Queen's Radio

Last updated

Queen's Radio
Queens Radio Logo.webp
Broadcast areaGreater Belfast
Frequency Currently broadcasting via online player and TuneIN
Programming
Format Student radio
Ownership
Owner Queen's University Belfast
History
First air date
29 September 2003; Medium Wave: 6 February 2006
Links
Webcast [Listen Live]
Website[Website]

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

Contents

Its studios are located in the Students' Union building at One Elmwood. It is the only licensed student station broadcasting in Northern Ireland, and one of several on the island.

History

Queen's Radio began broadcasting on 29 September 2003, initially over the Queen's University campus network and then the internet. In late 2005, the station was successful in acquiring a low-powered AM licence, allowing it to broadcast to Queen's Halls of Residence (Elms Village) directly via Medium Wave. This service commenced on 6 February 2006.

Queen's Radio is operated by the 'Queen's University of Belfast Radio Club', which was originally formed in 1953, making it two years older than the independent student newspaper The Gown. The old Radio Club was a general purpose electronics, amateur radio and computer club, and provided facilities for students to pursue hobby interests in these areas and participated in amateur radio contests, etc. In the late 1990s the University evicted it from its premises in Fitzwilliam St and the club became almost dormant for several years.

In 2001, the Radio Club was taken over by a group of students with the intention of forming a broadcast radio station, and giving QUB students experience of all aspects of broadcast radio. After two years of acquiring equipment, building up membership and negotiating with the Students' Union for premises, the station was ready to broadcast at the start of term in the 2003/04 academic year. The first live show was 'The Lunchbox' presented by Ian Llewellyn, although a pilot show had already been recorded by Shane Horan before the summer break.

There was previously a temporary RSL (restricted service licence) FM radio station at Queen's called 'Fresh Air'. This operated during the first four weeks of term in September 1995 and was hosted by Cool FM DJs and some students, including the now BBC Radio Ulster presenter/producer Donna Legge, Citybeat presenter Stuart Robinson, Pádraig Mac Donnchadha and Downtown Radio DJ Lynda Cullan but was not set up or run by students at Queen's.

Before Queen's Radio was set up in its current form, Queen's University had rejected a proposal from University staff to set up a station at Queen's - It was judged to be too expensive to set up and maintain. Now it is considered to be a major draw to the University to prospective undergraduates.

In 2006, the station was granted a licence to broadcast using Medium Wave to the Elms BT9 Accommodation village in South Belfast In 2009 the station made headlines when it aired an advert for reducing carbon emissions which Sammy Wilson had banned from being broadcast in Northern Ireland. [1]

The Scoop is QR's Current Affairs Dept The Scoop Logo.jpg
The Scoop is QR's Current Affairs Dept

In late 2009 the station pulled its Medium Wave transmission but continued to broadcast via its online player available from the station's website.

Since 2020 Queen’s Radio have been part of the SRA, representing 1 of only 2 stations in the NI region.

Currently, the station is managed by Rebekah Newnes (Station Manager) and Fiona MacIntyre (Deputy Station Manager).

Logo's used by Queens Radio

Awards

In November 2005, the station was awarded the Gold Award for Best Technical Achievement for its computer-based Record of Transmission / Archiving system at the Student Radio Awards. In 2010 the station had three shows nominated for the Irish Smedia Awards. It also won Best Contribution to SU Media and the QUB Union awards, and was nominated for Most Improved Society of the Year.

In April 2013, Queen's Radio DJ Christopher McBride was long listed for the Sony Golden Headphones Award for the UK's favourite presenter. [2]

In April 2017, Queen's Radio presenter Matthew Kirk was awarded the National Student Media (Smedia) award for Radio DJ of the Year. [3]

In March 2019, Queen's Radio's News and Current Affairs outlet, The Scoop, was nominated for the Student Media Outlet of the Year by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) in their annual Student Achievement Awards Ireland ceremony.[ citation needed ]. In March 2019, Queen's Radio won the Queen's University Students' Union 'Society of the Year' award.

