Oxide radio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oxide Radio
Broadcast area The World
Slogan Your Sound Education
Frequency Online
First air date Term-Time
Format Various
Owner Oxford University Student Union
Website www.oxideradio.co.uk

Oxide Radio is a student radio station run by members of Oxford University and Oxford Brookes.[1] It was established in 2001 and as Altered Radio made brief forays onto FM in 2004 and 2005[2] before complications regarding FM licensing and funding forced it onto internet-only broadcast.[3] It currently operates a term-time schedule with a diverse set of shows.

Contents

[edit] History

Oxide Radio was founded in 2001[1] following the demise of the previous student radio station, Oxygen FM. Broadcasting from 1997 to 2001, Oxygen FM was Oxford University's student radio station which broadcast for four weeks twice a year on FM, as well as an internet stream. Oxygen's closure came about as a result of a failure to abide by Ofcom broadcast regulations, which led to a record fine of £20,000 and a shortening of the broadcast license.[2]

Given the expiry of Oxygen FM's license and the subsequent dissolution of the station, Oxide Radio was set up in 2001 under the name Oxford Student Radio, before rebranding as Altered Radio in 2003.[3] Initially broadcasting from an office in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford, the station transferred ownership to OSSL (Oxford Student Services Limited, the financial arm of the University's Student Union), and was accommodated in the student union buildings in 2002.[4]

A second rebranding to Oxide Radio was followed shortly by crisis. In significant financial difficulties during 2006, OUSU cut Oxide's £5,700 per year budget completely and presenters were forced to pay membership dues to keep the station afloat.[5] In addition, Oxide acquired sponsorship from Shirtworks, a local clothing supplier. Phil Jupitus, Radio 1 DJ, criticised the cuts:

Student radio stations provide a useful and vibrant autonomous channel for student communication. Gigs, sports events, clubs, essential announcements - all of them can be broadcast to the student body with their own voice. This unifying effect of a student run and staffed radio station is an invaluable asset to any educational institution, and that Oxford should be in such a parlous state strikes me as fucking insane (to use a broadcasting term...).

—Phil Jupitus, [6]

[edit] Nick Griffin Controversy

In Hilary Term 2007, British National Party leader Nick Griffin was invited to speak on Oxide. Despite the presenters receiving death threats,[4] the broadcast was scheduled to go ahead until OUSU (the university's student union) demanded that the broadcast be cancelled as part of their "No Platform Policy".[5][6] Griffin criticised the decision by saying, "Fundamentally, this is not only an attack on freedom of speech but an attack on Oxford students’ rights to hear things and make their own minds up."[7] Nick Griffin and David Irving, the controversial historian, were later invited to speak at the Oxford Union about free speech, the cancelled Oxide show cited as one of the reasons for the invitation being extended.[8] As a result of this controversy, Oxide Radio was granted editorial independence from OUSU and its own constitution.[9]

[edit] Sport Relief

In March 2008, Oxide raised £2,000 for the charity Sport Relief. This event was covered by both the Oxford Student and the Oxford Mail.[10]

[edit] Technical Information

Oxide Radio is comparatively advanced amongst student radio stations regarding streaming server maintenance. Instead of residing on one main streaming server, Oxide has deployed four. Oxide also plans to stream in every possible format, including MP3, Windows Media, RealPlayer, Ogg, FLAC, and QuickTime. The following servers have been announced on the Oxide website:

  • Windows Server 2008 - MP3, Windows Media Services
  • Windows Server 2003 Backup Server - MP3, Windows Media Services
  • Windows Server 2008 - OGG, Relay MP3, Windows Media 9.2
  • Apple Mac OS X Leopard - Darwin Server, AAC Encoder, Relay MP3

[edit] Awards

  • Student Radio Awards Gold 2005: Off-Air Promotions and Imaging[11]
  • Student Radio Awards Bronze 2006: Best Specialist Music Programme[12]
  • Student Radio Awards Bronze 2007: Student Radio Newcomer of the Year[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Oxide student radio goes onto FM. BBC (2005-11-02). Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  2. ^ Oxford - Media and Press. Spiritus-Temporis.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  3. ^ Goodman, Jessica (2006-01-26). Student Union to cut radio station funding. The Oxford Student. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  4. ^ Hang The DJ. The National Student (February 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  5. ^ Bennett, Rachael (2007-04-26). Students back OUSU in No Platform showdown. The Oxford Student. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  6. ^ Lidbury, Emma-Kate (2007-02-08). Students' BNP interview plan prompts death threats. Oxford Mail. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  7. ^ Baraniuk, Chris (2007-02-01). Death Threats Sent to Oxide DJs. The Oxford Student. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  8. ^ Matthews, David (2007-10-12). Union under fire over extremist invitations. Cherwell 24. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  9. ^ Have you met ... Paul Arrich?. Cherwell 24 (2007-06-01). Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  10. ^ Shepherd, Tom. Students get active for Sports Relief. Oxford Mail. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  11. ^ Student Radio Awards - 2005 - Winners. Student Radio Association. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  12. ^ Student Radio Awards - 2006 - Winners. Student Radio Association. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  13. ^ Student Radio Awards - 2007 - Winners. Student Radio Association. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.

[edit] External Links