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Latest news from the Sheffield Live! teams

Jeff Halper and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign

On the fourth of September Jeff Halper visited Sheffield to participate at a public meeting organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Jeff is the director of the Israeli Committee against House Demolition (ICAHD). In his speech he gave an account of the territorial expansion of the Israeli control and the tools used for this purpose: the construction of new settlements and the demolition of Palestinian homes. He explained that this is no side aspect of the conflict, but a central one, namely the one which most than anything undermines the viability of a future Palestinian state. Jeff also introduced the audience to ICAHD’s work. Musheir El Farra, chair of the Sheffield PSC, opened the meeting.

The team from Communities Live (broadcast every weekday from 12 till 1pm) was at the meeting, and presented the highlights a few days later:

icahd

Hannah James and Sam Sweeney

Hannah James and Sam Sweeney are a traditional folk music duo and have been playing together for almost 8 years. They met in 2002 and have been playing together in English folk group Kerfuffle since then. More recently known for their work with Bellowhead and the Demon Barber Roadshow, they are now embarking on a new project as a duo. The debut album Catches & Glees is out now and available from www.hannahandsam.co.uk

We were lucky enough to have them drop into our studios last week as they talked to Dave Eyre about their new album, their musical journey and played an amazing collection of songs for us live in the studio.

sam and hannah

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Open Call for Programme Proposals

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Have you got an idea that you would like to turn into a radio programme for broadcast on community radio? Is there something you would like to hear on the Sheffield airwaves? This could be your chance to make it happen! Sheffield Live! has launched its latest open call for programme proposals.

Sheffield Live! provides public access to production and broadcast facilities supported by experienced media trainers, mentors and producers. We are particularly interested in new ideas for speech based programmes including current affairs, specialist themes like environment and health, new writing, arts and culture. We welcome proposals to serve particular communities of interest in our coverage area, including programmes in community languages. We encourage innovative ideas including experimental uses of sound and radio.

Sheffield Live! prides itself on being first for Sheffield music with programmes by some of Sheffield’s leading local DJs and a high profile for local music and musicians. If you have an idea for a specialist music programme, let us know. We will be reviewing and renewing our music mix and there will be opportunities across the schedule for new talent to join our music programming roster.

There are many others ways you can get involved, for example by joining our morning or midday production teams as a researcher, reporter, presenter, producer or technical operator. Training will be provided for all new programme volunteers with an opportunity to learn media production skills and gain practical experience in a working broadcast environment. Contact Sheffield Live! at info@sheffieldlive.org or come to one of our open meetings if you want to find out more. Open meetings will be held on 9 and 14 September at Sheffield Live! city centre premises, from 6.30pm at 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX and include a studio tour and opportunity to meet some of our current presenters.

Follow This Link To Find Out More »

Lord Puttnam backs broadcasters’ campaign

Support Community Radio! Sign the Petition! Click Here!Lord David Puttnam has pledged his “.. absolute support..” to a campaign by community radio stations in Sheffield and across the country who are pressing the government for access to adequate and reliable funds.

Community radio, acclaimed by industry regulator Ofcom as a “broadcasting success story”, is under constant fear of closure, according to Professor Anthony Everitt, author of the 2003 report, New Voices, whose recommendations formed the basis for government legislation.

The Community Radio Order 2004 is currently under review as are the funding arrangements for public service broadcasting content outside the BBC. Funding for community radio has not kept pace with growth in the number of services. The Community Radio Fund was set up in 2005, with £500,000 per annum when there were only 14 community radio licensees. Today there are around 150 community radio services on air, while the Fund has not grown in size.

Everitt, in a letter to the Department for Culture Media and Sport, says the sector is “hobbled by its poverty”, and has called on government to implement the recommendations of his report to provide (matched) grant aid of £30,000 per year per station towards core operating costs. Everitt says “this is a modest expenditure when the benefits community radio can confer are taken into account”, and it is needed “to place community radio on a sound financial footing”.

Community broadcasters have called on government, in an open letter to the Prime Minister, to implement the funding recommendations of the Everitt report to ensure the sustainability and development of community radio. And a petition to the Prime Minister, calling for increased funding for the sector, is also gathering momentum with over 1700 signatures already confirmed.

