Steering group report – April 09

Report and Recommendations

Arising from the
Members Consultation Meeting
23rd February 2009

From the Phonic fm Steering Group
Released on 13th April 2009

Contents

1.    Introduction
2.    Programming – Content
3.    Scheduling
4.    Training
5.    Improving Quality
6.    Organisational Structure
7.    Conclusion: a community radio station

Introduction
A Phonic fm members meeting was held by the Steering Group in order to consult members on current organisational and operational mechanisms within the community radio station and for this feedback to input into a set of recommendations for the Board of Directors.

The objectives of the meeting were to give members a voice in how their radio station is run and developed and for members to meet each other and share their views in a more informal setting.  It has been the ambition of the Steering Group to hear, record and represent the views and ideas expressed as accurately as possible and for the feedback gained to link directly into the recommendations which are presented in this report.

The categories and questions explored were chosen with consideration of the Board’s requests alongside Steering Group and member concerns.

Within this report, each category will clearly state the questions asked to members and include a summary paragraph of the discussion followed by a set of recommendations for implementation.

We hope that all views have been heard and considered as best we can and would like to assure all members that we continue to be available to discuss ideas and issues when they arise.  We intend that this is a useful document for the Board, and the radio station as a whole, and a realistic set of recommendations based on consultation with members.

Programming – Content
The question asked to members was:
What new content would you like to see Phonic developing?

Summary paragraph:
As per the original vision for the radio station (“Phonic FM will provide radio programming with an emphasis on specialist music”) it is firmly believed that we must continue to pursue our goal of broadcasting a very wide range of musical styles. However, we must also do better at developing and producing more spoken word programmes and programme items relevant to our local audience.

Recommendations
1.    Dramatically increase our out put of local live music and other performance art.
2.    Dramatically increase our output of spoken word items, with emphasis on local issues, events and people.
3.    Appoint outreach personnel, in order to establish and develop links with a wide range of groups, organisations, persons etc within the Exeter area.
4.    Ensure that our schedule has the necessary format to allow for short spoken word items to form a regular part of our output.
5.    Develop bank of recorded short spoken word items. These could be scheduled to be repeated as necessary/desired.
6.    In order to better locate our radio station as a local community radio we need to have local news bulletins not simply national or international news.
7.    There needs to be a firm commitment towards producing designated programmes for and by Exeter’s young people.

Scheduling
The question asked to members was:
How would you like to see scheduling organised at Phonic?

Summary paragraph:
Scheduling and programming are two areas closely linked and should work closely together.

Recommendations
1.    A designated scheduling team needs to be formed, with clear identification and designation of roles and responsibilities.
2.    Any team formed to carry out scheduling must liaise very closely with any team formed to develop programming.
3.    A suggested way of dividing up the scheduling timetable is of breakfast show schedule, weekday daytime schedule, weekday evenings schedule, and weekend schedule, with key individuals or small teams responsible for each of these.
4.    A formal and documented ‘new presenter process’ should be established, with new presenters asked to complete an online form that all relevant members of the scheduling team can access.
5.    There need to be better mechanisms in place to arrange cover for presenters unable to do shows.
6.    A thorough database of presenters needs to be constructed, with particular emphasis on contact details.
7.    There should be greater flexibility of show length.
8.    The schedule should be constructed to take note of a clear need to be able to produce a printed schedule. This may mean more shows being weekly but for defined ‘seasons’.
9.    The schedule should consider as a first principle the need to provide a sense of predictability for our listeners. This may mean more shows being weekly but for defined ‘seasons’.

Presenter Training
The questions asked to members were:
When and how would training suit you?
What kind of training do you need?

Summary paragraph:
Feedback from presenters and from listeners has indicated that at present there is inadequate provision being made for presenter training. Logistical problems for the provision of training include the lack of identified trainers (who are properly trained themselves), the absence of documentation and the difficulty of allocating a period when training can be carried out.

