Bristol’s first Community radio Station launches emergency schedule in light of Covid 19 lockdown
Bcfm Radio has acted swiftly following new emergency restrictions for members of the public during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The schedule which included over 70 different shows involving volunteers from across the city had become impossible to operate due to the new social distancing guidelines that would have put both volunteers, members of the public and the NHS at risk.
BCfm runs with over 200 volunteers from diverse sections of the community including many who are 65+ years of age and many others with underlying health conditions. “It would have been irresponsible and against all safety guidelines to have expected our volunteers to expose themselves and others to such risk” Said CEO Patrick Hart.
“Our recent fire this year made us all too aware of the role we play within the community and we were only just getting back on our feet when this pandemic took hold, in a way we’re now used to running the station on an emergency basis and our management team are fully aware of the job ahead” he added.
The new emergency schedule has effectively closed the live studios for social distancing and safety reasons and moved the broadcasts to some senior presenters and producers homes where technology allows live programmes to still be broadcast during the day.
Each morning will begin with The One Love Breakfast then Veteran broadcaster Tristan B returns to the station with his daily lunchtime show followed by former radio Caroline presenter Steve Satan from 4-6pm weekdays.
Head of Production Ivan Jackson said “ It’s been a really challenging time trying to meet the needs of our increasing listenership whilst also rolling out new technology and ways of working that are both fluid and reactive to the needs of the city. Community radio provides vital grass roots information to communities that are often left out of the news agenda and at Bcfm we will continue to provide that link”
Please note many programmes are taking a rest and may return, others may be replaced in the coming months. Please check our schedule page for updated information.
