I absolutely LOVE presenting my radio show. The show I present is called Trash Disco and airs every Saturday night at 10pm on a station called 88.6 Plenty Valley FM.
Saturday night is a night when most people go out, socialise, have parties or dine out somewhere. But here I sit, all alone in a studio, pressing buttons, playing CDs and talking to you. There could be four people out there, there could be four thousand, I have no way of knowing. But it doesn’t matter. I get to share the music I love with other people who love the same music and I think that’s marvellous.
But how does it all work? Firstly, I should make the distinction that community radio is vastly different to commercial stations. Commercial stations usually have a single central theme to them and the primary driver is to sell advertising. Community radio stations, on the other hand, are usually made up of diverse programming, with shows to reflect the tastes of the local community and beyond. There is no advertising bringing in the big bucks. All presenters, like myself, are volunteers, using their own time and their own content to create their respective shows.
Some presenters meticulously plan their shows to the minute, and this is actually the recommended approach. You need to have a plan, know what you’re going to say and which CD and which track you’re going to play. Others have a less planned approach and allow for changes and flexibility. I tend to fall into the latter category.
I adopt the flexible approach because listeners request songs (and I always try my best to play them) and because sometimes things go wrong. CDs won’t play. The computer won’t play. The wrong track on the right CD gets played. The wrong track on the wrong CD gets played. I forget to put the CD in the player. A cable has broken and no sound is coming out any more. The unexpected can strike at any time and a skilful presenter will manage it so that you, the listener, doesn’t notice anything went wrong in the first place. Silence on a radio show is the worst crime! Improvisation is key.
I have many disaster stories to tell, but that’s a blog for another day. So we volunteer our own time and our own music, but what about the studio itself?
There is a lot of equipment that we all depend on. In the studio there are CD players, record players, computers for playing pre-recorded shows and for access to local information such as weather, traffic and local news. There is a large desk full of buttons, knobs, switches and sliders that controls what you hear on air – it lets us switch between media, fade up, fade down and allow some shows to put callers on air for interviews. And of course, there are the microphones that let us speak to you, the listener.
Then there’s all the transmitting equipment. That’s where I get a little befuddled, as this technology is beyond me, but there’s a lot of computers and equipment that puts the broadcast signal out to reach your FM radios, stream on the internet via the station web site and on apps such as TuneIn Radio and the new Community Radio Plus app.
None of this is free and nor is maintaining it. The station gets funds from sponsors, which can be local community groups or businesses. You’ll hear the announcements from time to time. We also have station members who support the station.
My show, in particular, uses totally my own music. The station’s library is small and generic, so I use my existing collection and continue to buy more music to share with you.
If you love what you hear as much as we (and I) love sharing it with you, you can contribute in many ways. You can support the station itself by becoming a member (click here to find out more)
You can also directly support my show, Trash Disco, by visiting the Patreon page here.
There’s no obligation of course, but anything that helps me buy more music will result in a better show for you. If you support me via Patreon you’ll also get the honour of being an Official Show Supporter and your name will be revered forever more on air and on my social media pages, including here.
I hope this has given you a little insight into how it all works and how much love goes into community radio. I hope you will continue to love us back.
Trash Disco 
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