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Coordinates: 50°42′50″N 2°26′17″W / 50.71377°N 2.43806°W / 50.71377; -2.43806
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{coord|50.71377|-2.43806|display=title|region:GB_scale:1000}}
{{coord|50.71377|-2.43806|display=title|region:GB_scale:1000}}
{{Infobox radio station
{{Infobox radio station
| image = [[File:Wessex FM Logo.png|200px]]
| logo = Wessex FM Logo.png
| logo_size = 200px
⚫
| name = Wessex FM
⚫
| format = Contemporary
| airdate = 4 September 1993
| owner = [[Bauer Radio]]
⚫
| frequency = [[FttM broadcasting|FM]]: 96.0, 97.2 MHz
⚫
| name = Wessex FM
| share = 17%
| airdate = {{start date|1993|9|3|df=yes}}
| share as of = September 2014
| last_airdate = {{end date|2020|8|31|df=yes}}
| share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php RAJAR]
⚫
| frequency = 96.0, 97.2 MHz
| area = [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]], [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] & [[Bridport]]
| area = [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]], [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], [[Bridport]] & [[North Dorset]]
⚫
| format = Contemporary
| owner = [[The Local Radio Company]]<br><small>([[UKRD Group]])</small>
| website = [http://www.wessexfm.com www.wessexfm.com]
}}
}}


'''Wessex FM''' is a local radio station for the Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport areas of Dorset. All content is broadcast from its studios in Dorchester. It broadcasts on 97.2FM in Weymouth and Dorchester (from Bincombe Hill transmitter), and on 96.0FM in Bridport (from Bridport Transmitter).
'''Wessex FM''' was an [[Independent Local Radio]] station for the Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport areas of [[Dorset]], originating from studios in [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. It broadcast on 97.2&nbsp;MHz in Weymouth and Dorchester (from the Bincombe Hill transmitter), and on 96.0&nbsp;MHz in Bridport (from the Bridport transmitter).


==Early days==
==History==
===Early days===
A group of local radio enthusiasts had been campaigning to have an Independent Local Radio (ILR) station in Dorset for some time, and eventually the Radio Authority issued the license early in 1993 (This was probably one of the last totally independent commercial radio stations in the country). Stephen Oates was appointed as Managing Director, with Roger Kennedy as Programme Manager.
A group of local radio enthusiasts had been campaigning to have an Independent Local Radio (ILR) station in Dorset for some time. The Radio Authority advertised the licence early in 1992 and awarded it to ‘Regent Radio’ in early 1993.


Regent Radio comprised a group of local business people - including property investor Peter Bolton, local museum owner Michael Ridley and Tom Singh founder of New Look - together with corporate backing from Orchard Media (owners of Taunton’s Orchard FM) and Radio Investments.
Having found a suitable premises in the centre of Dorchester, studio construction began while Roger started recruiting the on-air team and deciding on the programme format. Roger also suggested the station's on-air name - Wessex FM - and the original strapline - "From the Heart of Dorset"


The founding managing director was Stephen Oates, appointed in February 1993, who had previously launched Isle of Wight Radio in 1990 and subsequently went on to launch Spirit FM in West Sussex in 1996.
The station went on the air at 10am on 4 September 1993, Roger Kennedy presenting the first programme, with several special guests including veteran presenter Tony Blackburn.


Steve secured suitable premises in Trinity Street in the centre of Dorchester, and conversion and studio construction took two months during the summer of 1993. Transmission facilities were contracted to NTL, using the Bincombe transmission mast.
With its very wide range of music, as well as lots of local feature content and regular Outside Broadcasts, the station proved very popular from the outset, becoming the Number 1 station in the area.


