Student Radio Association

Last updated

Student Radio Association Ltd (SRA)
PredecessorNational Association of Student Broadcasting (NASB)
FormationAugust 2019
Type Private company limited by guarantee
Purpose Student radio
Headquarters167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London W1W 5PF
Location
  • United Kingdom
Region served
Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Chair
Vacant
Website studentradio.org.uk

The Student Radio Association (SRA) is a representative body which supports and acts on behalf of the UK student radio community, comprising radio stations that are associated with or linked to a place of education. [1] It is a not-for-profit organisation, which exists to encourage and facilitate communication between student stations. It was dissolved by Companies House in May 2018, [2] but was reincorporated on 30 August 2019 [3] as the Student Radio Association Ltd Ltd. [4]

Contents

History

The SRA was formed following the liquidation of the National Association of Student Broadcasting (NASB), which was formed as a limited company on 5 August 1988. NASB, a Private company limited by guarantee, was dissolved in January 2002, although had collapsed as a business in 1991. That year saw the creation of the SRA as a community. In November 2007, the SRA was incorporated as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee. There are 65 member stations of the SRA, which includes student radio stations across the UK. Membership to the SRA is on a yearly basis. [5]

The SRA receives support from a number of industry partners, some which have been associated with the organisation for many years. The Radio Academy provides free membership for SRA members. Students involved with the SRA automatically become part of the Association of Student Radio Alumni (ASRA) following their graduation, which is a network of people formerly involved in student radio. [6] Other associated organisations include Global Media & Entertainment and BBC Radio, which provides speakers at SRA events.

The SRA Officers

The SRA is run by officers that have various roles within the organisation. The SRA is governed by an elected executive team, with elections held annually and voted by the station managers of member stations. The latest elections took place online, with the following individuals elected to office from July 2023: [7]

Administrative roles within the SRA are chosen by the departing executive team. The SRA also appoints regional officers that provide support for stations in a region of the UK. Candidates for regional officers are elected to the role following a vote by the station managers in their region. [8]

The Student Radio Awards (SRAs)

The Student Radio Awards (SRAs) is an awards scheme celebrating talent within the UK student radio industry, held annually since 1995 and supported by BBC Radio 1, the ASRA and Global Radio. The awards are announced in a ceremony in November, with past presenters including well-known radio personalities, such as Fearne Cotton, Scott Mills, and Nick Grimshaw. The first awards took place at the University of London Union. Due to the increased popularity of the event, the SRAs moved to The indigO2 in London in 2008. The awards on offer range from Best Newcomer, Best Interview, and Best Live Event, up to the most prestigious, Best Student Station of the Year. [9] The current Awards Chairperson is Huw Stephens. Previous chairs have included Stephanie Hirst, Steve Lamacq, and Dev (DJ). [10]

In 2008, the Kevin Greening Creativity Award was introduced to reward students that had displayed new and innovative radio. The award is named in honour of Kevin Greening, a former chair of the awards and presenter on Cambridge University Radio. Greening co-hosted The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Zoë Ball from 1997 to 1998, prior to his death in 2007. [11]

As well as student radio award trophy, winners of the best male and female awards are also given the chance to host a show on BBC Radio 1. In 2012, female winner Hattie Pearson, from Fuse FM, covered an early morning breakfast slot on the station on 29 March 2013. [12] Best male winner Ethan O'Leary, from Spark FM, covered the same show on 1 April 2013. [13] Also in 2012, Abbie McCarthy, from RaW 1251AM, was offered free training from the BBC Academy after winning the Best Newcomer trophy. [10] Many past winners of Student Radio Awards have gone on to become big names within the UK radio industry, most notably Greg James (Winner Best Male 2005), who now works at Radio 1, and Mark Crossley (Winner Best Male 2008), who now works at Absolute Radio.

SRA Conference

Each year, the SRA holds a conference, usually during the University Easter break. Each year, member stations submit a conference proposal to hold the conference at their university. The SRA committee selects the winning station towards the start of each year. The conference takes place over 3 days and is funded through ticket sales. At the SRA Conference, speakers are invited to speak on a variety of subjects, including the future of Student Radio and radio techniques. Speakers are invited from radio organisations, such as the head of BBC Radio 1 Aled Haydn Jones.

