Sunset Radio Special 1

Our Board of Directors include leading members of Manchester’s ethnic communities along with a mixture of business and broadcasting expertise.

This submission is written by the proposed Managing Director Mike Shaft and might not represent the views of Sunset Radio as a whole.

Sunset Radio welcomes the publication of the Green Paper on Broadcasting and are ready to apply once the Home Office invite new applications for the proposed Community radio system.

1 THE EXPERIMENT

Sunset Radio was one of the groups which applied for the Manchester licence as invited by the then Home Secretary, Leon Brittain. Sunset radio welcomed the announcement of the experimental licences as a first step to the setting up of a fully-fledged Community Radio system.

The disappointment felt by Sunset at the cancellation of the experiment was expressed in a letter sent to the Prime Minister and reprinted in annex 1 at the end of this submission. Sunset radio believes that the Home Office should compensate all applicants for the time and money expended in the putting together of their applications. We at Sunset estimate our outlay at £5000.00.

We were invited to apply, which we did. Through no fault of ours the experiment was cancelled. Sunset radio believes the Home Office to be morally bound to refund all the costs. Sunset radio believes that a good place to start with the setting up of a new Community Radio system would be at the point of cancellation of the experiment. The Home Office has a list of 21 stations recommended by the panel.

We believe that these 21 groups should be the first to be given licences in the new Community Radio system. This will, in some way, make up for the disappointment at the cancellation of the experiment.

2 EXISTING SERVICES

Sunset Radio believes that the United Kingdom radio system is one of the best in the world and should be protected at all costs.

The UK radio system ranges from the quality broadcasting of Radio 4 to the ‘lowest common denominator’ approach of Independent Local Radio.

Over the past few years ILR have complained again and again about costs, control, competition etc. In-fact, ILR have had 15 years with no serious competition at a local level.

This situation can not be allowed to continue. However, there is little point in authorising new stations which intend to duplicate the existing services. Independent National radio and Community Radio should be used to extend the appeal of radio and to add new audiences, not simply to dilute further, the existing audiences.

Sunset Radio is delighted at the Green Paper decision to allow the BBC to be responsible for its own radio services. Sunset Radio believes that the privatisation of BBC radio services would be a mistake. Should the main criteria for being on the air be money, quality radio would disappear and we would be fed a diet of pop, pap, and phone-ins.

3 FREQUENCY

Sunset Radio welcomes the Green Paper announcement that new frequencies will become available in the next five years. We believe, however, that this does not preclude the Home Office from using the existing frequencies with greater efficiency.

Sunset Radio believes that ALL EXISTING SERVICES at a local level should be given a six week period in which to decide. At the end of that period one of their frequencies should be withdrawn.

There is very little point in duplicating services across a limited spectrum. Care should be taken not to allow too long a decision time, as ILR stations will use every tactic to maintain their present situation. Over the past few years, both the IBA and the BBC have attempted to increase VHF listening with no great success.

However, as the pirates have proved, listeners will tune in to the VHF waveband if that is where their favourite station is situated.

The action of removing one frequency from each local station would immediately create almost eighty frequencies for use by new radio services. Sunset Radio believes that the BBC should continue to control all BBC radio services, subject to the implementation of the previous section. (3).

Sunset Radio believes that all other radio services on a local level should come under the control of a new radio body. While the Cable Authority may fit the bill we believe that the two other possibilities do exist. The setting up of a completely new body would probably make the most sense but Sunset believes that serious consideration should be given to the IBA.

The IBA knows radio and already has the framework to control radio with whatever touch is required. Sunset Radio believes that the IBA should continue to control all non-BBC stations. Sunset Radio is concerned that the Green Paper does not envisage a controlling body for the proposed National Radio services.

We believe that ALL new national radio services should be under the control of the IBA. Contrary to the suggestion of the Green Paper (4.18). Sunset believes that all new national services should fit in with all the current obligations on public-service broadcasting, including a legal duty to produce programmes of a defined quality and range. While this directly contradicts the Green Paper, we believe that the light touch on the local radio and community radio will generate lots of diverse services.

National Radio must be under strict control, in-fact far stronger than the IBA exerts over ILR at the moment. Should Independent National radio be allowed to exist with a light touch, the BBC would then have to compete at a national level.

This, again. Could signal the end of quality radio in the UK. Sunset Radio welcomes the suggestion that political groups and public authorities should be barred from owning or controlling stations. To this list we add record companies. They or their representatives should not be allowed any involvement in radio services. Undue pressure from record companies to play their music has been a feature of radio for many years. Imagine the influence they would have if they actually owned or controlled a radio station. This situation must not be allowed to exist