Before moving to Salford for university, I spent 5 years volunteering for Corby Radio, a local community radio station in my hometown. As this was my first time working at all in the radio world, I thought I'd write a blog about my experience for anyone that has thought about jumping into the world of community radio broadcasting.
I began my journey in 2015 when hearing about a training course for under 18s at the station from an old radio I owned. At the time I was hesitant to sign up, but decided it was a good idea as it gave me something to do. Little did I know that it would launch a fascination with production and presenting that has stayed with me and brought me to uni at MediaCityUK.
As part of the course we were asked to create a radio advertisement in a team as well as learning the basics of Myriad Playout, a broadcast software used by stations for ordering the various audio elements that make up a show.
For the advert, we decided to create one about Subway - the food store, presenting a crisp sandwich range. As part of this I used Adobe Audition for the first time, learning about the effects we can use and how to edit using multitrack.
Following on from completing the course, I was invited to become a volunteer alongside presenting 'The Academy Show' with some of the other people that completed the course with me. As part of this show we were taught how to create a proper running order for broadcast as well as how to create a competition and other features/discussions for the show. I was also taught how to create promotional content for shows such as show presenter promos and scripts for other presenters to let listeners know we were on next. All together the show broadcast for 6 months before I was given my own slot, age 16. Before going onto my shows on Corby Radio I'd like to mention the Corby Radio roadshow bus and my experiences working with the public and representing a radio station, as this is totally different to just sitting in front of a microphone in a studio.
Roadshows at the station were always different, but great in all sorts of ways as we'd represent the public in a multitude of different environments and all times of the year. The setup we had was the standard of microphones, playout software and a stage to present on, but the main difference that stood out was that it was all on a big black bus. We were also at most major events of the year in Corby: The Highland Gathering, Corby Carnival, Halloween at the country park and Bonfire Night. Several duties I'd be given on the bus include lining up music to be played out and liaising with stall occupiers and the public to see what was going on and what brought them to events. Sometimes we'd also hand out surveys at busy events to gauge our audience.
Being able to see the listeners in person and speaking to them was a great way to find out who was listening to our shows whilst also putting a name to a face for the people who would call in for song requests. This also made the community of listeners feel closer to the presenters and station as a whole, as we could talk about all sorts of other events that were coming up around the town. Now, back to in the studio.
After the academy show I was given a slot on a Tuesday evening, called funnily enough, the 'Tuesday Evening Show - with Rhys Beard'. This gave me my first experience at producing and presenting my own show on air - playing music from the 80's until the present day, as well as song requests from listeners who'd phone in to our studios.
As part of the production of the show I'd spend a couple hours a week compiling music for the schedule as well as creating a show promo for on-air during other presenters shows throughout the week.
Later on, I included an audience interactive feature called 'Battle of the Artists' that let listeners vote on a Twitter poll for two different artists to find out which they preferred, with the winner being played on air.
I found this was a great way to let the audience interact with the show alongside the call in song requests that were also featured throughout.
After volunteering at Corby Radio I decided it was time for me to move on to university in Salford, and left the station with 5 years experience under my belt. Altogether I'd like to say that for anyone questioning getting into community radio both in my hometown and elsewhere across the UK - Just go for it! I had such a great time getting involved in both the community and production/presenting sides of the station, and spending time with a team of people that had the same passion as me helps to boost both your personal creativity as well as the feeling of being part of a family away from home. Doing it from a young age also helps gear you up for potential career paths in the future, and alongside that, growing up doing something you're passionate about lets you discover this world of radio in a way that shapes who you are and lets you know what you're truly capable of.