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BBC Radio Lancashire - news archive

This is an archive of news about BBC Radio Lancashire. Some links may no longer work, due to the transient nature of the internet.

New drivetime duo for Rock FM
From Radio Today. Posted July 10 2008, 9.35pm
Arqiva Newcomers of the Year winners Hywel Evans and Jamie Atherton have been given a new daily drive-time show on Bauer Radio's Lancashire station Rock FM. (more)

Rock FM team goes green
From Radio Today. Posted June 24 2008, 9.59pm
The Street Team from Bauer Radio's Lancashire station Rock FM have unveiled their new collection of station vehicles - four branded 49cc mopeds. (more)

UTV's new Central location
From Radio Today. Posted June 2 2008, 8.32am
106.5 Central Radio, the new radio station for Preston, Chorley and Leyland will be based in the headquarters of North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. (more)

Lancashire Evening Post goes live for feature on UK pub industry
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted May 18 2008, 11.00pm
The LEP will use Qik and CoverItLive to stream live video and liveblog an afternoon in a busy Preston pub (more)

Rock FM presenters arrested
From Radio Today. Posted May 17 2008, 5.05pm
Bauer's Lancashire breakfast show presenter Adam Caterall and sidekick Gemma Dee have been arrested by local police and taken to local shop windows in a bid to raise £20,000 for charity. (more)

Central names programme controller
From Radio Today. Posted May 7 2008, 8.30am
Peak 107 programme controller Chris Buckley is making the move from Chesterfield to Preston to take charge of programming at UTV's new Lancashire station, Central Radio. (more)

Four rejected in Cheshire
From Radio Today. Posted February 25 2008, 11.15am
Ofcom has awarded four new community radio licences to groups in the north west of England today, whilst rejecting five more. Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Staffordshire will all gain additional services whilst four out of the five rejections were in Cheshire along with Southport Community Radio. (more)

Cricket stopped at BBC Lancs
From Radio Today. Posted February 23 2008, 10.17am
BBC Radio Lancashire has axed live coverage of local cricket, and a long-running weekend programme as part of cutbacks at the Blackburn-based station. (more)

Proud gets new Central name
From Radio Today. Posted February 4 2008, 11.33am
The new UTV Radio station for Preston, Chorley and Leyland will launch later this year as Central Radio, RadioToday.co.uk can reveal. UTV won the licence in 2006 as Proud FM but the name change better reflects the area of broadcast - central Lancashire - whereas Proud is associated with Preston alone. (more)

Lancashire Evening Post grows online reader interaction through surveys
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted January 22 2008, 12.00am
In-depth questionnaires will focus on topical stories and form part of special editorial features    (more)

Lancashire Telegraph calls for major reforms for young drivers
From Press Gazette. Posted January 17 2008, 12.00am
MPs, business leaders and emergency workers attended a major conference organised by the Lancashire Telegraph as part of its bid to cut accidents involving young drivers. (more)

New year schedules for Lancashire
From Radio Today. Posted January 9 2008, 12.51pm
BBC Radio Lancashire has announced new schedules to begin from 21st January, including Ladies do Lunch, which will broadcast weekdays to a live studio audience, and be presented by Sally Naden and Carole Turner. (more)

Lancashire reporter wins right to name Asbo youth
From Press Gazette. Posted December 3 2007, 12.00am
A reporter from the Lancashire Evening Post persuaded a Youth Court to lift reporting restrictions so that it could identify a youth who threatened a Catholic priest. (more)

Thumbs up for 107 The Bee
From Radio Today. Posted December 1 2007, 10.46am
One of Lancashire's commercial radio stations has been given the all-clear by Ofcom after a recent content sampling report. 107 The Bee, based in Darwen, was found to be operating within its Format, giving significant resources to local news and information. (more)

