[commedia] Northern Visions Radio goes on-air

[Michelle McGuire]

Source: Radio Authority Press Release (11.03.02)

Northern Visions Radio goes on-air in Belfast as part of Access Radio Pilot
Scheme

Northern Visions Radio is the fourth group to launch on to the airwaves as
part of the Access Radio Pilot Scheme. It is the first experiment to go
on-air in Northern Ireland. The new mainly speech-based community service
launched on 9th March and is broadcasting on 100.6 FM. The station has a
one-year licence. Details are as follows:


NORTHERN VISIONS RADIO, Belfast, 100.6 FM
Will provide alternative and innovative local radio programming based on
community access. Programming will reflect and enrich the diversity of the
Belfast community and contribute to expanding the variety of viewpoints
broadcast in Northern Ireland (contact: 028 9033 2769,
www.northernvisions.org/radio).

The other three services already on-air taking part in the experiment are:
Angel Community Radio, Havant, Hampshire; Bradford Community Broadcasting,
Bradford inner city; and Cross Rhythms City Radio, Stoke-on-Trent. The Radio
Authority selected fifteen groups from a field of two hundred groups that
submitted letters of intent. The remaining projects will be on-air within
the next two months, with the exception of Shine FM in Banbridge, Northern
Ireland, which will broadcast for just a few months from the autumn. The aim
of the experiment is to provide guidance on how Access Radio could be
introduced following new legislation.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

1.    The fifteen groups invited to apply to take part in the project
reflect all four of the home nations, rural and urban areas, including links
with urban regeneration projects, services for ethnic minorities in the
Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, a wide range of age groups from
children to older people, Christian based stations, and a range of financial
models.
2.    Access Radio was initially suggested to Government by the Authority
(Radio Regulation for the 21st Century Submission to DCMS/DTI, June 2000) as
an initiative to provide opportunities for a new tier of radio services to
be used in innovative, creative and socially and educationally constructive
ways. This project aims to evaluate different approaches to the concept and
to inform the future radio regulator how Access Radio, should it be
introduced in the future, might be licensed, regulated, funded, promoted and
organised. 
3.    The Radio Authority's specific recommendations to Government regarding
Access Radio along with further information about the project are available
here.
4.    The Radio Authority is responsible for licensing and regulating
Independent Radio in accordance with the statutory requirements of the
Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996. It plans frequencies, awards licences,
regulates programming and advertising, and plays an active role in the
discussion and formulation of policies which affect the Independent Radio
industry and its listeners.