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BBC Radio Bristol - news archive

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

Canwest ready to sell Original
From Radio Today. Posted July 9 2008, 11.05am
More consolidation could be on its way as Canwest Mediaworks prepares to exit the UK radio industry. The company has entered into a process to sell all three of its regional radio stations.As reported in May, the company has received several approaches but will now start negotiations to sell Original stations in the Solent, Bristol and Aberdeen areas. (more)

One Network break rules twice
From Radio Today. Posted June 23 2008, 10.51am
GWR Bristol have fallen foul of Ofcom due of the antics of a potty mouthed rabbit. The regulators found the station in breach of broadcasting code over an Easter promotion in which the Easter Bunny uses the phrase "fat motherf**kers".Meanwhile Mercia FM has also been found in breach for undue promotion of a local car dealership during programming time. (more)

Bristol Evening Post's Blackadder is made editor of the Gloucestershire Echo
From Press Gazette. Posted June 10 2008, 12.00am
Kevan Blackadder, assistant editor of the Bristol Evening Post, will be the new editor of Gloucestershire Echo following the departure of Anita Syvret. (more)

Bristol mum seeks £35,000 from Express Newspapers
From Press Gazette. Posted April 17 2008, 12.00am
A Bristol mother of five has launched a legal battle for libel damages against Express Newspapers. (more)

Sports journalist loses long fight with multiple sclerosis
From Hold the Front Page. Posted March 7 2008, 8.45am
Evening Post and Western Daily Press man also worked for BBC Radio Bristol (more)

Evington departs Original 106
From Radio Today. Posted February 12 2008, 8.01am
Original 106 managing director John Evington has left the CanWest MediaWorks station after almost two years with the company. John joined as launch programme director in Southampton and was later appointed managing director whilst helping CanWest launch two further stations in Bristol and Aberdeen. (more)

BCfm 93.2 Broadcast to 20 Million People
From Merry Media. Posted February 6 2008, 10.54am
Israa Zinalabdin and her radio team from the Sudan National Radio station broadcast live to the Sudan from Bristol community radio station BCfm 93.2fm - to millions of people. BCfm presenters Mohammed El Sharif and Mohammed Makawi present the Sudanese show on Saturdays from 4pm until 7pm and were part of a special show on Thursday 31st January at 7pm. The show was simulcast to the Sudan which would normally have around 20 million people tuning in. . (more)

Radio Ramadhan (Bristol) in breach with Ofcom
From Biz Asia. Posted January 15 2008, 7.59am
A 28-day Restricted Service Licence (RSL), which was awarded to a station in Bristol to celebrate the holy month of Ramadhan has come in breach of rules and regulations set by broadcasting governing body Ofcom. Ofcom said it received a complaint from a listener who was offended by comments made by presenters on two separate occasions on Radio Ramadhan. Ofcom had requested Radio Ramadhan to send out recorded material for it to be reviewed, however the station said it was unable to provide copies of the material broadcast, due to a technical failure of their recording equipment. Ofcom said, "In the absence of recordings, we were unable to investigate the complainant’s concerns further. It is a condition of a radio broadcaster’s licence that it has adequate procedures in place to ensure that it retains recordings of its output for 42 days and provides Ofcom with any material on request. Failure to supply the recordings for the 11th and 12th October 2007 is a serious and significant breach of Radio Ramadhan’s licence. This breach will be held on record." (more)

Ramadam RSL fails to log
From Radio Today. Posted January 14 2008, 12.42pm
A 28 day restricted service licence in Bristol has failed to provide recordings to Ofcom after two complaints were made against the station. Radio Ramadan said that it was unable to provide copies of the material broadcast, due to a technical failure of their recording equipment. (more)

Original 106.5 Praised by Police
From Merry Media. Posted December 8 2007, 1.58am
Original 106.5 have been praised for helping in the arrest of a suspect following an alleged car-jacking which left a Bristol woman in hospital. . (more)

All change at Radio Bristol
From Radio Today. Posted November 30 2007, 10.50pm
The new frequncies for BBC local radio in Bristol and Somerset will commence on Monday, as BBC Somerset gets ready to start programmes on their own FM frequency of 95.5 for the first time. In addition, BBC Radio Bristol will use 94.9 as their main transmitter. (more)

