CSR 97.4FM

CSR 97.4FM

Broadcast area	Canterbury (FM) Online (Web Stream)
Frequency	97.4 FM (Canterbury) Internet (Rest of World)
First air date	15 January 2007
Format	Contemporary Student
Owner	University of Kent Canterbury Christ Church University Kent Union Canterbury Christ Church Students' Union
Website	www.csrfm.com

CSR 97.4FM is a community radio station based in Canterbury, England. It is funded by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, as well as their associated Student Unions. The radio station broadcasts from studios at both universities 24 hours a day,^[1] with live broadcasting from 0700 to 23:59. Despite being primarily aimed at students, it is not purely a student radio station. CSRfm was the first student-led community radio station in the country to acquire a licence.

History

Student Radio has existed in Canterbury since 1966,^[2] initially on an unlicensed basis. In 1967, UKC Radio started broadcasting legally on an AM licence which covered the University of Kent campus only. Canterbury Christ Church University also had a student radio station, C4 Radio, broadcasting on AM on a similar strictly contained basis.

When Restricted Service Licences (RSLs) became available both stations periodically took advantage of the scheme to gain city-wide coverage on FM, albeit only for short periods. Each station allowed the other some airtime during their RSLs.

Canterbury Christ Church University's first RSL broadcast occurred in 2002, under the then Station Manager, Jim Cohen. Test broadcasts established that most of the city could pick up the radio station as well as certain parts of the surrounding countryside. The RSL broadcast lasted 2 weeks and was generally considered to be a great success.

The two student unions, which operated these radio stations, decided to make a single combined bid for the Canterbury community radio licence and were successful.^[3] In order to apply for the licence Canterbury Youth Student Media (CYSM) Ltd. was set up which has directors compromising of members of both universities and their unions and also the executive committee members, as well as external directors. The station launched on 15 January 2007^[1]

On 22 July 2011 the station announced that it had been successful with its first licence extension application, allowing it to broadcast for another 5 years until 2017. Furthermore, on 19 August 2016, the station again announced a second licence extension application had been successful, allowing it to broadcast for a further 5 years until 2022.

Management

Management of the station is on three levels. The project is overseen by a board of directors whose members include representatives from CSRfm's funding bodies and a democratically elected committee are responsible for the day-to-day running of the station, including five executive positions (Station Manager, Deputy Station Manager, Programming Manager, Communications Manager, Technical Manager) who represent the point of contact for their corresponding departments. The remaining committee positions are each associated to one of the departments. The committee consists mostly of students from the two universities but is also formed by members of the local community. The committee is assisted by two full-time members of staff, both under contract to the station's holding company CYSM.

Membership

Membership to CSRfm is available to people who fall within any of following bands:^[4]

1. Students enrolled at Canterbury Christ Church University
2. Students enrolled at the University of Kent
3. Members of the local community who are aged 18 or over

Funding

CSRfm is funded by donations from four funding bodies:^[5]

1. The University of Kent
2. Canterbury Christ Church University
3. Kent Union
4. Christ Church Students Union

Awards

Since CSRfm launched in 2007, both the station and its presenters, have been honoured with many national Student Radio Awards.

SRA Awards

^[6]

The station has also been honoured with a number of awards at the I LOVE STUDENT RADIO ceremony, which takes place each year at the National Student Radio Association Conference. In 2015 and 2016 CSR was also the most nominated station at the awards.

^[7]

In 2016 the Community Media Association launched the Community Radio Awards, the first ceremony was held at Birmingham City University.

CSRfm also hosts its own awards evenings in collaboration with InQuire Media and Kent Television - both being the other arms of Student Media at the University of Kent. These awards are judged by experts and professionals from across the media industry including established radio DJs, producers, journalists, filmmakers, directors and so on.

References

External links

• CSR 97.4FM (Canterbury's local Community & Student Radio Station)
• Canterbury Christ Church University website
• Canterbury Christ Church Students' Union website
• University of Kent website
• Kent Union website

Coordinates: 51°17′46.8″N 1°04′08.2″E / 51.296333°N 1.068944°E / 51.296333; 1.068944