Recommendations
1.    Training must be made available at times to suit presenters. The majority of presenters only have free time at weekends or in the evenings. Scheduling of training must allow for this.
2.    ‘Induction’ trainers need to be identified within the ranks of our existing presenters and given refresher and good practice training before introducing new presenters to the studio equipment.
3.    In addition to defined induction trainers there should be a substantial number of mentors identified, also from the ranks of existing presenters.
4.    New presenters should have a trainer or mentor on hand during the entirety of their first show.
5.    There should be an ‘induction pack’ with easy to follow instructions and FAQs on studio equipment.
6.    In addition to technical information, the induction pack should also contain sections on show preparation/pre-production, broadcasting regulations and presenter skills.
7.    Training on the relevant equipment should also be made available for those wishing to make ID jingles and promos.

Improving Quality
The question asked to members was:
How can we monitor and develop quality of output?

Summary paragraph:
Feedback from the open meeting and the presenters meeting has pinpointed the highly variable levels of presenting standards on our radio station. We need to be helping presenters to develop their skills, and to weed out individuals not showing the necessary commitment.  Poor presenting is currently setting bad examples to new and current members and risking our developing listener-ship.

Recommendations
1.    A group of committed individuals should form a designated team to co-ordinate the reviewing of presenting standards on shows, with emphasis placed on working with those most in need of help.
2.    Flagship presenters should be asked to produce text on how they prepare their shows, with tips on good presentation, and any other advice they can offer.
3.    Presenters should be ‘buddied up’, with your ‘buddy having firm commitment to listen in to your show, in order to ensure that sound mix/levels good, and to offer any advice’.
4.    A ‘listener panel’ should be formed, consisting of Phonic fm listeners who are willing to attend a regular meeting and provide regular feedback.
5.    Presenters to be given easy access to recordings of their own shows, in order for them to be able to self-assess their own performances.
6.    In the event of any presenter transgressing broadcasting or radio station guidelines or regulations, or following listener complaints, then there should be a clearly defined arbitration procedure.
7.    Presenters failing to ‘show’ should be asked to account for their actions, and to be officially sanctioned if they are regular offenders.

Organisational Structure
The questions asked to members were:

How would you like to see Phonic fm structured?
What roles and responsibilities are within each team?
Other comments and ideas?

Summary paragraph:
We asked the Members to look at what areas of work they thought Phonic needed to focus on and how that workload could be split up in order to make the most effective use of our volunteers.

Whilst the lists of tasks could be endless, as you can see from the table in the appendix, what was very clear was that that a clear structure was needed in which everyone had a clear line of communication with a simple structure for reporting back to directors, the challenge for Phonic directors and steering group will be to put this in place in such a way that all involved feel supported in what they undertake.

It would not be possible for one person (a single Director) to keep up good communication with say 80 people involved in 50 different tasks for instance, so therefore we have designed a structure which breaks down each main area of work (ie each Director’s area) into smaller areas of work (called teams) and then into sub-groups for specific tasks.

Each team with have a Team Leader (this could be the director themselves or another volunteer). And each sub-group of a team should have a co-ordinator/liaison person (who will liaise with the team leader).

Recommendations:
1.    To divide up the workload of each director into specific areas/tasks
2.    To have Team Leaders assigned to each work area. The Team Leader will co-ordinate a team of volunteers and liaise with the Director.
3.    Team leaders are volunteer posts that we recruit in a fair and appropriate manner as soon as possible.

Conclusion: a community radio station
The Steering Group would like to thank the members of Phonic fm for their feedback, hard work and patience during this time of review and transition.

We would also like to thank the board for their openness to the consultation process.  As the Steering Group we feel that these recommendations reflect the needs of members and the wider community and look forward to their implementation and results in developing Phonic fm to be a leader in genuine community radio – for and with the community.

We understand that this is just the start of a process of continuing developments and improvements and would like to re-iterate that we are open to new ideas and suggestions from listeners as well as all members of Phonic.