Star swears at Rock FM event
From Radio Today. Posted November 22 2007, 5.56pm
Former Hollyoaks actor Paul Danan was given a fixed penalty fine By Lancashire Police at Wednesday night’s Christmas Lights switch on in Preston City Centre. (more)

Lancashire Telegraph rapped for identifying source
From Press Gazette. Posted November 13 2007, 12.00am
The Lancashire Telegraph has been criticised by the Press Complaints Commission for failing to protect a confidential source. (more)

Lancashire Telegraph reporters help bring man to justice
From Press Gazette. Posted November 7 2007, 12.00am
Two Lancashire Telegraph journalists have helped convict a man of manslaughter nearly eight years after he killed his wife and dumped her body in a lake in France. (more)

Power cut kills DAB services
From Radio Today. Posted October 31 2007, 11.31pm
A power-cut in the Greater Manchester area has silenced a number of radio stations broadcasting digitally. The loss of power, on Wednesday at 7:30pm, cut feeds to services using the CE multiplex in Lancashire, Liverpool and Manchester, along with MXR northwest. (more)

Mr Radio Lancashire dies
From Radio Today. Posted October 15 2007, 6.45am
A familiar voice often heard on BBC Radio Lancashire in the 70s and 80s has died at the age of 73. John Fletcher W Richardson spent 25 years living in the Blackburn area, leaving in 1992. He died in Scotland on October 4th from a stroke and heart attack. (more)

PHOTOS: Red Rose celebrates
From Radio Today. Posted October 5 2007, 12.30pm
Former management, staff and presenters gathered in Lancashire last night to celebrate 25 years of Red Rose Radio. Most of the current on-air line-up and staff were joined by names which helped grow the station including Dave Lincoln, Keith Macklin, Sally Moon, John Gillmore and Norman Thomas to name but a few. (more)

Extra show for Lancashire host
From Radio Today. Posted September 13 2007, 9.03am
BBC Radio Lancashire's John Gillmore will host two shows per day next week as the station travels north to broadcast live from a shop window in Lancaster. Jim Bowen, who left the station after a racist remark on air in 2002 will also make an appearance during 'Lancaster Week'. (more)

Ranvir Singh heads new look North West news
From Biz Asia. Posted September 3 2007, 9.51am
Ranvir Singh has been named as the face of BBC One's revamped 'North West Tonight' news show. From Monday 10th September, Singh will co-host with Gordon Burns as part of a major re-launch of the programme. She is already a familiar face on BBC One's Breakfast and late night bulletins. Born in Preston and educated at Lancaster University, where she studied English and philosophy, Ranvir has spent all of her professional career with the BBC. After her degree she returned to Preston to complete a postgraduate qualification in journalism before beginning her broadcasting career at BBC Radio Lancashire, after being offered a six–month contract while still on work experience. She is currently North West Tonight’s education reporter. Ranvir says, "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Gordon and am looking forward to presenting alongside him. I am usually out and about reporting right across the region so it will feel a little strange at first to be sitting in the studio and talking to Gordon directly rather than on location. "This really is my dream job and the North West is such a fantastic place to work, it’s very diverse and I know that I will have some interesting and amazing stories to present to our viewers every evening." Ranvir joins the programme as it is given a complete facelift with a new title sequence, graphics and studio set. Editor of North West Tonight, Cerys Griffiths, said, "News provision is becoming increasingly competitive and how people access the news is ever changing. "We need to be able to meet the demands of our viewers with stories that are local, that matter to them and which are accessible at any time of day. "The new look programme and the website are part of a package to deliver news for the 21st century without losing the strong sense of identity that the programme has across the North West region." (more)

TV show for radio girl
From Radio Today. Posted August 31 2007, 10.13am
A former BBC Radio Lancashire and GMR presenter is set to join BBC North West Tonight as co-host to Gordon Burns. Ranvir Singh joins the nightly news programme from September 10th in a new-look studio as the show goes through a 'major re-launch'. (more)