In April 2019, Queen's Radio was nominated for the National Student Media award in the Radio Production of the Year – News & Current Affairs category. The nomination was in recognition of their coverage of the 2018 United States Mid-Term Election cycle. The team included; Rory Hughes, Michael Jardine, Scott Duffield, Chloe Murray Jessica Lawerence, Jane Corscadden & Robert Murtagh.[ citation needed ]

In April 2019, Queen's Radio received the QUBSU Society of the Year award at the Queen's University SU Awards, this was in recognition for the society's involvement with the Students' Union across the year and development of the society for its members. [4]

In 2021 Queen's Radio news team 'The Scoop' received numerous awards. The team received 3 2020/21 SMEDIAs. The flagship current affairs show, The Scoop On Sunday, presented by Thomas Copeland and produced by Darragh Tibbs, won News Programme of The Year. Olivia Fletcher, The Editor of the Scoop won Journalist of The Year and The Best Radio Journalist of the Year was also won by Thomas Copeland, Head of News. Furthermore in 2021, The Scoop Team also received a 2020/21 SRA Amplify Award for best team, with Thomas Copeland also receiving Silver in the Overall Amplify Award category. Thomas Copeland was also successful at the Union of Students in Ireland awards, receiving the Individual Contribution to Student Media Award. Queen's Radio was also nominated for 2 SU awards, Championing Wellbeing, Celebrating Innovative Online Activities and Adapting to Challenging times. Darragh Tibbs, the Head of Tech, received the Adapting to Challenging Times award.

In 2022, Queen's Radio was nominated and won multiple awards, including;

PLANE TICKET - THE KEVIN GREENING AWARD FOR CREATIVITY - SRA AWARDS 2022 : TAKE A SEAT - BRONZE THE KEVIN GREENING AWARD FOR CREATIVITY - SRA AWARDS 2022 : TAKE A SEAT - SILVER BEST ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING - SRA AWARDS 2022 : PLANE TICKET - BEST SPEECH PROGRAMMING - SRA AWARDS 2022 : QUEEN’S RADIO - SILVER BEST STATION SOUND - SRA AWARDS 2022 : PLANE TICKET - SILVER BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT - SRA AWARDS 2022 : THE SCOOP ON SUNDAY - BEST JOURNALISTIC PROGRAMMING - SRA AWARDS 2021 & 2022 : THOMAS COPELAND - INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION TO STUDENT MEDIA - USI STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2021 & 2022 : THOMAS COPELAND - RADIO JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR - SMEDIA AWARDS 2021 & 2022 : OLIVIA FLETCHER - JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (NATIONAL MEDIA) - SMEDIA AWARDS 2021 & 2022 : HEBE LAWSON - BEST TRAINING INITIATIVE - SRA AMPLIFY AWARDS 2022 : HEBE LAWSON - OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION - SRA AMPLIFY AWARDS 2022

In 2023, Queens Radio was once again nominated and won multiple awards, including:

REBEKAH NEWNES - THE KEVIN GREENING AWARD FOR CREATIVITY - SRA AWARDS 2023 : QUEEN’S RADIO - (SILVER) BEST CHAT SHOW PROGRAMME - SRA AWARDS 2023 : QUEEN’S RADIO - (BRONZE) BEST SPEECH PROGRAMMING - SRA AWARDS : QUEEN’S RADIO - (BRONZE) BEST MULTI-PLATFORM INITIATIVE - SRA AWARDS 2023 : FLAVIA GOUVEIA - JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR - SMEDIA AWARDS 2023 : FLAVIA GOUVEIA - JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: NATIONAL MEDIA - SMEDIA AWARDS 2023 : THE SCOOP - HIGHLY COMMENDED BEST PUBLICATION - SPA REGIONAL AWARDS 2023 : FLAVIA GOUVEIA - BEST JOURNALIST - SPA REGIONAL AWARDS 2023 : LAUREN MCCANN - OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT - SPA REGIONAL AWARDS 2023 : KIRSTY KING - BEST IRISH POLITICAL PIECE - SPA REGIONAL AWARDS 2022 & 2023

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's University Belfast</span> Public university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast, is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as "Queen's College, Belfast", and opened four years later.

