BurnFM.com

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

BurnFM.com is a radio station based at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The original name - from 1996 till 2007 - was Burn FM. 'Burn' is an acronym for the 'Birmingham University Radio Network', though it is most commonly referred to as just 'Burn'.

The station was founded in Spring 1996, and until October 2006, it broadcast twice a year on an FM frequency, usually in October and March for a period of 28 days each time. There has been just one time when a planned broadcast was missed - Spring 2002. This was because of an administrative error. BurnFM.com caters for a variety of musical tastes, and shows are particularly targeted at the Selly Oak area of Birmingham, where the majority of students live.

Volunteers run it. All of them are students at the University of Birmingham - members have to be enrolled there. Any student is eligible to become a committee member. Positions are held for a maximum of twelve months starting in November, though members may seek re-election.

The studio is located at the University of Birmingam Guild of Students - known as 'the Guild' - on the main campus, Edgbaston. Broadcasts are from 9am daily, with transmissions ending at 11pm, except for Friday and Saturday when transmissions end at midnight.

In August 2004, a lightning strike hit the building and, more specifically, transmission aerial. This resulted in damage, valued at £13 000, to the broadcast mixer and other equipment. An insurance payout resulted in a new studio being fitted for the Autumn 2005 broadcast. For the 2004-5 academic year, equipment had to be loaned.

It was during the Spring 2005 broadcast that BBC 6music came to Birmingham for a one-off, outside broadcast from the studio. The Phill Jupitus Breakfast Show on 11th March was presented from the BurnFM.com studio.

"Restricted Service Licences" - "RSLs" - last for 28 days, and only two can be held in one calendar year. This is stipulated by Ofcom, the body that controls radio broadcasting in the UK. Therefore, an internet licence has been granted by the University for the first time, which will allow the station to broadcast for the length of the semester via the Internet. Before this, internet broadcasting had been offered in conjunction with FM broadcasts - a simulcast - only.

The station is an active member of the Student Radio Association.