Belfield FM
| Broadcast area | UCD, Belfield, Dublin |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Format | Student Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Independent |
| The International Space Station | |
| Links | |
| Webcast | https://www.belfieldfm.com |
| Website | www.belfieldfm.com |
Belfield FM is University College Dublin's student radio station. The station began broadcasting in 1990. It was initially run as a part of the UCD Students' Union , under the remit of the entertainments office, before becoming an independent entity within the Students' Union. As a result of cost cutting measures, Belfield FM disaffiliated with the SU at the end of the 2011/2012 college year[1] and is now run independently within the UCD Societies Council framework. The station forms part of UCD's student media network, along with The University Observer, The College Tribune, and UCD TV. The station is run by up to nine volunteer staff and over 100 contributors who work on the production, research, and hosting of the station's radio shows.
The station broadcasts live from the 'New Students Centre' in the Belfield FM studio located in the yellow radio station across from the societies corridor. This recording suite is affectionately known to students as 'The Pod'. Belfield FM has had some presence on campus for the past twenty years; however it now operates on a full-time basis.[citation needed]
Programming
The station broadcasts programming from 11:00 until 22:00, Monday to Thursday, and from 11:00 to 19:00 on a Friday. The late start is to accommodate students who may be in classes or lectures, the majority of which take place before lunch time.[citation needed] A number of flagship shows air on a daily basis, including a film show, advice show, travel show, a sports show, and a number of other talk and music shows.[citation needed] Due to the fact that the station is run and produced by volunteers throughout and beyond the UCD campus the broadcasting programme is subject to significant change from semester to semester.[citation needed]
Podcasts
With the increase of podcasting globally over the last decade, Belfield FM's output and listenership has focused more and more on podcasting.[citation needed] While members are sent their audio and edit it themselves, they are free to publish their podcasts wherever and whenever they please, although most opt to use Belfield FM's Mixcloud account.[tone] The podcasting output is varied, the most popular recurring series being the agricultural talk show "Keepin' it Country".[citation needed] Other podcasts included the comedy show "808s and 404s", the political podcast "The Fifth International", indie music show "Abridged Rumbles, A Council of Weird Religions, and Radio Communique", and American folk music show "Cowboy Dan's Fantastic Orchestra".[citation needed]
National Student Media Awards
 |
The "Smedias" are an Irish award show directed towards judging and awarding student media which is submitted to their offices via oxygen.ie. Belfield FM have participated in the competition and have won a number of awards.[citation needed]
_McCartney%27s_Smedia_Win.jpg)
| Year | Nominee | Category | Show/Podcast | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | William McCartney | People's Choice Award | Abridged Rumbles, A Council of Weird
Religions, and Radio Communique |
Win[citation needed] |
| 2019 | Patrick Power | Radio Journalist | Repealed: The Voices Behind | Win[citation needed] |
| 2019 | Aisling Grennan | People's Choice Award | N/A | Win[citation needed] |
Controversies
In 2015 the Societies Council closed the station due to it being unsupervised for lengths of time,[2] showing a lack of commitment and leaving expensive equipment at risk of being stolen.[citation needed] In April of the same year the station was permitted to re-open following the election of a new management committee and has remained in operation since.[citation needed]
During the 2018 National Student Media Awards' People's Choice Award, the online polls were reported to have been tampered by those nominated due to the incredible amount of votes some candidates received in short periods of time. Days before the Award ceremony the votes for each candidate were locked and the number of votes each candidate received were equalised. William McCartney, the station manager at the time, ultimately won but it remained unclear if he had been the candidate with the most votes.[3]
In late 2018, "Keepin' it Country" were criticised by the College Tribune for inappropriate comments regarding named students live on air.[4] The popular show and podcast subsequently removed all episodes of the show from their SoundCloud page. Upon the semester of broadcasting, the controversial show was notably absent from the schedule of programming.[5]
In 2019, the show "Up Late with Dave" featured an interview John Connors to discuss issues and perceptions regarding the travelling community of Ireland. During the interview Connors supposedly expressed negative feelings and raised concerns of disconnect between the travelling community and Pavee Point. The station quickly responded with an apology on their website.[6]
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://collegetribune.ie/belfield-fm-plans-to-reopen-in-the-coming-weeks/
- ^ "Six student media awards for UCD journalists". UCD. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ^ "Criticising Keepin' It Country". College Tribune. 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Donnelly, Brían. "'Keepin' it Country' will not return to Belfield FM this semester". University Observer. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Clarke, Rory. "Belfield FM apologise over comments concerning the Traveller community made on 'Up Late With Dave'". University Observer. Retrieved 2019-04-08.