Lord David Puttnam assured the community radio sector:  “…the weight of public support and technological history are with you…”

Sangita Basudev, Chief Executive of Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM welcomed Lord Puttnam’s support and said: “Community radio stations around the country have demonstrated their effectiveness in giving voice to and involving local people from diverse communities. But the growth of the sector needs to be matched by increased investment in line with the recommendations of the Everitt report.”

For further information follow this link

Sheffield MPs back community radio campaign

Support Community Radio! Sign the Petition! Click Here!Sheffield MPs are getting behind a campaign for community radio to get a fair share of government funding arrangements for broadcasting. The campaign, launched in July to mark the fifth anniversary of community radio legislation, is led by Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM and by local community broadcasters throughout the UK.

Since legislation was passed, in 2004, more than 200 community radio services have been licensed and around 150 are on air, creating around 400 jobs, involving over 10,000 volunteers, and serving a potential audience of more than 10 million people.

But despite the widely acknowledged success of community radio, stations like Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM are economically precarious with no core funding support. A Community Radio Fund, set up in 2004, has not been increased despite the rapid growth in the number of community radio stations. There is now less than £500,000 per annum to distribute to 150 not-for-profit stations.

Lib Dem Leader and Sheffield Hallam MP, Nick Clegg, who recently visited Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM city centre studios, said: “I am happy to lend my support to your campaign and have written to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on your behalf”.

Sheffield’s Labour MPs have also voiced their support. Sheffield Attercliffe MP, Clive Betts said he is “happy to support the campaign”. Sheffield Heeley MP Meg Munn, Sheffield Hillsborough MP Angela Smith, Sheffield Central MP Richard Caborn and Sheffield Brightside MP David Blunkett have also confirmed they have written to the Government Minister responsible and are awaiting a response.

Sangita Basudev, Chief Executive of Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM said: “We are delighted our local MPs are with us on this issue. We have over 200 volunteers involved in Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM, but it is a day to day challenge making ends meet in the current economic climate. The Community Radio Fund should support our core operating expenses, but with 150 community radio stations on the air there is just not enough to go round.”

For further information follow this link

Summer Appeal Gig @ The Harley

Sheffield Live! 93.2FM Gig @ the Harley
An event for Sheffield Live’s Summer Appeal 2009

On Monday 3rd August the Harley Hotel & Bar and Sheffield Live! 93.2FM team up again to showcase the city’s freshest and exciting Indie talent. This event is part of Sheffield Live’s Summer Appeal, to support the good deeds we’re doing in the city. Prepare for a night of eclectic sounds to tingle your earbuds!…

RepoMen: acoustic set from Sheffield post-punk new-wavers, putting down their electric guitars in favour of an acoustic and a double bass.
http://www.myspace.com/repomenuk

Sieben: a.k.a. Matt Howden. One man, his violin and loop pedal. Deep, dark, beautiful amd moving. The word genius is often over-used but not  here. Has to be seen to be believed.
http://www.matthowden.com/siebenf.html

Party Horse: Ex-Tiny Dancer’s front man Day Kay and wife Ersula ride into town with a fist full of guitar driven power-pop tunes with a metallic edge. “Like a Anglo/Dutch Fleetwood Mac brought up on grilled cheese”. Tasty!
http://www.myspace.com/partyhorsemusic

The night will close with Sheffield Live! DJ sets from the fabulous people behind ‘The Indie Hour’ and ‘The Breakdown.’

Doors open at 8pm and £3 gets you in…

Don’t forget to keep it tuned to Sheffield Live! to hear tracks from all the bands and interviews with all the music makers!

Community Radio Online Petition

Support Community Radio! Sign the Petition! Click Here!On 20 July 2009, in an Open Letter to the Prime Minister, community radio leaders, media scholars and experts, including 60 community radio stations, called for a fair settlement for community radio including a sizeable increase in the Community Radio Fund.

Now you can add your voice to their call.

A petition has been launched, backed by community radio stations including Sheffield Live! and calling on the Prime Minister “to support the sustainability and growth of community radio by substantially increasing the resources of the Community Radio Fund.”