BBC Radio Bristol to switch its main frequency to 94.9FM
From Media Network Weblog. Posted November 30 2007, 2.28pm
BBC Radio Bristol is set to switch its main frequency to 94.9FM, and provide a better signal, from Monday 3 December 2007. Managing Editor of Radio Bristol, Tim Pemberton says: “This is good news for our listeners in and around Bristol as it will mean we now have a high quality signal on 94.9FM. Our listeners in [...] (more)

Ramadan radio RSL’s deadline passes
From Biz Asia. Posted November 7 2007, 10.32pm
The deadline to apply to Ofcom for an RSL (Restricted Service Licence) radio licence to cover the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan for 2008 has now passed, according to RadioToday. Ofcom received a total of 71 applications, 16 of those coming from stations who would like to broadcast to the Bradford area. Applications were also received for stations in Blackburn, Bolton, Bristol, Burton-on-Trent, Cardiff, Dudley, Dundee, Edinburugh, Glasgow, Halifax, Harrow, Hendon, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds, Leicester, London, Luton, Manchester, Middlesborough, Oldham, Peterborough, Preston, Reading, Sheffield, Slough, Sutton, Thornton Heath and Walsall. Ofcom will decide in early 2008 which of the 71 applicants are successful. (more)

Star shines for URKD
From Radio Today. Posted October 25 2007, 4.00pm
Programming teams at UKRD stations are celebrating one of the biggest RAJAR gains the Group has ever had. UKRD stations increased their total listening hours by 674,000, equating to 17% growth, whilst adding 21,000 listeners, including an increase for Star in Bristol with a high 14.7 average hours. (more)

BBC Somerset Sound to switch from mediumwave to FM
From Media Network Weblog. Posted October 22 2007, 10.05am
The BBC’s local radio station for Somerset will switch from mediumwave to FM on 3 December. The station, which launched in 1988 as an opt-out from BBC Radio Bristol, will broadcast on Radio Bristol’s 95.5 frequency at Mendip.  BBC Radio Bristol is advising listeners to re-tune to 94.9 to continue to hear local programmes, or 104.6 [...] (more)

BBC Somerset Sound to add FM frequency
From Media Network Weblog. Posted October 22 2007, 10.05am
The BBC’s local radio station for Somerset will broadcast on FM in addition to mediumwave from 3 December. The station, which launched in 1988 as an opt-out from BBC Radio Bristol, will broadcast on Radio Bristol’s 95.5 frequency at Mendip.  BBC Radio Bristol is advising listeners to re-tune to 94.9 to continue to hear local programmes, or 104.6 [...] (more)

BBC Somerset Sound goes FM
From Radio Today. Posted October 22 2007, 8.36am
The programmes of BBC Somerset are set to make the switch to FM. The station, which launched in 1988 has only ever been heard on medium wave but will make use of Radio Bristol’s 95.5 frequency at Mendip from December 3rd. (more)

Obituary: Dilys Breese
From Media Guardian. Posted October 17 2007, 1.00am
Obituary: Television and radio producer renowned for her work at the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol. By Barry Paine. (more)

Bristol favourite returns
From Radio Today. Posted October 12 2007, 7.33am
Former popular BBC Radio Bristol presenter John Turner is heading back behind the microphone to host a new weekend show on Original 106.5. John’s new Sunday morning show will feature easy listening music and lively debate, starting on October 21st. (more)

John Turner Joins Original 106.5
From Merry Media. Posted October 12 2007, 12.20am
Legendary broadcaster John Turner has announced that he will be joining new Bristol radio station Original 106.5 as the host of a new Sunday show sponsored by the Holland House Hotel.. (more)

New breakfast host for Bristol
From Radio Today. Posted October 9 2007, 10.24pm
BBC Radio Bristol has a new breakfast presenter. Richard Wyatt, who has been covering the show for the past month has signed up to be the new permanent presenter for the morning show. He started his career at the station and is glad to be back on-air. (more)