The station name - Wessex FM - was chosen, together with the original strap line ‘Pure Dorset Radio’ and a completely new team was recruited with Roger Kennedy{{who|date=July 2019}} as programme manager, Jane Soole as head of news and Derek Bateman as sales manager. The main on-air team initially comprised Iain Meadows on Breakfast, Roger Kennedy on mid-mornings, Maria Ferguson on afternoons, and Stuart McGinley evenings.
==Presenters==
*James O'Neill (Weekday Breakfast 6-10am)
*Steve Bulley (Weekday Mornings/lunchtime 10am-2pm and Sunday Breakfast 6am-9am)
*Maria Greenwood (Unplugged on Sunday 5-7pm) also news editor and reader
*Dave Goulden (Afternoons 2pm-7pm including Drive Time from 4pm)
*Kieran Williams (Weekday Evenings 7pm-midnight)
*DJ Owen (Sunday night legends 7pm-midnight)
*Carl Ashwin (Early breakfast 4-6am and Saturday Night Disco 6pm-midnight)
Mike Brown (Saturday and Sunday afternoons) Saturday 1pm-6pm Sunday 1pm-5pm
===Notable past presenters===
*Roger Kennedy (Weekday Mid-Mornings) Roger came from Metro Radio to help set up the station as Programme Manager, after 4 years returned to the NE to join Century Radio as Phone-in presenter and Features Producer.
*Phil Stocks
*Jason Herbert (Weekday Breakfast, ''Dance Party'') Left 13 Aug 2010 after 12 years at Wessex FM<ref>http://www.wessexfm.com/On-Air/jasonherbert.php</ref> and started presenting the Breakfast show on [[The Breeze (North Dorset)|Midwest Radio]]{{dn|date=July 2013}} (Shaftesbury and Blandford) from 23 Aug 2010.<ref>http://www.farehampeople.co.uk/news/lsquo-truth-radio-closure-rumours-rsquo/story-6412341-detail/story.html</ref>


The station went on-air, initially only broadcasting on 97.2FM, at 10am on 4 September 1993, with several special guests including veteran presenter [[Tony Blackburn]] and [[Lionel Blair]]. As part of the on-air launch day the station undertook its first outside broadcast at the Dorchester County Show. A relay for Bridport and surrounding villages was later launched on 96.0FM to address weak reception due to the topography of West Dorset.
===Other past presenters===

*Paul Evans
===Wessex FM before its closure===
*Maria Ferguson
Until its closure on 31 August 2020, it had a reach percentage of 42%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php|title=RAJAR|website=www.rajar.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-07-25}}</ref>
*Stuart McGinley

*Martin Lee
=== Programming ===
*Stewart Smith
All of Wessex FM's programming was produced and broadcast from its Dorchester studios. Presenter-led programming aired from 6am – midnight on weekdays, 6am – 6pm on Saturdays and 8am – 4pm on Sundays. All other output was automated.
*Geoff Carter

*Ian Timms
== Closure ==
*David Hollister
Wessex FM was purchased by Bauer Media in 2019 along with other stations in the [[UKRD Group]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Waterson|first=Jim|date=2020-05-27|title=Dozens of local radio stations to vanish across England|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/may/27/local-radio-regional-stations-england-bauer-rebranding-national-network|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On 27 May 2020 it was announced that Wessex FM will become [[Greatest Hits Radio South|Greatest Hits Radio]] from early September 2020. The station went through a transitional period where its playlist was changed over to the 70s, 80s and 90s era and jingles changed to reflect the station playing "greatest hits". Wessex FM was finally rebranded to [[Greatest Hits Radio South|Greatest Hits Radio]] at 6:00am on 1 September 2020.
*Glen Mitchell
*Ray King
*Andy Freeman
*Nicky Stewart
*Eric Peters
*Jane Soule
*Kevin Wilson
*Emma Clements
*David Woollatt
*Phil Allen
*Dan Lodge
*Dave Luck
*Iain Meadows
*Mark Samways
*Wendy Barker
*Chris Giles
*Dave Webster
*Tony Adams
*Julian Smith
*Mark Guy
*Paul Chivers
*Del Thompson


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.wessexfm.com/}}
*{{Official website|http://www.wessexfm.com/}} - now defunct, so redirects to successor website.
*[http://www.thelocalradiocompany.com/ The Local Radio Company]
*[http://www.ukrd.com/ UKRD Radio Group]
*[http://www.kieranwilliamsmedia.co.uk The Evening Show Presenter's Website]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{The Local Radio Company}}
{{Bauer Media Group}}