BBC lose out in NW England
From Radio Today. Posted August 16 2007, 3.26pm
The BBC's local radio stations covering Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside lost a total of 56,000 listeners in the three months to the end of June compared with the previous quarter. Radio Manchester's demise continued further in the Q2/07 RAJAR figures - 83,000 listeners have now switched off over the last 12 months. It's a different story in the south of England - with some of the better gains for BBC local radio. (more)

BBC offers broadcast journalism uni course
From thenoise.co.uk. Posted July 31 2007, 7.59am
The BBC has teamed up with the University of Central Lancashire to create a one-year foundation course in broadcast journalism for people who feel a career as a journalist is out of their reach. The “Way In” course is the first of its kind to be run jointly by the BBC and a university, and is [...] (more)

The Bee goes live in Darwen
From Radio Today. Posted May 25 2007, 8.15am
Lancashire radio station 107 The Bee is celebrating the Bank Holiday weekend by broadcasting live from a local music festival. The station first supported 'Darwen Live' during its trial broadcast in 2001 and this year will see The Bee presenters host the whole event. (more)

Radio Surgery helps students
From Radio Today. Posted April 4 2007, 12.22am
Students from a school in Burnley have completed another trial radio broadcast with the help of a Lancashire based training and consultancy business. The Radio Surgery is managed by 2BR founder David Blaxhall, who has now helped many schools get on-air using RSL licences. (more)

Richard comes back to radio
From Radio Today. Posted March 30 2007, 1.05pm
Top Gear star Richard Hammond is returning to radio to host a series of programmes over the coming Bank Holidays on BBC Radio 2, starting with a music programme this Easter. His routes can be found in local radio, including stints at BBC Radio's Cumbria, Lancashire and Leeds. (more)

Rock FM DJ Suspended
From Merry Media. Posted March 2 2007, 4.33pm
Rock FM Breakfast DJ, was contacted earlier this week from the local paper,  appealing for his backing in their latest campaign to support chicken farmers in Lancashire.. (more)

BBC Radio 1 heads to Lancashire
From Radio Today. Posted February 26 2007, 1.34pm
The annual Radio 1 Big Weekend will be hosted in the newly created City of Preston this year. Jo Whiley announced the news during her show today, which was broadcast live from the National Football Museum. It will take place on May 19th and 20th at Moor Park which has a capacity of 30,000. (more)

Lancashire Telegraph named Daily Newspaper of the Year
From Hold the Front Page. Posted February 26 2007, 12.00am
Oxford Times and Sussex Leader are also among the winners as editorial efforts are recognised (more)

DJ swaps breakfast for boozer - from Radio Today
From Breaking Radio. Posted February 24 2007, 11.49am
Cliff Brooks, until recently the breakfast presenter and programme controller at East Lancashire's 2BR, is quitting radio to start his own pub compan (more)

DJ swaps breakfast for boozer
From Radio Today. Posted February 22 2007, 7.12pm
Cliff Brooks, until recently the breakfast presenter and programme controller at East Lancashire's 2BR, is quitting radio to start his own pub company. "Brooksy" says he has plans to open a new wine bar in Burnley as well as refurbish an existing pub. (more)

Lancashire Reunion on Inside Out
From Merry Media. Posted February 9 2007, 12.32pm
Lancashire provides the setting for a remarkable reunion between Vietnam veterans and a Huey helicopter which served in their unit.. (more)

New drivetime host for BRMB
From Radio Today. Posted February 6 2007, 9.26am
Following the sudden binning of Tom Binns from BRMB Drivetime last week, Rick Vaughn, a former evening show host at the station, is to take over the show from February 14th. Rick most recently presented Drive Time on Emap station Rock FM in Lancashire. (more)

BBC Radio Lancashire gives more
From Radio Today. Posted January 4 2007, 9.09am
BBC Radio Lancashire is teaming up with The Community Channel for a series of programmes and events aimed at getting more people to become volunteers during 2007. Events will take place across Lancashire, and on-air via the radio, internet and television. (more)