TV man returns to radio
From Radio Today. Posted September 24 2007, 7.24am
HTV News anchor Richard Wyatt is joining BBC Radio Bristol for a month to host the breakfast show. Starting this morning, Richard will return to where he started his broadcasting career in the seventies. (more)

Richard Wyatt Returns to BBC Radio Bristol
From Merry Media. Posted September 22 2007, 11.32am
TV personality Richard Wyatt is guest presenting the BBC Radio Bristol breakfast show from Monday 24 September for a month. Wyatt has been HTV's news anchor for a few years and worked at Radio Bristol in the seventies.. (more)

Bristol's Star falls from sky
From Radio Today. Posted August 16 2007, 2.02pm
The UKRD group has had an up-and-down RAJAR day - with some stations doing well and some being hit by changes to TSA sizes. Star Radio in Bristol lost 12,000 listeners - possibly due to the arrival on the air of Original 106.5 half way through the quarter. Pirate FM, County Sound and KLFM all improved their market share. (more)

Floods force Severn Sound to move
From Press Gazette. Posted July 29 2007, 12.00am
Severn Sound, GCap’s Gloucester-based radio station, found its power and running water knocked out by the flooding this week and had to relocate its operations to its stablemate GWR in Bristol. (more)

BBC Radio Bristol Presenter Retiring
From Merry Media. Posted July 10 2007, 3.34pm
John Turner, presenter at BBC Radio Bristol, has announced that he is to retire on 20 July 2007, after 29 years at the station.. (more)

BBC Bristol presenter retires
From Radio Today. Posted July 10 2007, 10.29am
After 30 years, BBC Radio Bristol presenter John Turner is to hang up his headphones one final time as he retires on 20th July. Bristol born John is perhaps best known for his phone-in show Talking Back and consumer programme Sounding Off. He has also been a musician and guitar teacher, as well as, in his own words, a "part-time rake and bon viveur". (more)

UK Music Week commences
From Radio Today. Posted May 21 2007, 9.42am
Over 250 radio stations are celebrating the start of UK Music Week today. The Stereophonics will officially launch the event with an exclusive performance in Bristol tonight at 7pm. The gig will be broadcast live across Commercial Radio’s CHR network reaching over 15 million listeners. (more)

An Original launch in Bristol
From Radio Today. Posted May 20 2007, 1.06pm
Original 106.5 has launched in Bristol at 1:06 (and 30 seconds) this afternoon. The new station is owned by CanWest MediaWorksUK and won the licence to broadcast to the city in 2006, beating off competition from Macquarie, UTV, Absolute Radio, GCap Media and Wicked FM. The first song played was Bohemian Like You by Dandy Warhols. (more)

IRN wins contract for Original FM in Bristol
From Press Gazette. Posted May 17 2007, 12.49pm
Radio news provider IRN has won the contract for Original 106.5 FM, a new Bristol music and news station, launching later this month. (more)

New Bristol station launches
From Radio Today. Posted March 26 2007, 1.31pm
A new community radio station has launched in Bristol today. BCFM started broadcasting at 12 midday on 93.2, aiming to serve all parts of the community including several programmes in different languages to truely serve all aspects of local life. The station is also streaming online. (more)

Seven licensed, five refused
From Radio Today. Posted March 13 2007, 12.47pm
Ofcom has announced the latest batch of community radio stations to secure a five year broadcast licence. Out of the 12 considered, five were not granted. The seven new stations will cover Bristol, Glastonbury, Exeter, Swindon, Barry and Poole (two licences). (more)

Faiths unite on radio
From Radio Today. Posted February 1 2007, 4.45pm
A new online radio station launching tonight claims to be the first in the UK to be run jointly by Muslims and Jews. Bristol-based Radio Salaam Shalom has been attracting media interest from around the world for promising not to avoid the potentially divisive issues over Palestine and Israel during live discussions. (more)