From 2010, the 'Amplify Awards' (formerly 'I Love Student Radio' awards) have been held at the conference. These are in addition to the SRAs and are dedicated to rewarding the people behind the scenes of student radio. Awards include the "Most Improved Station", which was won in 2023 by Leeds Student Radio. As well as the awards, the SRA annual general meeting is held at the conference.

The locations of the most recent conferences are listed below:

SRA Chart Show

The SRA runs the National Student Radio Chart Show, which broadcasts live across the UK every Sunday from 2pm. [17] The chart broadcasts from a different member station each week, with student presenters from that station in charge of the show. The show is aired on member stations that have signed up to air the show and is repeated on across the student radio network throughout the week.

The show lasts for 120 minutes, counting down the top 20 biggest hits playing on student radio across the UK. Stations that host the show are eligible to enter the Best Student Radio Chart Show category at the Student Radio Awards.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Warwick Students' Union</span>

Warwick Students' Union, also known as Warwick SU, is the students' union for the University of Warwick, in Coventry, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cam FM</span> Student-run radio station at the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University

Cam FM is a student-run radio station at the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University. The station broadcasts online and has an FM frequency of 97.2 MHz. The station opened studios at Anglia Ruskin University and Fitzwilliam College and started broadcasting in 2012 from these locations after having spent its first 32 years located in Churchill College. Cam FM once held the world record for the longest team broadcast marathon, at 76 hours, and following the significant technical overhaul as a result of the two new studios in 2012, provided the first-ever broadcast media coverage of the Oxford vs Cambridge Women's Boat Race from Dorney Lake, as well as live outside broadcasts from Newmarket Races and the Varsity Ski Trip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAW 1251AM</span> Student radio station at the University of Warwick

RAW 1251AM is the student radio station at the University of Warwick and winner of the 2000 and 2003 BBC Radio 1 Student Radio Association Best Station awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Radio York</span> Radio station in York, England

University Radio York is a University Radio station covering the campuses of the University of York. It was the first legal independent radio station in the United Kingdom. Broadcasting from Vanbrugh College on the University's west campus, URY has won a number of awards from various organisations including the Student Radio Association of which it is a member.

DemonFM is a student radio station based at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. The station broadcasts online during term time. It was established in 1995 by the Communications Officer of the time, Rob Martin. The first licensed broadcast was on 106.4 FM from 29 September 1995 to 26 October 1995 and the second broadcast was on 106.2 FM from 22 April 1996 to 19 May 1996. DemonFM continued to broadcast on Restricted Service Licences until 2008 with the last of the RSL broadcasts taking place on 97.5FM. DemonFM finished their 26th and final RSL on 30 November 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's College London Students' Union</span> Student activities organisation at Kings College London

King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is an independent charitable organisation that works to further the interests of its members. It governs the 300 student societies and activity groups at King's. KCLSU claims to be the oldest students' union in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subcity Radio</span> Radio station

Subcity Radio is a non-profit freeform radio station, arts collective and events promoter based at the University of Glasgow which is run by volunteers from the University and local community with the aim of providing an alternative to commercial and mainstream radio providers. It currently broadcasts online year round and until September 2009 also on temporary short-term FM Restricted Service Licence broadcasts. The station also hosts a large catalogue of audio for on-demand listening and podcasting, including recordings of the live stream, sessions, interviews, news and live recordings. Off-air, Subcity runs various events and club nights throughout the year, with previous venues including the Sub Club, Art School, Research Club, Stereo, and The Arches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surge Radio</span> Student radio station of the University of Southampton

Surge Radio is an English student radio station based at the University of Southampton. Founded in 1976 as Radio Heffalump, the station was renamed Radio Glen the following year and originally broadcast from the university's Glen Eyre Halls complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Winchester</span> University in Winchester, United Kingdom

The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BurnFM.com</span> Student radio station of the University of Birmingham

Burn FM is the official student radio station based at the University of Birmingham. The original name was BurnFM.com. 'Burn' stands for 'Birmingham University Radio Network'. Burn FM also regularly review many songs and celebrities such as AJ Tracey, Eminem and NSG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spark Sunderland</span> Community radio station in Sunderland, United Kingdom

Spark is a community radio station serving 15- to 30-year-olds in the Sunderland area. Spark carries a variety of content catering for both mainstream and niche musical audiences, specialising in chart hits and new music throughout the day, and specialist programming after 7 pm. The radio station broadcasts on 107.00FM and online via the station's website. The official launch of Spark took place at the new £12 million CitySpace building in the centre of the city of Sunderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Radio</span> Radio station

Queen's Radio is a student radio station, broadcasting a wide variety of shows, based at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, currently broadcasting via online stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student television in the United Kingdom</span>

Student television in the United Kingdom is the act of students from universities and colleges around the United Kingdom producing and publishing video content independently, operating in a similar fashion to a small television station. Student television stations exist all around the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple Radio</span> Student radio station of Durham University

Purple Radio is Durham University's Official Student Radio Station. Purple broadcasts online 24 hours a day during term time, from October until June each year.