Support Community Radio!

Sign the petition!

Tell Your Friends!

For updates follow:
http://twitter.com/allthevoices/

For further information follow this link

Nick Clegg backs community radio campaign

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Lib Dem Leader and Sheffield Hallam MP, Nick Clegg, has pledged his backing to a joint campaign launched by Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM and other community radio stations for a substantial increase in the Community Radio Fund. The government-backed Fund has not grown in size since it was set up in 2005, while the number of community radio stations has increased from 14 to more than 150 on air.

Clegg said, in a letter: “I remember our discussion at Sheffield Live and have seen the letter sent to Gordon Brown on your website. I am happy to lend my support to your campaign.”

Sangita Basudev, Chief Executive of Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM said: “We are delighted to have Nick Clegg’s support. We have written to all of Sheffield’s MPs asking them to get behind the campaign and to ensure a fair settlement for community radio in the current government review.”

The Community Radio Fund is described by Steve Buckley, Director of Sheffield Live! 93.2FM as “.. woefully inadequate” and he’s heading a plea for a fair share of Government funding arrangements for public service broadcasting. Buckley says the new sector is in a precarious situation: “Six stations have failed to launch, three have handed back their licences. Others are at high risk. This is not only a result of the recession but is also a direct consequence of a failure in government policy to ensure funding arrangements keep pace with development.”

You can read read more about the campaign by following this link

An Open Letter To Gordon Brown

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The 20th July marked the fifth anniversary of the legislation that enabled Sheffield Live and other community radio stations to start broadcasting. Since then more than 200 community radio services have been licensed and around 150 are on air, creating around 400 jobs, involving over 10,000 volunteers, and serving a potential audience of more than 10 million people. Ofcom’s latest Annual Report hailed community radio as “one of the great UK broadcasting success stories of the last few years”, but that success could turn to failure if much needed Government support is not forthcoming, according to community radio groups and their supporters.

The Community Radio Fund is described by Steve Buckley, Director of Sheffield Live! 93.2FM as “.. woefully inadequate”. Steve says the new sector is in a precarious situation: “To put it in context, the money available today through the Community Radio Fund to support the operating costs of 150 community radio stations is less than the annual salary of a BBC Radio 1 breakfast DJ.”

An open letter has been written to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, signed by 82 community radio leaders, media scholars and experts including representatives of 60 community radio stations, in a bid to raise awareness of the threat to community radio.

Add your support by donating to your local community radio and by writing now to your local MP and the Prime Minister.

You can read and download the letter by following this link

Sheffield Live! and Resonance FM to collaborate on Plinth Broadcast

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Sheffield Live! 93.2FM will be joined by London’s art radio station, Resonance 104.4FM on Tuesday, 21st July for a special community radio broadcast from the fourth plinth on Trafalgar Square.

Presented by Sheffield Live’s Alan Fransman between 8 and 9pm, the broadcast will create a memorable connection between audiences in London and Sheffield.  Fransman and the broadcast will become part of “One & Other”, sculptor Antony Gormley’s project to create an astonishing living monument.  The Sheffield Live! broadcast will be heard not only by people on Trafalgar Square, but across Sheffield on 93.2FM, across London on Resonance 104.4FM and on the Internet. The broadcast will be featured in Resonance FM’s “Clear Spot”, a slot for unique broadcasts by artists.

Alan Fransman said: “I am a big fan of Resonance FM and proud to be part of a collaborative work that involves two fantastic radio stations.”

Sangita Basudev, Chief Executive of Sheffield Live! 93.2FM said: “Community Radio is all about bringing communities together. With Alan’s broadcast from the Fourth Plinth, we will be bringing Sheffield to the heart of the capital and putting the streets of London on to the Sheffield airwaves.”

Ed Baxter, Director of Resonance 104.4FM said: “Alan’s use of radio ingeniously propels Anthony Gormley’s participatory artwork into the centre of community arts. The Fourth Plinth is a fitting site for this outside broadcast – a monument to the success that is Community Radio!

There are opportunities to sponsor Alan Fransman’s broadcast from the plinth, you can find out more by contacting Sheffield Live! on 0114 281 4082