<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">Student Radio Association</span>

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. 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, but was reincorporated on 30 August 2019 as the Student Radio Association Ltd Ltd.

<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.

Demon FM 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. Demon FM continued to broadcast on Restricted Service Licences until 2008 with the last of the RSL broadcasts taking place on 97.5FM. Demon FM finished their 26th and final RSL on 30 November 2008.

Bailrigg FM (formerly known as University Radio Bailrigg (URB) and Radio Bailrigg) is a student radio station at Lancaster University. It operates in a music format predominantly featuring pop, but also broadcasts news, drama, comedy, and entertainment. During evening and weekend hours, programming moves to specialist content where presenters are free (within reason) to play whatever they wish.

Mark Carruthers OBE is a Northern Irish journalist. He currently presents a number of television and radio programmes for BBC Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Nolan</span> Northern Irish radio and television presenter

Stephen Raymond Nolan is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Kielty</span> Northern Irish comedian, presenter and actor

Patrick Kielty is a comedian, presenter and actor from Northern Ireland. He is the host of The Late Late Show on RTÉ One and presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. His television credits include the BBC's Patrick Kielty Almost Live and Channel 4's Last Chance Lottery. He has also presented ITV's Love Island and This Morning.

The College View is Dublin City University’s only student newspaper, independently run voluntarily by students affiliated to DCU's Media Production Society. The newspaper was first published in 1999 after changing its name from The Bullsheet, its predecessor.

Q Radio is a Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became available on 102.5FM for North Belfast, Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus. On 2 November 2007, Citybeat launched a third FM transmitter also broadcasting on 102.5FM for Bangor. Citybeat reaches a weekly audience of 127,000 listeners in Belfast, around 22% of the adult population. It has won both Arqiva 'Station of the Year' and Sony Awards. The station was rebranded as Q Radio on-air at 6pm on Sunday 9 August 2015.

<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.

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.

The National Student Media Awards or Smedias are an annual All-Ireland student journalism competition run by the Oxygen.ie website. The awards have been labelled "Ireland's premier student awards".

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

Source Radio was a radio station operating from Coventry, England. It was a division of the Coventry University Students' Union, and broadcast to the Campus and beyond, online. It occasionally operated for short periods on FM and AM, complemented by a near CD-quality version of the output via the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Radio</span> Radio station in Newtownards

Downtown Radio is a Hot Adult Contemporary music radio station based in Newtownards, County Down, that serves all of Northern Ireland using a network of FM and DAB transmitters.

Belfield FM is University College Dublin's internet student radio station. The station began broadcasting in 1990. It was initially run as a part of the UCD Students' Union, under the remit of the entertainments office, before becoming an independent entity within the Students' Union (SU). Belfield FM disaffiliated with the SU at the end of the 2011/2012 college year, and is now run independently within the UCD Societies Council framework. The station forms part of UCD's "Student Media Network", along with The University Observer and The College Tribune. The station is run by volunteer staff and contributors, and broadcasts on week-days.

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

<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. The Guardian, 14/02/2009
  2. "Queen's Radio presenter nominated for Sony Radio Golden Headphones Award". The Buzz. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. "Past Winners | National Student Media Awards 2021". The National Student Media Awards. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. @qubscreen (22 March 2019). "Well done to all the team at @QueensRadio for taking home the Society of the Year award at the @QUBSU awards last night. QR is a great platform for @QUBelfast students to share their voice and develop their media skills - get involved! #LoveQUB" (Tweet) via Twitter.