Here’s what community radio stations in Sussex are doing to keep spirits high

Community radio stations across Sussex have been working hard to keep listeners entertained and informed during the coronavirus lockdown.
Gary King from Uckfield Community Radio SUS-200104-110931001Gary King from Uckfield Community Radio SUS-200104-110931001
Gary King from Uckfield Community Radio SUS-200104-110931001

Volunteers at the stations have been going the extra mile to make sure they stay on air, and people who may feel lonely or isolated can tune in to hear a friendly local voice.

Uckfield Community Radio is on air between 7am and 7pm, while keeping all their presenters separate.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gary King, director of programming and music, said: “We’ve stopped evening specialist programmes and live studio-based interviews, and run interviews over the phone instead, using all the presenters we can.

Paul and Cathy from Mid Downs Hospital Radio SUS-200104-110941001Paul and Cathy from Mid Downs Hospital Radio SUS-200104-110941001
Paul and Cathy from Mid Downs Hospital Radio SUS-200104-110941001

“The essential thing is to stay on air and provide key information when it’s needed.”

Public broadcasters, including community radio stations, have been confirmed as key workers by the Community Media Association.

Gary said: “We also have some pre-recorded specialist music shows to use at weekend to give some alternative to the mainstream music we usually play.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’ve had a lot of emails, comments and good wishes from listeners. Our key commitment to OFCOM is to broadcast for a minimum of ten hours a day, which we are doing and will continue to do.”

Colin Santer at Seaside Hospital Radio SUS-200104-110921001Colin Santer at Seaside Hospital Radio SUS-200104-110921001
Colin Santer at Seaside Hospital Radio SUS-200104-110921001

Mid Downs Hospital Radio, which has a studio at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, has It is running a mixture of pre-recorded shows and music with links from presenters, with many of the regular DJs continuing their shows.

The radio station is making sure their musical output is ‘as cheerful and entertaining as possible to keep up morale’, and is currently seeing how feasible it is for presenters to record shows from home.

Cathy Barnett, chair of Mid Downs Hospital Radio, said: “Our team of volunteers have always put the health and needs of our patients, staff and visitors at the front of our interests.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We are very aware that the Princess Royal Hospital users include in-patients, out-patients and staff from all over Mid-Sussex and the Brighton area, and we are still broadcasting 24/7 across Mid Sussex.

“We have a bank of thousands of musical tracks to suit all ages and taste, plus our ‘Spotlight’ series of interviews and programmes of interest to our public.

“This week, we are trialing making programmes from home and the production team is slotting them into our timetable.

“This will keep up some of the ‘live’ feeling of talking straight to our listeners to stop them feeling so alone.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At Seaside Hospital Radio in Worthing, they are continuing their 24/7 converage from Southlands Hospital, with as many presenters as possible recording shows from their homes, and several using new studio quality microphones which have been bought to help protect presenters.

Colin Santer, vice-chairman of Seaside Hospital Radio, said: “Apart from the hourly news bulletins and the Public Health England updates, we have asked our radio presenters not mention COVID-19, and we intend as far as possible to keep our programme schedule the same as always.

“We are providing a mix of music from across the decades interspersed with light-hearted chat and of course requests, dedications, and shout-outs.”

Most of their shows are being recorded a week in advance, and although the telephone request line is out of action due to nobody being in the studio, listeners can still make requests and shout outs by emailing [email protected].

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Colin says all of the radio presenters have ‘risen to the challenge’ of learning a new way to make their shows, and have worked ‘incredibly hard to adapt.

Do you work for a community radio station? Let us know what you’re doing - email [email protected].

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: “Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role.”

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

In addition, please write to your MP urging the Government to provide some additional financial support for local newspapers and their websites like this one and ensuring that supermarkets continue to stock them. I cannot stress enough how important such an intervention would be.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

Related topics: