CUR1350
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| City of license | Cambridge |
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| Broadcast area | University of Cambridge & ARU |
| Slogan | Work Hard, Play Harder! |
| First air date | February 1979 |
| Frequency | 1350 KHz (MW), CURintheBAR cable, Online, |
| Format | Variety - Music & Speech (Music: rock/dance/indie/pop, Speech: news/arts/debates/comedy) |
| Owner | CUR Media |
| Website | www.cur1350.co.uk |
CUR1350 (formerly known as Cambridge University Radio) is a student-run radio station at the University of Cambridge. The station broadcasts on a mediumwave frequency of 1350 kHz, from a studio located in the basement of a house owned by Churchill College. CUR1350 is a member of the Student Radio Association.
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[edit] History
In 1979, the student-run Cambridge University Broadcasting Society founded a radio station. Despite successfully applying for a number of short-term FM licenses, the station lacked a way of continuously broadcasting to the University's students, and so struggled to achieve widespread popularity.
In 1992 the station was granted permission to install induction loops around the Cambridge colleges of New Hall and Churchill, allowing residents to listen to CUR945 (as it was then known) over a short-range, mono, mediumwave broadcast. The widespread growth of the Internet, along with many colleges installing high-speed Ethernet connections in student rooms, prompted the station to launch a simultaneous webcast in 1998. This allowed students from throughout the University to listen to the station whenever they were near a computer. In 2004, the internet audio webcasts were upgraded, and in 2005 a user-friendly station player was launched.
However, the station's members continued to aspire to expanding to a radio station receivable by traditional radio sets and, in 2002, the station successfully applied for a long-term, low-powered AM license. Still broadcasting today on 1350 kHz, the station is now known as CUR1350.
CUR1350 is also a current applicant for a Community Radio Licence and are awaiting a decision by the industry regulator, Ofcom. Should the application be successful, CUR1350 will gain a licence to broadcast to Cambridge University and ARU in the FM waveband, bringing the station to more parts of Cambridge University and ARU in high-fidelity audio, as well as making it listenable on many more types of radio receivers.
In 2006, CUR1350 launched a project to install a cable service to multiple sites across the University of Cambridge and ARU. Dubbed "CURintheBAR" the station is distributed via the universities' LAN network to receiving units positioned in student bars and cafes where it is relayed over loudspeakers.
CUR1350 is financially self-sufficient via on-air and on-line advertising and sponsorship. Profits are invested back into the station to improve the service for listeners and the experience for station members. The station receives no funding from either university or any student union. CUR1350 is now a major player in the radio market of 18-30 year olds in Cambridge.
[edit] Current broadcasts
CUR1350 currently broadcasts continuously, with an automated playout system filling the intervals between live broadcasts. During termtime, much of the station's output is live between the hours of 8am and 1am. Programmes are produced and presented by undergraduate and postgraduate students at both the University of Cambridge and the Cambridge campus of Anglia Ruskin University. A majority of programmes are specialist music shows (e.g. drum and bass, indie rock, garage), though others are aimed at a wider audience (e.g. their breakfast show, theatre/film review show, or local news coverage).
In 2004 the station won four awards in the annual Student Radio Awards. The presenter Val Mellon (now heard on the national DAB station Core -- see below) won a gold award for Best Entertainment Show, as well as a bronze award for Best Female. A further gold award was presented to the station for Technical Achievement, in recognition of the station's proprietary, platform-independent, webcast player. A silver award was also given to the station for Best Sports Programming, in respect of the station's live coverage of the annual Oxford vs. Cambridge rugby union Varsity match. Sports coverage also earned the station a silver award in 2003, for their annual coverage of the May Bumps -- an inter-collegiate rowing competition held on the River Cam.
In 2005 CUR1350 was nominated for 4 awards, the 2005 awards seeing twice as many competing entries as the previous year. The nominations for CUR1350 were: Technical Achievement - for the wireless internet link for the Bumps 2005 tannoy, Sports Broadcasting (Ed Bolton) - for The Sports Show including interviews with Chris Eubank, Specialist Music (Samuel Green) - for Kol Cambridge the UK's only broadcast Israeli/Jewish radio show, Station of the Year (Michael Brooks et al).
CUR1350 has a reputation for cutting-edge strategy in media. The great majority of technology used by CUR1350 is developed in-house (such as the automated playout system, computerised playout systems and audio routing in the studio) enabling the station to be built to specification. CUR1350 covers 21,000 university members in the University of Cambridge and ARU, and attracts 8,000 listeners each term / 1450 listeners each week. The station is currently experiencing an increase of 3,000 listeners per term on a year on year basis.
[edit] Alumni
Several of the station's members have subsequently achieved considerable success in the wider world of radio & television broadcasting. Notable examples include:
- Spencer Bignell (aka Spencer Kelly), is presenter of the BBC TV programme Click Online and formerly presenter on Ocean FM broadcasting across Portsmouth and Southampton.
- Ellie Buchanan (aka Woodstock Taylor), one of the original founders of the Cambridge University Broadcasting Society, was a freelance BBC presenter for many years and is now a successful singer and songwriter.
- Simon Cooper, also one of the original founders of the society, was the Group Public Affairs Director of the GCap radio conglomerate before leaving to establish a public image consultancy firm.
- Chris Dearden is now a news reporter for BBC Radio Wales, after a stint at BBC Essex, BBC London and BBC South East Today.
- Matt Fincham currently presents an overnight slot on Vibe 105-108, as well as depping for several other shows on the station.
- Kevin Greening, a presenter on BBC Radio 1 throughout the latter half of the 1990s, is now a presenter on 102.2 Smooth FM, which broadcasts across Greater London.
- Bern Leckie, current Programme Controller of GCap's DAB stations Core and Chill.
- Chris Mason is a broadcast journalist with BBC Westminster.
- Val Mellon is a presenter on the national DAB station Core.
- Rob Ousbey, Production Coordinator at national speech DAB station Oneword Radio
- Richard Straffon was the overnight presenter on Key 103 in Manchester until April 2005, and is now the drivetime presenter on 97.6 Chiltern FM.
The station holds annual alumni days, on which former members are invited back to once again produce and present shows for listeners within the University.
