For the US radio show on NPR, see Fresh Air Fresh Air is a radio show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States each week. ...

Fresh Air (Edinburgh)

Fresh Air is the student and alternative radio station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It currently broadcasts using a Restricted Service Licence provided by OFCOM. It won the "Student Radio Station of the Year Award" at the Student Radio Association awards in 2004. Although it is a registered student society with several of the city's universities, it remains an independent body. A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL), is granted by British broadcasting authority Ofcom to radio stations serving a local community or a special event. ... The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ... The Student Radio Association (SRA) is a national organisation set up to support student radio stations in the UK. It receives support from the Radio Academy. ...

History

The Broadcasting Act 1990

College radio in the United States has long been a force to be reckoned with. Almost every university town or city has a fulll-time FM student station, and the stations form an integral part of the live music circuit, providing often the only opportunity for up-and-coming bands to break into a wider market. The situation in the UK is very different. Prior to the Broadcasting Act (1990), the student radio was limited to AM-based induction loop systems. These operate only in specially wired buildings, such as purpose-built halls of residence, and the majority of UK colleges and universities do not have many or any such buildings. The Broadcasting Act 1990 brought the Conservative philosophy of deregulation to radio, but unlike, for example, the 1986 deregulation of bus transport, the rules remained restrictive in comparison with the US system.

The two significant changes brought about by the 1990 Act were the creation of the Radio Authority, a quango which licenses and regulates all non-BBC radio services in the UK, and the availability of a new type of licence, the Restricted Service Licence (RSL). The philosophy of the Restricted Service Licence was entirely different to other types of licence: RSLs are low-power FM or AM licences awarded on a demand-led basis to essentially anyone who asks for one and is able to raise the money to pay for it. The drawbacks are that one can only broadcast on an RSL for a maximum of 28 days (although this time limit is not in the Act), and a second RSL broadcast may not be run by the same group within two months. Initially RSLs were conceived for the coverage of special events such as festivals, but the Radio Authority proved receptive to applications from student and community groups simply seeking the opportunity to broadcast. The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ... The term Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation (or QUANGO), attributed to Sir Douglas Hague, was originally invented as a joke, but fell into common usage in the United Kingdom to describe the agencies produced by the growing trend of government devolving power to appointed, or self-appointed bodies. ... A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL), is granted by British broadcasting authority Ofcom to radio stations serving a local community or a special event. ... The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ...

Edinburgh Student Radio

It was in this context that Edinburgh University students Robert Barrow and Eric Wilkinson began the project that became Fresh Air FM. In the autumn of 1990, the two became interested in radio broadcasting and production, and met when Robbie carried out a survey to gauge support for a student radio station within Edinburgh University. A partnership which was to last over two years quickly developed, and they formed the society Edinburgh Student Radio. The initial aim was to set up a permanent station. By the beginning of the following academic year, they realized that this was perhaps overly ambitious as a starting point, and instead focused on the idea of a short term broadcast, taking advantage of the Radio Authority's new RSL scheme. With support from the Edinburgh Enterprise Centre, ESR recruited prospective presenters and ran a training course with the help of John Gray, formerly of BBC Scotland. The team also identified a site from which the broadcast could be run and, eventually, a name for the station: Fresh Air FM (other suggestions included Outburst Radio, UFM and plain old Edinburgh Student Radio). The final hurdle, finance, was cleared by the procurement of a grant from the Edinburgh University Development Trust to supplement advertising income: together this represented sufficient funding to cover the costs of a two-week RSL broadcast. The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

The Launch of Fresh Air FM

Fresh Air FM was duly launched on 3rd October 1992. As one of the first wave of student Restricted Service Licence stations in the UK, this generated substantial media interest. The station also drew criticism from the Radio Authority regardng the language used during the broadcast. A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL), is granted by British broadcasting authority Ofcom to radio stations serving a local community or a special event. ... The Office of Communications, usually known as Ofcom, is the UKs communications regulator. ...

T In The Park 1997

At the invitation of Subcity in Glasgow, Fresh Air FM ran the Edinburgh end of an ambitious three-site RSL broadcast for the T in the Park festival in summer 1997. Together the two stations mounted a major outside broadcast operation at the T in the Park site near Perth. With generous sponsorship from Philips Consumer Communications, Fresh Air was able to record interviews on minidisc, edit them in the on-site editing suite and send them via ISDN to the Glasgow and Edinburgh studios. There interviews and features were blended with a play list showcasing the extraordinary diversity of music at T in the Park, most of which were bands and artists Fresh Air FM had been plugging for months or years. Subcity is a student internet radio station based at the University of Glasgow. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Foo Fighters playing in 2002 T in the Park is a Scottish music festival, held annually since 1994. ... Jump to: navigation, search Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Foo Fighters playing in 2002 T in the Park is a Scottish music festival, held annually since 1994. ...

Current Activities

The station typically broadcasts yearly on the FM waveband, for 28 days, using a Restricted Service Licence It also simulcasts from it's website, and is experimenting with internet only broadcasting. It organises a number of fundraising events at local venues, as well as providing training to third parties, most notably the European Union Vienna Project. A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL), is granted by British broadcasting authority Ofcom to radio stations serving a local community or a special event. ... Simulcast is a contraction of simultaneous broadcast, and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium at the same time. ...

Affiliations

As well as being a registered student society with it's constituent universities and colleges, it is also an active member in the Student Radio Association. The Student Radio Association (SRA) is a national organisation set up to support student radio stations in the UK. It receives support from the Radio Academy. ...

Links

• Fresh Air homepage: http://www.freshair.org.uk