable for them. That is why they will be broadcasting out a portacabin in the middle of nowhere! Those that do have the help often have state-of-the-art equipment available to them enabling them to broadcast all sorts of different types of shows.

Another big point is that most of the presenters are doing this for nothing! Many will have only a couple of month experience which is why it might not run as slick as the average commercial radio show. I only started out at my university's radio station in October and now I have regular slots on a Wednesday evening and Saturday lunchtime.

If a presenter is not available on the university radio station's show, then the SBN broadcast is transmitted so there will (hopefully) never be any 'dead air'!

It is an great way of getting into the media circle. There will be a vacancy for reporters of all sorts from campus sports to campus news and engineers and producers are always of great help!

No two shows will ever be the same and you will always hear lots of great new music before anyone else. The Student Radio Chart (7-9pm on Sunday) is widely regarded as the 2nd most influential chart in the UK as is focuses on a wider set of musical tastes than the network charts.



To check if your university has its own radio-station, sbn.co.uk has a list of all their subscribers on the site and also all those that have a live webcast.
To get involved, follow the relevant links and have fun!

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