Gemma Cairney is an English television and radio presenter best known for her work on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music. She most recently presented The Leisure Society on BBC Radio 6 Music where she interviewed cultural icons including Goldie, Tracey Emin, Kelley Deal, Laurie Vincent from Slaves and Cosey Fanni Tutti. Previously she co-hosted The Surgery alongside Radha Modgil. She has also presented Gemma Cairney on BBC Radio 1, weekends 7 am – 10 am and later weekdays 4 am – 6:30 am, switching with Dev. More recently she has regularly covered for Lauren Laverne, Mary Ann Hobbs, Chris Hawkins, Steve Lamacq, Cerys Matthews and Craig Charles on BBC Radio 6 Music. Cairney is also an Oxfam ambassador.

Canterbury Student Radio (CSR FM) is a membership based student and community radio station based in Canterbury, England. It is currently funded by Kent Union based at the University of Kent. When actively broadcasting, the radio station airs a mixture of live and pre-recorded programming from Studio Red based in the Student Media Centre on the main campus 24 hours a day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuse FM</span> Radio station in UK - National Internet , Manchester FM

Fuse FM is a student radio station broadcasting every day during term time from Manchester Students' Union at the University of Manchester.

Pure FM is an official student-led radio station broadcast by student members at the University of Portsmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonty Usborne</span> British producer and broadcast engineer at BBC News

Jonathan "Jonty" Usborne is a producer and broadcast engineer at BBC News, and writer for The Independent, noted for having won awards such as the Student Radio Award for Best Technical Achievement and the Radio Academy Award for Best Technical Innovation. He is the first university student to have won in a technical category at the Radio Academy Awards. As of 2016, he is a software engineer for the BBC and the Chair of the Student Radio Association. He also sits on the Trustee Board of the Radio Academy.

<i>Forge Media</i> Radio station in Sheffield, United Kingdom

Forge Media is the student-run organization at the University of Sheffield which has overseen Forge Radio, Forge TV and Forge Press since 2008. On 4 July 2012, Forge Media was named Best Student Media at the NUS Awards. The award recognised the many hours of hard work put in by the members of the Forge Press, Forge Radio and Forge TV teams, as individual teams and as one fully converged media package, displaying a wide range of multimedia skills and including hundreds of members of the student body, and reaching large audiences.

References

  1. ↑ Rudin, Richard; Trevor Ibbotson (2002). An introduction to journalism: essential techniques and background knowledge . Focal Press. p.  337. ISBN   978-0-240-51634-9.
  2. ↑ "THE STUDENT RADIO ASSOCIATION LTD - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  3. ↑ "THE STUDENT RADIO ASSOCIATION LTD - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  4. ↑ "THE STUDENT RADIO ASSOCIATION Ltd - Filing history (Free information from Companies House)".
  5. ↑ "The Student Radio Association :: Membership Info". Archived from the original on 10 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "About Us « ASRA". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Officers - Student Radio Association". www.studentradio.org.uk.
  8. ↑ "Student Radio Association". Student Radio Association.
  9. ↑ "The Student Radio Awards :: The History of The Student Radio Awards". Archived from the original on 15 June 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Free training for best newcomer at Student Radio Awards 2012". BBC Academy. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Young, Kevin (31 December 2007). "Mayo tribute to radio DJ Greening". BBC News.
  12. ↑ "Hattie Pearson sits in for Dev, Dev - BBC Radio 1". BBC.
  13. ↑ "Ethan O'Leary sits in for Dev, Dev - BBC Radio 1". BBC.
  14. ↑ The Student Radio Association – Members from Student Radio Association website. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  15. ↑ The Student Radio Association – News from Student Radio Association website, 12 December 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  16. 1 2 3 The Student Radio Association – Conference Archived 6 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine from Student Radio Association website, 11 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  17. ↑ "National Student Radio Chart Show | Student Radio Association". www.studentradio.org.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.