Broadcasting some sense
When I arrived into Oxford five years ago I was shocked to find that there was no student radio station. I knew that I certainly hadn't gone to university to do physics, and had wrongly assumed that there would surely be something to feed my desire for broadcasting. I thought that Oxford was that sort of place.
I soon found out that there was one before - Oxygen - and it had been the first- and last-ever full-time FM student station. Hand in hand with its unique situation had gone the accumulation of staggering debts, and soon investors were breathing down their necks. A professional team was brought in to fill the top ranks, and when the bank balance got no better, the students blamed the managers - and vice versa. This all came to a head when a member of the public complained about an uncouth comment on air, and the Radio Authority requested tapes of that day's broadcast.
Unfortunately, both groups thought that the others were in charge of that area, and no-one had recorded what went out. Somewhat recklessly, a plan was hatched to spend a full day on air pretending it was the day under scrutiny; this was actually done and the tape sent. No-one had considered that the news was being streamed in from another station, and the Authority was curious to note that Stanley Kubrick appeared to have died on the wrong day.
Oxygen was fined the largest amount of money in radio history and its license was shortened. It was forced to finish broadcasting the term before I arrived.
My first go at broadcasting occurred when Fusion Radio (now Passion, which took over the bandwidth Oxygen had occupied,) realised that they had to have a student arm to their station's output so as to fill a license clause and let a few students use an old studio to broadcast on the internet for four hours a night. There were 100 students involved, from both Oxford and Brookes, and we all loved going on air - but with absolutely no money available for marketing, no-one was listening. We were forced to fabricate listening figures and send them around to the DJs, just to ensure they would turn up and do their shows. So the idea of establishing another FM station became ever more appealing - Oxford Student Radio was born.
We wanted a normal student station like other universities had: playing new music, hilarious banter, had committed listeners and so forth. Initially it looked like we were in luck: OUSU agreed to house us in their old LGBT cupboard. Extremely frustratingly, though, the licence appeal was rejected - on the grounds that our purpose was too similar to that of Fusion. We were told that student radio would never again be broadcast to Oxford.
It is so easy to run a student station in the style of Radio One, and that's what we thought we were going to do, but this setback forced us to think about the purpose of our station. Our funding was coming from a group that supports students getting more involved in the community, and we already had decided to make supporting local charities a major aim of the station, along with running radio training days for local schoolchildren, and generally seeking a wider audience than just the colleges. But why would anyone wan to listen to a weaker Radio One - just with more in-jokes and (realistically) worse production values? How could we offer an honest alternative?
Like all good solutions, ours was simple. Music is the very thing that defines a radio station, and it was in music that we found our answer - the genre 'Older Alternative'. Students and a good proportion of the city will always enjoy music that has stood the test of time, and under the above blanket we wanted to play some of the hits, but also to introduce people to things they might not have heard before. It was an innovative formula: a kind of thinking mans' Radio Two. This would also sit well next the alternative form of humour that Oxford student presenters often adopt, as well as with the specialist DJs in the evening. The name 'Altered Radio' followed.
Did I spend pretty much 12 months of nine-to-five on top of my degree, hundreds of pounds on phone bills and endless heartache to produce a good brand for the listening public to enjoy? I would like to say yes, as it would suggest that I have a much better business mind than I do, and ought to be enjoying a better job than I'm in right now.
However, to be honest, the only reason for student radio to exist - like most student institutions - is for the people involved. It is challenging, nerve-wracking - a great social network where intelligent, creative people can meet, and a place to showcase your DJing, stand-up, journalistic and management skills. Fair enough, not that many people listen still. Some of the shows aren't great; some are pure gold.
Don't get me wrong, I believe that students at this University can broadcast great entertainment. Yet most of all, being amongst all those people with a collective aim to make something great is fantastic to be a part of.
3rd Feb 2005