TCR fm

TCR FM
Broadcast area	Tamworth
Frequency	106.9 (FM) (2005-2009), 106.8 (FM)(2009-present)
First air date	30/07/2005
Format	Community Radio
Owner	Tamworth Radio Broadcasting CIC
Website	www.tcrfm.co.uk

TCR FM, Standing for Total Choice Radio, is a not for profit community radio station based in Tamworth, Staffordshire with a target audience of people under 30 years old.^[1]^[2]

The station, based at Tamworth Youth Centre (known locally as TamYouth),^[1]^[3] is ran entirely by volunteers from 14 years old who perform jobs from station management to presenting their own show and news reading.^[1]^[4] They also provide training courses, to volunteers to provide them with the skills they require to participate in the activities.

Unlike most radio stations, TCR FM does not provide presenters with playlists giving them, and the listeners, ‘Total choice’ over the music which is played out. According to their key commitments with Ofcom,the music played predominantly varies from 80’s classics to new chart hits.^[5]

TCR Fm also has strong links with the local community and youth groups getting involved in local events promoting local bands and artists and offering Advertising to local buisnesses^[6]

1 History
2 Training Course
3 Presenters and Shows
4 Directors & Management Team
- 4.1 Directors
- 4.2 Management
5 Community Involvement and Events
- 5.1 Events held by TCR FM
- 5.2 Events TCR FM or Representatives appeared at
6 References
7 External links

History

TCR FM was set up in 2005 and first broadcast in the summer of that year on a 28 day Restricted Service Licence (RSL) with the frequency of 106.9FM from Saturday 30 July until Friday 26 August. It then went on to host another RSL in summer of 2007 ^[7]

After completing the RSL in 2007, the directors at the time Daniel Hoult and Martin Summers went on to apply for a 5 year Community Radio Licence^[8] which they were awarded by OFCOM in May 2008.^[9] They started broadcasting on this licence on 31 October 2010, with a start time of 5pm,^[10]with a new frequency, which they use to date, of 106.8FM^[2]

In 2011 the station was warned by Ofcom for not meeting it's key commitments. TCR FM broke there commitment to provide a set amount of live hours per a day and were warned by Ofcom, since this remote presenters have been used from outside Tamworth.

Training Course

The station offers a 7 week training course to all volunteers who wish to be involved with the station.^[4]

The course involves learning about:

Technical equipment found in the studio – e.g. how to use the mixer and playout software
Radio presentation (a) – how to use the microphone
Radio presentation (b) – how to use the microphone and combining this with the technical equipment
Production and editing – how to edit music and create jingles
News production and presenting – how to present and prepare news
Show preparation – what to include into a show and how to source it
Demo show – combining all of the taught material into a demo show

^[4]

After completing the course, members can decide if they wish to present, news read, audio produce or take part in a mixture of everything.

Presenters and Shows

TCR FM has a wide variety of presenters and shows.Below are all the presenters and shows to date which are advertised online:

Presenters (in alphabetical order of first name)	Joined	Show slot(s)	Other Info
Aaron Beadle	2007	Irregular
Alex Farrell	2008	Monday 4-6pm	Drive Time Slot
Alex Patton	2010	Irregular
Chris & Dan	2010	Thursday 8-10pm
Colin Marks	2009	Thursday 4-6pm	Drive Time Slot
Craiggy Boy	2011	Friday 10-12pm
Dan Hawkes	2010	Tuesday 8-10pm
Daniel Hoult	2005	Saturday 9-11am Sunday 10am-12noon	Weekend Breakfast
Dean & Sheena	2005/2007	Irregular
Erica Dancer	2007	Saturday 11am-1pm
Gavin Blunt	2011	Saturday 5-7pm
Hannah Smart	2007	Saturday 3pm-5pm
Ian & Beccy	2011/2010	Wednesday 9-11pm	Specialist Show - 'Box of Rock' Repeated Saturday 11pm-1am
Jack and Poppa Smurf	2011	Friday 5-7pm	Specialist Show - 'The Dance Off'
Jack Millman	2010	Thursday 6-8pm
Jake Palmer	2008	Sunday 12noon-2pm
Jules Little	2009	Sunday 7-9pm	Specialist show - 'Global Dancefloor'
Matt Brinkley	2010	Tuesday 6-8pm
Mia Moore	2010	Sunday 5-7pm
Midge	2010	Tuesday 4-6pm Thursday 2-4pm Friday 10am-12noon	Tuesday Drive Time Slot
Mixed Music	2011	Sunday 2-5pm	Composed of Callum, George, and Sam
Nick ('The Yank')	2011	Friday 7-9pm	Specialist show - 'Angry Duck' unsigned music ^[11]
Nick Smith	2009	Irregular
Ollie Hand	2011	Monday 6-8am Thursday 6-8am	Early Breakfast slots
Paul Blundell	2011	Sunday 10pm-12midnight
Poppa Smurf	2011	Wednesday 4-6pm	Drive Time Slot Real name Simon Walker
Rebecca Mynett	2010	Wednesday 8-9pm	Specialist show - includes local music
Ryan Wilkins	2010	Saturday 1-3pm
Sam Beech	2011	Wednesday 6-8pm
Sam Lane	2007	Monday 6-8pm
Scott Cameron	2007	Tuesday 2-4pm Thursday 12-2pm
Sonia Ashley	2008	Friday 2-5pm	Specialist show - 'The Retro Years'
Steve Pearce	2011	Irregular
Thomas Janak	2010	Monday 8-10pm	Specialist Show - 'Wild Time' The animal rights/world conservation show ^[12]

Directors & Management Team

Directors

TCR FM is run by a dedicated board of directors of Tamworth Radio Broadcasting CIC who do all the behind the scenes work to keep the station running.

Daniel Hoult, Managing Director – (2007 – present)
Martin Summers, Managing Director (2007–2010)
Dean Vultaggio, Director (2007 – present)
Sheena Vultaggio, Director (2007 – present)
Scott Cameron, Director (2009 – present)

^[13]

Management

The directors of TCR FM are backed up by a team of managers:

Hannah Smart, Head Of Music (2009 – Present)
Scott Cameron, Membership Officer (2009–2011)
Erica Dancer, Head of Promotions (2009 –present)
Sonia Allmark, Sales Manager (2010 – present)
Rebecca Mynett, Community Liaison Officer (2011 – present)
Simon Walker, Membership officer (2011 – present)

^[13]

Community Involvement and Events

TCR FM as a station regularly holds events and takes part in community activities.

Events held by TCR FM

Pre-Launch Open Day – in conjunction with TamYouth’s open day, the station opened its doors to the public on 1 August 2009 between 10am-4pm where volunteers were on hand to chat about what the station does and to promote their launch.^[14]
Launch Party – Held at Trinity Nightclub, Tamworth, on 30 October 2009 as a joint party between the two companies. This was broadcasted as live on the station all evening. This was for over 18s only due to the venue’s age restrictions ^[10]
Under 18’s Launch Disco – Held at TamYouth on 5 November 2009 for listeners between 12–17 years old as the station were aware of the previous launch event’s restrictions. This was broadcast live on the station from 7pm on the night.^[15]
First Birthday Party – Held at Q Lounge in Strykers Bowling Centre, Tamworth on 30 October 2010. Included Fancy Dress, live performances from Tamworth band “The Twin Jets” and Sheena Vultaggio and also a DJ set from presenter Scott Cameron.^[16]

Events TCR FM or Representatives appeared at

Midlands Music Festival – two of the presenters, Erica Dancer and Hannah Smart, went to the Midlands Music Festival in 2010 to be part of the press team and collected interviews and audio clips from artists such as 80’s icon’s Sister Sledge and new boy band The Wanted.^[17]
Tamworth Carnival 2010 – TCR FM had a stall at the carnival to promote themselves.
Zippo’s Phoenix Circus – presenter Scott Cameron was invited to take part in a circus stunt when zippo’s arrived in Birmingham. Listeners of his show got to decide what stunt he performed, which was to limbo under fire. The audio from this was played out the next morning on the breakfast show and a video was made available online.^[18]
Volunteer week ‘Fun Day’ – organised by Tamworth CVS, TCR FM broadcasted live all day on 3 June 2011 from the castle grounds in Tamworth where they interviewed other community and volunteer groups.^[18]^[19]