THE town’s radio station, Frome FM, has won a prestigious award in the Community Radio Awards for its show, All About Frome.
The show won bronze in the national awards in the category of Community Show of The Year. A team of four volunteers produce and research content for the show which is aired weekly on a Tuesday. Presenters, who are trained, have interviewed thousands of local people about hundreds of local issues and community organisations since the show was launched in July 2016.
Speaking about the format of the All About Frome show, Rupert Kirkham from Frome FM said, “Community engagement is at the heart of All About Frome, a town very much of two social halves. All About Frome features items about goings-on in Frome from the perspective of the people who live here. A heavy emphasis is given to voluntary organisations and the volunteers that work in them; the people who make the town tick; the many events that are on offer to the community and the support that is available for all sorts of disadvantaged people in the town.”
Reflecting back on the success of the show and the topics covered over the past year Rupert said, “Over the last 12 months we’ve had contributions from over 200 community organisations. Topics have included local council news which is a regular contribution by the town council, one-hour live specials on work and benefits, mental health, debt management, carers, cancer support groups, coverage of fundraising events, outside broadcasts from dementia and loneliness support organisations, interviews with local writers and composers, environmental groups, including Friends of the River Frome, Sustainable Frome, coverage of Frome’s contribution to COP 26, visiting speakers at local pressure group events and local business entrepreneurs.
“We are producing podcasts from the material we gather for the All About Frome show.”
Praising the show for the professionalism of the volunteers and style of interview he partook in, town clerk for Frome Town Council Paul Wynne said, “On a personal level, it was the most enjoyable, most relaxed, most in depth interview I’ve ever had the opportunity to partake in. Simultaneously informal and challenging. Quite simply I felt totally heard. Isn’t that what radio’s about?!”
Managing to keep the station running throughout the covid-19 lockdowns, Rupert added, “The show was transmitted throughout the entire covid period although the studios were closed for much of the time. A listener in the town who commented during the covid-19 pandemic about the role the station played during that time said, ‘I’d like to thank you for the role Frome FM has played over the past year but perhaps most significantly over this covid period. If Frome FM had to close, the community would be so much poorer.’”
To help keep the people informed via community radio, Frome FM is looking for new volunteers to help at the station. No prior experience of radio or media is necessary.
Rupert said, “We would like to hear from anyone that would like to be involved. We’re all about encouraging people to use their skills. For example, if you’ve got accountancy or businesses skills, that can help us. If you’ve got carpentry skills, that’s great because it can help us build sets for things. People pay a £60 joining fee and then get three months’ free membership which is £12.50 after that. We are entirely run by volunteers.”
Highlighting that the station is a platform for the people Rupert said, “Community radio has other stuff happening on it. We do still play a massive amount of music but the essence of it, is that it ties people together. To win an award for the community programme of the year proves that!”
There are over 300 community radio stations in the country and 10 of these are in Somerset. Currently Frome FM is specifically looking for three more directors to join the team as soon as possible. To join the team and use your skills, or to listen to the station and past shows visit, http://frome.fm/
