Belfield FM
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2019) |
| Broadcast area | UCD, Belfield, Dublin |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Format | Student Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Independent |
| 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. Belfield FM disaffiliated with the SU at the end of the 2011/2012 college year, and is now run independently within the UCD Societies Council framework.[1][2] 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 volunteer staff and contributors who work on the production and hosting of the station's shows.[2]
Outputs
The station broadcasts on week-days,[3] with programming including a film show, advice show, travel show, sports show, and a number of talk and music shows.[citation needed] Increasingly, Belfield FM's output has focused on podcasting,[citation needed] and podcasting output includes the agricultural talk show "Keepin' it Country", a comedy show titled "808s and 404s", a political podcast, an indie music show, and an American folk music show.[citation needed]
National Student Media Awards
Belfield FM have participated in the National Student Media Awards and have won a number of awards.[4]
_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[5] |
| 2019 | Patrick Power | Radio Journalist | Repealed: The Voices Behind | Win[6] |
| 2019 | Aisling Grennan | People's Choice Award | N/A | Win[6] |
Controversies
In 2015 the Societies Council closed the station due to it being unsupervised for lengths of time.[7] In April of the same year the station was permitted to re-open following the election of a new management committee.[citation needed]
During the 2018 National Student Media Awards' People's Choice Award, the online polls were reported to have been tampered with by those nominated, due to the high number of votes some candidates received in short periods of time.[citation needed] 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.[8][failed verification]
In late 2018, "Keepin' it Country" was criticised by the College Tribune for inappropriate comments regarding named students live on air.[9] All episodes of the show were subsequently removed from their SoundCloud page.[citation needed] In the subsequent semester of broadcasting, the controversial show was absent from the schedule of programming.[10]
In 2019, the show "Up Late with Dave" featured an interview with 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 later published an apology on their website.[11]
References
- ^ "Possibility of Belfield FM society being formed". Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b https://www.belfieldfm.com/about/
- ^ https://www.belfieldfm.com/
- ^ https://universityobserver.ie/ucd-win-8-awards-at-the-student-media-awards/
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20190504174941/http://www.smedias.ie/winners/
- ^ a b http://web.archive.org/web/20190504174954/http://www.oxygen.ie/the-smedias-the-full-list-of-winners/
- ^ 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.