‘From the heart of Bradford, this is BCB Radio 106.6 FM’; the
innocuous jingle drifts from a well-used radio on the reception
desk. Through the glass the newsroom is in full swing, keyboards
are clicking and discussions are underway. You could be forgiven for
thinking this was just your average local radio station. You would
be wrong. Just around the corner several school children sit at their
desks working away, an elderly lady cracks a joke and a man with
a thick Polish accent talks on the phone. A schoolgirl is preparing
a feature package on football mascots, “Why are Crewe called the
Railwaymen? What is so special about Crewe’s train station?” The
light on the studio door lights up red, ‘Live on Air’. This is not
Smashey and Nicey, this is proper grassroots local radio, from the
heart of Bradford.
You would be hard-pressed to find a more inclusive organisation
than BCB radio, nor are you likely to meet a friendlier host than
Mary Dowson, the station’s Director. Twenty years ago Mary spotted
an opportunity - the Broadcasting Act of 1990 had opened up
the chance of creating a community radio station for the city of
Bradford. It would bring together her two great passions, radio and
community-based education.
“It was just fantastic, the idea that we could have
a radio station where ordinary people in Bradford
could broadcast, that those voices could be heard…
it’s probably the most exciting thing I have ever
done in my life.”
At the time broadcasting licences were limited to one month, and
so Bradford Festival Radio as it was then known became the audio
companion to the Bradford Festival season. Little did Mary and her
fellow pioneers imagine that two decades later this experiment
would have grown to become a full time broadcaster, recognised
both nationally and internationally for its community work.
The journey was by no means easy but is testament to the ethos
and objectives that make this organisation so special. For ten
years BCB has provided free training and support for the people
of Bradford, turning consumers or passive listeners of radio into
active broadcasters. The volunteers are given compete control
and many sections of the community are given a voice, “It’s about
people identifying what programmes they want to make and us
giving them the training and platform to be able to do that” says
Mary. “Our role is to encourage people to become broadcasters
and to give them that training and support to make their own radio
programmes.”
It is a stubborn commitment to this ethos that has prevented the
station from ever becoming commercially funded. “We have chosen
not to be a commercial station, not to take advertising because we
don’t want to be driven by another objective...Finding advertising
that sits with us ethically is always going to be difficult, we could
take some but we would much rather do something which was
socially useful and had community gain and social benefit.” The
idea was almost unheard of ten years ago when, after a good deal of
hard lobbying by Mary, the station was granted a full broadcasting
licence. “We were very much seen as a trailblazer and we have
been visited by loads and loads of different organisations over the
years who want to come and see what we do and how we do it,
which is very flattering.”
Their commitment is admirable given the difficulties facing social
enterprises but BCB has an impressive track record when it comes
to securing funding. “Most of the funding has not been as a radio
station per se, it’s actually for the work we do in development and
training… In the past we have had money from Europe and through
government projects such as the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. We
have actually fitted into a lot of policy objectives that governments
have had, but of course they come and go so it’s about being ready
for whatever the next one is.”
The nature of project funding means the station
needs to be on its toes at all times. “Obviously we
have a great premises and resources now, but we do
have a lot of overheads. In this difficult economic
period it is going to be a challenge for us to find
the money to keep going. It’s about how we can be
creative and inventive.”
BCB survives on a skeleton staff team who have to make sure
the infrastructure is there and that the equipment is working, as
well as being there to make sure everybody has the training and
support they need. Thankfully they can call on the huge team of
devoted volunteers; around 250 people are actively involved with
the station. Mary admits managing that amount of people is hard
but is full of praise for the dedication of everyone involved, “The
commitment of our volunteers is absolutely incredible, they are
very devoted to the station and thankfully there are very few
occasions where people aren’t able to do what they want to do.”
The benefits for these volunteers are varied and rewarding, both
for the individual and their communities. The station supports and
encourages those looking to find work through various training
projects and in some cases has been able to offer work experience.
“We have had three different projects where we have been able to
employ teams of community reporters for a year. To give somebody
a year’s training and work experience as a reporter is a massive
thing in somebody’s life,” said Mary.
The organisation does a lot of work with schools and offers a unique
opportunity for children to develop skills and engage with the wider
community. Their youth radio projects have included exchanges
with Germany, the creation of a dedicated online youth radio
station and magazine - BCB Extra - and have delivered projects
and accreditation with Bradford District Pupil Referral Unit, youth
offending teams, and in youth and community centres across the
district.
Just as importantly BCB gives each and every community the
opportunity to engage with the rest of the city. “There have been a
lot of different people come to live in Bradford, be they refugees,
asylum seekers or migrant workers. What we can do is provide
that welcome, and there are many people that have got involved
with the station because they want to give something to the
community...That might be a French-African refugee community,
or the Czech and Slovak community, who broadcast to help people
fit in to and understand the city.
An Interview with BCB Station Director Mary Dowson
by Haigh Simpson