UK's first Muslim/Jewish radio set for launch
From Biz Asia. Posted January 30 2007, 1.00pm
The UK's first Muslim/Jewish radio station is set for a launch on the worldwide web on Thursday 1st February. Radio Salaam Shalom will broadcast via its website at www.salaamshalom.org.uk from its custom-built studios in Bristol. The innovative concept was thought of by two Rabbis, an Imam and members of the Jewish and Muslim communities to establish dialogue and develop stronger understanding between the two groups. The station will broadcast a mixture of live and pre-recorded speech and music programmes - starting with six hours of new material daily with the chance for listeners around the world to also access archives, visit bulletin boards and contribute their own programmes or ideas. Chair of Salaam Shalom, Peter Brill commented: "This is an exciting opportunity for the two communities to learn about each other and work together. More importantly it is the chance for the moderate majority of Muslims and Jews in Britain, and possibly around the world, to have their voices heard on matters of culture, faith and everyday life." Farooq Siddique, Radio Salaam Shalom's Vice-Chair and Director of the Bristol Muslim Cultural Society added: "We are determined that the station is for the long term. Already we've seen fantastic co-operation between volunteers from the two communities to get the station launched. There is an increasing understanding that the Jew and Muslims in Bristol and the UK have a common history that dates back thousands of years. Now, more than ever, it is time to draw on and learn from our positive cultural experiences." (more)

Original 106.5fm Bristol Announces PC
From Merry Media. Posted January 30 2007, 10.33am
Stewart Smith has been appointed as Programme Controller of CanWest's soon-to-be-launched Bristol station, Original 106.5fm.. (more)

Original 106.5 hires TLRC man
From Radio Today. Posted January 30 2007, 8.43am
Original 106.5fm, the new CanWest radio station for the Bristol area is to be programmed by Stewart Smith. Stewart is currently Area Station Manager with The Local Radio Company, responsible for Ivel FM in Somerset and Vale FM in Dorset. (more)

Tom Hunter joins Original 106
From Radio Today. Posted January 19 2007, 12.02am
Former Emap boss Tom Hunter has been appointed as managing director of the new Bristol station, Original 106. Tom will head the team at CanWest's second UK radio station, leaving behind Palm FM in Torbay, the station he helped launch just eight months ago. (more)

Kiss network goes interactive
From Radio Today. Posted January 16 2007, 5.29pm
Emap's Kiss radio stations are letting their listeners pick an entire hour's playlist every day. A new network show - Kiss What's Next - is launching on weekdays on the group's three FM dance stations in London, Bristol and East Anglia. Listeners can vote for tracks online, on-air and via text message. (more)

CanWest win Aberdeen licence
From Radio Today. Posted January 11 2007, 5.01pm
CanWest Media has won the new FM local radio licence for Aberdeen. Original FM was up against three other bidders - Waves Radio, Real Radio and Aurora FM. CanWest launched Original 106 in the Solent region, and another Original station in Bristol is due on air soon. (more)

Bristol's Szecowka to edit Gulf title
From Press Gazette. Posted January 5 2007, 1.28pm
Former Clifton Chronicle editor Stan Szecowka is moving to Bahrain to edit the lifestyle and listings paper, the Gulf Weekly. (more)

Bristol Evening Post caught out by PA mix-up
From Press Gazette. Posted November 23 2006, 12.00pm
The Post was forced to recall and reprint some of its papers after PA supplied a picture of a South African businessman believing it was England cricketer Marcus Trescothick. (more)

BBC Bristol chief gets Journalism College role
From Press Gazette. Posted October 20 2006, 12.40pm
12.45pm: The BBC has appointed Andrew Wilson as the new role of Head of the Journalism Foundation Scheme at the BBC College of Journalism. (more)

Kiss Does.. a new CD series
From Radio Today. Posted October 9 2006, 8.25pm
Funky House, the CD, coincides with the recent relaunch of Kiss in London, Bristol and The West (more)

GWR FM Strengthens Its Team in Bristol
From Merry Media. Posted October 4 2006, 2.16pm
GWR FM has strengthened its GWR FM Bristol team, attracting three new managers from the city's Kiss 101 (formerly Vibe 101).. (more)

John Turner Takes Over Radio Bristol Breakfast
From Merry Media. Posted September 28 2006, 1.55pm
It's all change at BBC Radio Bristol as living legend John Turner takes over the station's Breakfast Show in a new schedule due to start on 23rd October 2006.. (more)

