CROWD-FUNDER LAUNCHED AS SALFORD'S ONLY 24/7 FM RADIO STATION COULD GO OFF AIR WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT

The cities only 24/7 FM radio station is in a fight to keep the music playing and needs the help of the public to stay on air.

Salford City Radio which broadcasts on 94.4FM, has launched a crowd-funder for £20K in order to help keep the station broadcasting over the next 5-years as it seeks to renew its Ofcom licence and improve its aging equipment.

The multi award winning station which broadcasts from its base at Swinton Civic Centre, has served the community for almost 15-years and in that time it has provided a valuable voice for local people, community groups and charitable organisations across Salford.

The station is ran by one full time member of staff (Jill Bowyer) and is manned by almost 80 volunteers, representative of the huge melting which is the wide and varied community of Salford.

The community station is ran as a not-for-profit venture and although it does make money from selling ad space, it does not make nearly enough to cover its full costs. SCR is more than just a radio station though as it provides education and training in the industry to those who often would not otherwise have the opportunity. Many of those presenters at the station have used it as a vital stepping stone to bigger things with some going on to find jobs in commercial radio at stations like Capital and BBC Greater Manchester.

Most importantly the station continues to help countless people within Salford who suffer from both mental health as well as physical disabilities. For some it truly has been a life saver which has helped improve their mental health as well as they self-confidence and overall well-being.

Salford Council was forced to remove funding for the station due to changes in how funding can be allotted, but continues to help the station by accommodating the stations studios and transmitter, without which support the station would have been forced to close already.

During the Covid-19 Pandemic the station was instrumental in helping to provide REAL information to those who needed to hear it the most, no click bait, no alarming headlines, just facts, figures and valuable information. It played a huge part in informing the public and it only goes to highlight just how important it is to ensure the station remains on air.

If you can help keep this vital resource broadcasting upon the airwaves then please consider a donation via their crowd-funder page (link below).

Salford has lost far too much of its home-grown local media over the years with the closure of SalfordOnline and the Salford Star to name just a few. We are supposed to be THE MediaCity but it is a sad fact that local media struggles against the behemoths next door in Manchester.

Salford City Radio's entire operating costs for the next five years are a drop in the ocean for the much larger regional and national stations which broadcast over our airwaves and we challenge the likes of Hits Radio Manchester and Capital Manchester as well as the BBC to get involved and help fund local radio, as in doing so they would also be supporting the next generation of presenters who may go on to become future stars on their own platforms.

As for local business, there exists an image that the bigger the news outlet the more reach your ads have, well I can assure you that stations like SCR have a much deeper reach into those target areas, speaking directly to people within the community, an ad on SCR is a no-brainer as they are a lot cheaper than main stream commercial radio and far more effective at engaging with a targetted local audience.

Should the worst case scenario happen and the station play its last tune, it would be a very sad day for this city and yet another nail in the coffin for local media. So please support what we still have and ensure that Salford has a media presence into the future.

Website: http://www.salfordcityradio.org

Listen: http://www.salfordcityradio.org/listen.php

Donate: SCR Crowd-Funder Page