Mary Anne Hobbs: My life in media
From The Independent. Posted October 30 2006, 12.00am
Mary Anne Hobbs, 35, is the firebrand presenter of Radio 1's Thursday night electronic show Experimental. Born in the Lancashire village of Garstang, she started her media career as a print journalist, working for NME and Loaded among other titles, and has presented a myriad of motorcycle shows for such television channels as British Eurosport, Men and Motors and BBC World. She now lives in north London and can ride any motorbike you care to park in front of her. (more)

New listeners for BBC local
From Radio Today. Posted October 27 2006, 10.30am
Many of the local radio stations operated by the BBC around the UK have reported an increase in listeners with the latest RAJAR results.Amongst the stations with an increase in audience are Radio Oxford, Cornwall, Derby, Lancashire, and Gloucestershire. (more)

Four apply for Preston licence
From Radio Today. Posted September 8 2006, 11.15am
Four groups have applied to Ofcom to run the new commercial radio station for Preston, Leyland and Chorley. They are Central Lancashire Radio, plcfm, Proud FM and UFM. All applicants propose a local service broadcasting local news and familar music from the last 5 decades. Two of the applicants have operated RSL broadcasts in the area, Central Lancashire Radio (in the Chorley area) and plcfm (formerlly known known as Ribble FM in Preston). (more)

Praise for Lancashire Evening Telegraph investigations
From Press Gazette. Posted July 14 2006, 5.10pm
Three separate Lancashire Evening Telegraph investigations have received widespread praise in the community. (more)

Lancashire Evening Telegraph Journalist vote for industrial action
From Press Gazette. Posted July 13 2006, 12.01am
Journalists at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph have voted to ballot for industrial action in protest against changing shift patterns and the removal of Sunday over-time pay following the paper’s switch to a morning paper. (more)

Ofcom Awarded Final Batch of Community Licences
From Merry Media. Posted May 18 2006, 1.44pm
Ofcom awarded a further eight community radio licences, bringing the total number of licences awarded to 107 since November 2004. The areas given licences were Leasowe in Wirral, Toxteth in Liverpool, Runcorn in Cheshire, Northwich in Cheshire, Lancaster in Lancashire, Chelmsford in Essex, Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex and Sheerness in Kent.. (more)

Community awards explained
From Radio Today. Posted April 28 2006, 2.00pm
Ofcom have explained the factors behind the awarding of six community radio stations on 13th April 2006. The six stations to win a new licence were Aldershot Army Radio (Aldershot, Hampshire), Beats FM (Cardiff), Cross Rhythms Teesside (Stockton on Tees), Pendle Community Radio (Nelson, Lancashire), Trust FM (Chesterfield) and 209radio (Cambridge). All community radio services must satisfy certain 'characteristics of service' which are specified in Article 3 of the Community Radio Order 2004. The RLC was satisfied that each of the groups awarded a licence met these 'characteristics of service'. In addition, each application was considered having regard to the criteria set out in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 ('BA 1990') (as modified by the Community Radio Order 2004). A summary of these criteria is set out below. The key considerations in relation to these criteria, which formed the basis of the RLC's decisions to award licences to particular applicants, are also set out below. Where applicable, the relevant subsection of section 105 of the BA 1990 is noted in brackets. (more)

Abbey FM appoint Manager
From Radio Today. Posted March 24 2006, 6.00am
Abbey FM, the new radio station for Barrow-in-Furness have appointed its Station Manager who will turn the winning licence application into a fully operational radio station. Andrew Turner, a formerly with TLRC-owned 99.8FM 2BR in East Lancashire has left his position at the Nelson-based station to start a new role in South Cumbria. His first task is to secure premises for the station to broadcast from, followed by recruiting staff to help launch and run Abbey FM. (more)