24-hour radio news for Bristol
From Press Gazette. Posted September 21 2006, 12.00am
Ofcom has awarded the new local commercial radio licence for Bristol to Original 106 — a station which will run a 24-hour newsroom and employ six news journalists. (more)

CanWest awarded second FM radio licence in the UK
From Media Network Weblog. Posted September 15 2006, 3.58pm
Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications Corp has been awarded a commercial radio licence to launch a second FM radio station in the UK. The new station, Original 106fm, will be located in Bristol, which is the eighth largest city in the UK and will provide the new station with a potential audience of approximately 500,000. Original 106fm will [...] (more)

CanWest beats five to win Bristol radio licence
From Brand Republic. Posted September 15 2006, 11.09am
LONDON - Canadian media company CanWest has won its second UK radio licence after Ofcom awarded it Bristol's new FM frequency ahead of five other bids. (more)

Bristol Licence Awarded to Original 106
From Merry Media. Posted September 15 2006, 12.53am
Ofcom announces the award of the new FM local commercial radio licence for Bristol. Original 106 FM were awarded the licence.. (more)

CanWest wins Bristol licence
From Radio Today. Posted September 14 2006, 5.30pm
The licence race for the new commercial radio station for Bristol has been won by CanWest. This is the second licence won by the Canadian media giant, after winning the Solent licence last year. The new station, to be known as Original which will serve approx 500,000 adults in the Bristol area will provide 'Adult Alternative Radio - an eclectic mix of adult-oriented music with particular appeal to 40-59 year-olds, with 24 hour local news'. (more)

Ofcom awards new FM commercial radio licence for Bristol
From Ofcom. Posted September 14 2006, 3.58pm
A new item from the Ofcom website. (more)

CanWest wins Bristol FM licence
From Media Guardian. Posted September 14 2006, 1.00am
6pm: Bristol's over-40s are to get a new radio station as CanWest wins the city's new commercial FM radio licence. By Julia Day. (more)

Ex-Post staffers launch Bristol Sunday sports paper
From Press Gazette. Posted September 14 2006, 12.00am
A group of ex-Bristol Evening Post staff have bucked the national trend of closing regional standalone sports papers with the six-figure launch of Your Sport in the city. (more)

Jon Keyte announced as Accelerate Bristol chairman
From Press Gazette. Posted August 31 2006, 12.00am
TPC Publications, publisher of car title Accelerate Bristol has announced Jon Keyte as its new chairman. Keyte was a founding director of Virgin Cars, the online car retailer. (more)

New logo revealed for KISS
From Radio Today. Posted August 30 2006, 4.30pm
The new sound of KISS 100, KISS 101 and KISS 105-108 is just days away, and Emap have kindly sent us the new logo to accompany the newly expanded brand. A bold K and the word Kiss in capital letters creates the base of the new look, which is set to replace the 'lips' which has been the brand logo for many years. Kiss 101 (the former Vibe 101 in Bristol) and Kiss 105-108 (formerly Vibe in East Anglia) will launch on Wednesday 6th September. (more)

Yellow card for Star Bristol
From Radio Today. Posted August 16 2006, 12.15pm
Radio regulator Ofcom has issued a "yellow card" to UKRD's Star Radio station in Bristol in its Content Sampling Report of the station. The body, which monitored output during four days in the middle of July, particularly criticised the lack of neighbourhood and community focused output, as well as lack of provision for Bristol's multicultural communities. (more)

Radio station owner warns industry after Ofcom 'yellow card'
From Brand Republic. Posted August 16 2006, 12.08pm
LONDON - Ofcom has issued a 'yellow card' to UKRD radio station Star FM in Bristol for failing to stick to its stated content format of catering to multicultural listeners. (more)

Virgin and GWR launch Visual Radio content
From Brand Republic. Posted August 11 2006, 11.08am
LONDON - Virgin Radio in London and GWR FM in Bristol have launched text and graphics services this week to users of Nokia mobile handsets on 02's network. (more)