[[Category:Radio stations in Dorset]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Dorset]]
[[Category:The Local Radio Company]]
[[Category:Bauer Radio]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1993]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1993]]
[[Category:West Dorset]]
[[Category:Radio stations disestablished in 2020]]
[[Category:West Dorset District]]
[[Category:Weymouth and Portland]]
[[Category:Weymouth and Portland]]
[[Category:Wessex]]
[[Category:Wessex]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in England]]
[[Category:2020 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Greatest Hits Radio]]
[[Category:Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom]]



{{UK-radio-station-stub}}
{{UK-radio-station-stub}}

Latest revision as of 11:26, 11 July 2024

50°42′50″N 2°26′17″W / 50.71377°N 2.43806°W / 50.71377; -2.43806

Wessex FM
Broadcast areaWeymouth, Dorchester, Bridport & North Dorset
Frequency96.0, 97.2 MHz
Programming
FormatContemporary
Ownership
OwnerBauer Radio
History
First air date
3 September 1993 (1993-09-03)
Last air date
31 August 2020 (2020-08-31)

Wessex FM was an Independent Local Radio station for the Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport areas of Dorset, originating from studios in Dorchester. It broadcast on 97.2 MHz in Weymouth and Dorchester (from the Bincombe Hill transmitter), and on 96.0 MHz in Bridport (from the Bridport transmitter).

History

[edit]

Early days

[edit]

A group of local radio enthusiasts had been campaigning to have an Independent Local Radio (ILR) station in Dorset for some time. The Radio Authority advertised the licence early in 1992 and awarded it to ‘Regent Radio’ in early 1993.

Regent Radio comprised a group of local business people - including property investor Peter Bolton, local museum owner Michael Ridley and Tom Singh founder of New Look - together with corporate backing from Orchard Media (owners of Taunton’s Orchard FM) and Radio Investments.

The founding managing director was Stephen Oates, appointed in February 1993, who had previously launched Isle of Wight Radio in 1990 and subsequently went on to launch Spirit FM in West Sussex in 1996.

Steve secured suitable premises in Trinity Street in the centre of Dorchester, and conversion and studio construction took two months during the summer of 1993. Transmission facilities were contracted to NTL, using the Bincombe transmission mast.

The station name - Wessex FM - was chosen, together with the original strap line ‘Pure Dorset Radio’ and a completely new team was recruited with Roger Kennedy[who?] as programme manager, Jane Soole as head of news and Derek Bateman as sales manager. The main on-air team initially comprised Iain Meadows on Breakfast, Roger Kennedy on mid-mornings, Maria Ferguson on afternoons, and Stuart McGinley evenings.

The station went on-air, initially only broadcasting on 97.2FM, at 10am on 4 September 1993, with several special guests including veteran presenter Tony Blackburn and Lionel Blair. As part of the on-air launch day the station undertook its first outside broadcast at the Dorchester County Show. A relay for Bridport and surrounding villages was later launched on 96.0FM to address weak reception due to the topography of West Dorset.

Wessex FM before its closure

[edit]

Until its closure on 31 August 2020, it had a reach percentage of 42%.[1]

Programming

[edit]

All of Wessex FM's programming was produced and broadcast from its Dorchester studios. Presenter-led programming aired from 6am – midnight on weekdays, 6am – 6pm on Saturdays and 8am – 4pm on Sundays. All other output was automated.

Closure

[edit]

Wessex FM was purchased by Bauer Media in 2019 along with other stations in the UKRD Group.[2] On 27 May 2020 it was announced that Wessex FM will become Greatest Hits Radio from early September 2020. The station went through a transitional period where its playlist was changed over to the 70s, 80s and 90s era and jingles changed to reflect the station playing "greatest hits". Wessex FM was finally rebranded to Greatest Hits Radio at 6:00am on 1 September 2020.

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "RAJAR". www.rajar.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  2. ^ Waterson, Jim (27 May 2020). "Dozens of local radio stations to vanish across England". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.


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