Community Radio Stations really come into their own in times of bad weather, traffic accidents, disasters like the 93' flooding, snow blocked roads, school closures. It's at times like that that the Community turn to their Community Radio for first hand, up to the minute news on whatever it is thats transpiring at that moment. For the medium of radio, and moreso in many ways, Community Radio, is instant, and programming can change direction in an instant.
Tudno FM's lack of local news is at times astounding. The lack of news at all, at times is jaw dropping. News is fundamental to any radio station, but for Community Radio it can be the backbone and the hook that keeps people from tuning into another station. By provoking serious community issues through debate, by stimulating responses, Tudno FM can provide their own community news stories.
I recently obtained copies of Tudno FMs accounts up to 2010, and was flabbergasted to read that over a three year period, they have spent approx £93,000 on, wait for it, Consultants. Thats somewhere in the region of £100 a day, every day, for three years...ON CONSULTANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since the radio station started, their fundraising activities have yeilded in the region of £9k to £10k, so that being the case, does that mean the £93,000 has come from the public purse? If so, I suggest questions should be asked in relation to why so much has been spent on Consultants, who the Consultants were, what the Consultants provided for their money, who authorised payments, and sight of minutes would be helpful too, and sight of funding applications for such vast amounts of money for Consultants. I'm sorry, but to spend such a huge amount of money over three years on Consultants beggars belief. If it's public money, then the public should be told. If you visit the Charities Commission website or Companies House website, you can get copies of the accounts, it's all in the public domain.
But please don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to do anything else but to get the radio station to provide the service the Community, need, want and deserve, and as public money has enabled it to be there, then Tudno FM must show and prove that the service they are providing is Value For Money, public money, our money. It's not rocket science.
Mountains must be moved to keep Tudno FM going, the Community need it. They may not realise it yet, but they do, but only if the vision of what true Community Radio is all about is adhered to, worked on, and brought about. A Community Radio Station can and should be a vital, no, essential part of a Community. For any Community Radio Station to be successful, it must be run by a team of people who have a 'Passion' for it, it's how it is.
A few years ago I applied for a grant, and sat down with a cup of coffee in Tesco in Llandudno Junction with the head of a particular funding body. This guy asked me to talk to him about the project I wanted the money for. When I finished telling him,he looked at me and said "This is your passion isn't it". I knew instantly he said that, that he would give me the grant, and he did.
Without that grant the project would never have come to fruition, but without the Passion for the project, there would have been no grant.