Emap to rebrand Vibe radio stations as Kiss
From Brand Republic. Posted August 8 2006, 11.08am
LONDON - Emap is to rebrand its Vibe FM radio stations in Bristol and East Anglia as Kiss next month and plans to refresh the line-up at Kiss in London at the same time. (more)

Bill Griffin to head Kiss network
From Radio Today. Posted August 8 2006, 12.15am
Bill Griffin is to become MD of the new Kiss radio network - which, RadioToday.co.uk can officially reveal will include the rebranding of two former SRH stations to become Kiss 101 (currently Vibe 101 in Bristol) and Kiss 105-108 (currently Vibe 105-108 in East Anglia). At the same time, Kiss 100 in London will gain a new sound, new logo, and provide network programming during daytime and weekends to the new network. The re-launch of all three stations will take place on September 9th 2006. (more)

GWR FM kept 10k bingo prize
From Radio Today. Posted July 25 2006, 9.30am
Good Music Bingo was the game, ten thousand pounds was the prize - and one lucky winner was taken to air to win the lot. But after station bosses checked her 'bingo card' it turns out she didn't have all the artists listed. So GWR FM in Bristol kept the money and didn't award the prize. The unlucky listener then complained to Ofcom who investigated further. (more)

GWR kept 10k bingo prize
From Radio Today. Posted July 25 2006, 8.30am
Good Music Bingo was the game, ten thousand pounds was the prize - and one lucky winner was taken to air to win the lot. But after station bosses checked her 'bingo card' it turns out she didn't have all the artists listed. So GWR FM in Bristol kept the money and didn't award the prize. The unlucky listener then complained to Ofcom who investigated further. (more)

BBC's Bristol Magazines plans titles for over-40s
From Brand Republic. Posted June 27 2006, 11.06am
LONDON - Bristol Magazines, the recently established specialist arm of BBC Magazines, plans to launch three titles aimed at older readers by April next year. At least one of the trio will appear before the end of 2006. (more)

Bristol licence attracts six
From Radio Today. Posted June 12 2006, 1.00pm
A total of six applications have been submitted to run a new commercial radio station in Bristol. These are Bristol FM, Chill (GCap Media), Diamond 106.5 (Macquarie), Original 106 (Canwest), Rock Radio (Absolute Radio Int/Town and Country Broadcasting Ltd) and Wicked FM (UK Media and Radio). Half of the applicants propose a rock music service, two offer an adult format with the remaining one offering to Chill out the people of Bristol. (more)

Absolute to invest in Passion
From Radio Today. Posted June 9 2006, 8.15am
Following on from the sale of Passion 107.9 to Absolute Radio, the new owners have confirmed they have developed a range of initiatives which it will quickly implement at the station, the first is to introduce Ian Walker as General Manager and Programme Director. Absolute Radio International is building its presence in UK radio through both acquisitions and applications. It is currently involved in applications for new FM services in Bristol and Liverpool, and will continue with its application for the new Oxford licence. ARI say the acquisition of Passion is a significant first point of entry for them into the Oxfordshire market. They also intend to be an active participant in the development of DAB in the Oxfordshire and Northern Home Counties. (more)

Radio Bristol remembers Roger
From Radio Today. Posted March 21 2006, 5.08am
BBC Radio Bristol listeners have raised £10,000 to commission a set of stained glass panels as a lasting tribute to the station's former breakfast show presenter, Roger Bennett, who died of cancer in July 2005. Roger was the much loved host of Morning West for over twenty eight years and the longest serving radio breakfast show presenter in the country. (more)

Ofcom advertises new FM commercial radio licences for Bristol and for Oxford and South Oxfordshire
From Ofcom. Posted March 10 2006, 1.00pm
A new item from the Ofcom website. (more)

Ofcom advertise Bristol licence
From Radio Today. Posted March 10 2006, 11.56am
Ofcom have advertised a new FM commercial radio licence to cover the city of Bristol and the surrounding area. The only confirmed application so far to RadioToday.co.uk is from Absolute Radio International Ltd (ARI) who have joined forces with Town and Country Broadcasting Ltd (T&C) to create a joint bid. The city already has two dedicated commercial radio stations, GCap Media's GWR FM and UKRD's Star 107.2FM. (more)

