BBC WM

BBC WM 95.6 (previously BBC Radio WM) is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham.^[1] Launched on 9 November 1970^[2] as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet. Prominent presenters include Ed Doolan, Carl Chinn, Adrian Goldberg and Phil Upton.

History

Until 2004, BBC WM broadcast from the Pebble Mill studios, in Edgbaston.^[1] On 4 July of that year, the station moved to the new BBC Birmingham city centre offices in The Mailbox.^[1] Its facilities include two broadcast studios, a talk studio, an operations and production area, and a studio shared with the BBC Asian Network.

In the 1980s, the station also had a studio in the back of a shop in New Street. The shop sold trinkets branded with the Radio WM identity.

As a 1990s economy measure, the station took over BBC CWR (Coventry and Warwickshire radio). On 3 September 2005, CWR resumed the production of separate programming between 5.00 and 22.00 each weekday (6.00 - 18.00 at weekends).

BBC WM now operates from 0500 to 0000 hours Monday-Friday, and 0600 to 2200 on weekends with specialist music programming, and shows serving the local Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.

Audience

When launched, the station had a monopoly of local radio in the Birmingham area. The station's low audience since the advent of independent local radio has led to reports of threatened closure on various occasions. In the mid 1980s, a new manager, Tony Inchley, brought in extensive format changes with a view to stabilising the audience, although the station remained small in listenership numbers.

Programming

The station has experimented with introducing music into talk shows, and with the shock jock proposition in the form of Jon Gaunt. A small amount of programming, including Network Gold (old hits) is networked on counterpart BBC local radio stations in the BBC Midlands region. During the station's downtime, the BBC WM frequency broadcasts BBC Radio 5 Live.

Programming

Past presenters

References

External links

• BBC WM website
• BBC WM: The first 40 years — 58 minute radio documentary by BBC WM (streaming audio)
• "BBC WM looks back on its 40 years of broadcasting". BBC News Online (BBC Birmingham). 26 August 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/birmingham/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8944000/8944511.stm.