Bristol and S. Oxon advertised
From Radio Today. Posted March 10 2006, 11.17am
Ofcom today advertises two new local FM commercial radio licences. One licence is advertised for Bristol and the other for Oxford and South Oxfordshire. BRISTOL Ofcom is advertising an FM commercial radio licence to cover the city of Bristol and the surrounding area. Ofcom estimates that this licence could achieve coverage of an area with an adult (aged 15+) population of around 500,000 . The exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. The closing date for the receipt of applications is 3.00 p.m. on Friday 9 June 2006. A non-refundable fee of £10,000 will be payable for each application submitted. The full details for this licence, including the guidelines and procedures for the submission of applications, can be obtained from the Ofcom website at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/car/advts/bristol (more)

Bristol staff disappointed at focus on shareholders
From Press Gazette. Posted February 22 2006, 1.04pm
The NUJ chapels at the Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press said they welcomed the removal of some of the uncertainty over the future of the Northcliffe titles, but expressed doubts that it would signal any improvements for staff. (more)

New boss for BBC Radio Bristol
From Radio Today. Posted February 8 2006, 8.28am
Tim Pemberton - currently Managing Editor at BBC Radio Shropshire - has been appointed as Managing Editor at BBC Radio Bristol.He will succeed Jenny Lacey on 3 April 2006. Tim, born in Kings Heath, Birmingham in 1963, attended local schools and in 1983 went to University of Lancaster, earning a BA Honours in Philosophy and Religious Studies. His career started in Birmingham at an independent production company. (more)

Absolute radio for Bristol
From Radio Today. Posted January 31 2006, 8.36am
A new FM licence for Bristol is set to be advertised by Ofcom in March this year, with an award date around September. The city already has two dedicated commercial radio stations, GCap Media's GWR FM and UKRD's Star 107.2FM. One of the applicants for the new licence is Absolute Radio International Ltd (ARI) who have joined forces with Town and Country Broadcasting Ltd (T&C) to create a joint bid. The new licence, broadcasting on 106.5 FM, will cover the city of Bristol and the surrounding area, including Chipping Sodbury and Keynsham and could be on-air by the spring of 2007. (more)

Name change for Now FM
From Radio Today. Posted January 30 2006, 11.00am
Now FM, the winning bid for the Swindon licence from TLRC looks set to launch this year under a new name. The new on-air name is Brunel FM, to give the station a more local feel. TLRC won the licence on September 5th 2005 against stiff competition from three other groups. Brunel Radio was a former name for Classic Gold 1260 in Bristol, which is now part of UBC Media. (more)

Bristol journalists plan protests over cuts
From Press Gazette. Posted January 23 2006, 5.20pm
NUJ members at the the Western Daily Press and Bristol Evening Post plan to stage protests Tuesday over Northcliffe's plan to cut more than 30 jobs. (more)

Industry award for FIRE 107.6
From Radio Today. Posted January 19 2006, 6.56pm
The NEW FIRE 107.6FM in Bournemouth has just picked up The Radio Academy's Nations and Regions Award for the South West 2005. The station was presented with the award at the BBC in Bristol on Wednesday 18th January. The award recognises radio stations across the UK with a TSA of under 300,000 people. (more)

John Dash joins UTV as Group PD
From Radio Today. Posted January 16 2006, 11.46am
John Dash will join UTV Radio this month as ILR Group Programme Director with responsibility for programming across UTV’s 17 local radio stations in the UK. With more than 25 years experience in commercial radio, John is one of the industry’s most experienced programmers. A graduate of Bradford University, John was formerly programme director at Red Dragon in Cardiff, Key 103 in Manchester, Galaxy 101 in Bristol and most recently at Wave 105 on the south coast which won the accolade of ‘Commercial Station of the Year’ in 2004. (more)

Strike vote postponed at Bristol
From Press Gazette. Posted December 22 2005, 9.35am
NUJ members at the Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press have decided to delay a vote on strike action until the New Year. (more)

Bristol journalists vote for strike
From Press Gazette. Posted December 20 2005, 9.16am
NUJ journalists have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action against job cuts at Northcliffe’s Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press. (more)