FAQ

In the show application form there has always been a box in which a member can suggest things to be done by the society. On a committee blog last year Richard Hanrahan compiled a list of frequently asked requests, and these are they. This list has been expanded to include commonly asked questions by members new and old.

Society

How do I become a Member?

Talk to the Secretary who will give you a membership form, and once you are fully paid up, you will get a membership card to give you access to the studio. Membership is open not just to students at the university, but anyone who would like to join.

Where are Society Meetings?

• Teviot Loft Bar, Tuesdays, 7.30pm.

Why can't we have more purpose for meetings?

Short answer - we can, and we will. This term Emma Segal has organized a number of great speakers from the industry to come in and talk about all sorts of aspects of the media, and they are going to be great. Next to these, a few of the committee will be running sessions to improve your radio skills in more practical sessions which will be fun. Aside form this, we have a number of socials planned, but even without official socials after every meeting there are plenty of people who linger for a drink or two. Why not organize your HUB show meetings at this time, use it as a chance to drop by and try to schmooze into the hearts of one the committee, or just plain buy Hitch a drink. JP has also begun Studio 2 Club, for people to go into studio 2 and drop a load of samples, have fun recording.

Broadcast

Why Can't We Start Broadcasting Earlier?

While you may be ready to start broadcasting, a lot of the station isn't. We have a lot of new members even in second semester and in order to give everyone a fair crack of the whip we must allow the studio to be used for training, demos and so on. Oddly enough, when we do offer earlier broadcasting such as the pioneering Freshers' week broadcast this year, the take up is surprisingly small. This is not because people don't want to do radio, but simply they have a lot going on at the beginning of term and simply don't have the time. Similarly committing to a schedule too early would be hugely difficult to organise - especially given most of our members aren't settled into their schedules until at least week 4. That said if you are wanting to do shows there isn't anything stopping you from booking in time in studio 2 to make a show which you can distribute legally through services such as mixcloud.

Why do I have to reapply for shows in second semester?

The reason we do this is mostly tied up with being a student radio station - people's schedules change drastically from one semester to the next with a change in modules, different demands on their time and so on - if we used the same schedule there would be so many people needing to change their slot that we may as well reschedule. By doing this we also allow new members a chance to get on air with their own shows, and also allows opportunities for people to redefine their shows, maybe collaborate with other people that they hadn't met when the first applied and so on. A happy side effect from a programming perspective is that the schedule can be refined - those shows which really find their voice in the first semester can be given better slots in the schedule, and so the broadcast improves.

Why aren't we being played in every student union at every moment of the day?

This has been a real problem for the station for a number of years - we have however had a breakthrough thanks to Amelia, who has managed to convince EUSA to play out pre-records from Fresh Air in our unions, which is fantastic! It is hugely important that we don't abuse this privilege and guarantee a quality broadcast to keep this up - if you are interested in being featured in this output then get in contact with Amelia marketing@freshair.org.uk with the subject header "You are amazing and doing a fantastic job I love you more than life itself".

tab on myed, library link and so on

We are trying, but Edinburgh university is a badly oiled machine, but we'll keep on trying

FM BROADCAST - YEAH!!!!

Back in the day, and it may surprise some of you, Fresh Air used to broadcast with an FM license. However a decision was taken a while back to only broadcast online, which was taken for a number of reasons - the first being that it would be hugely expensive even if all our broadcasting equipment was set up properly (which it isn't). The second reason is that our broadcast is actually improved by not being broadcast on an FM spectrum - it gives us a certain freedom in broadcasting that we wouldn't have if under an ofcom license. Another important reason is that radio and media in general are undergoing drastic changes, and as part of our role as a student station it is our duty to give people their first experience of professional radio broadcast. Consumer habits are evolving in the way people are consuming media and it is important that we adapt to this changing world - its all about podcasts, on-demand and on-line broadcasting. As part of this there is a new "UK Radio Player" which will allow us to broadcast on the same playing field as every other station in the country, so watch this space for that.

Why can't I see our listener figures

Though we do have access to listening figures, website statistics, and so on, they aren't incredibly interesting and are really only a matter for the station as a brand and not for individual shows. If you are doing this for an ego boost then frankly you are doing the wrong thing. The joy of student radio is crafting shows, creating radio and having fun in the studio. Constant pandering to audiences detracts from actual radio content, and looking up your figures will drive you mad. The best advice I got was to treat each show as if you only had one listener and give them the best hour of their life (hello mum, etc.). If they get in contact with you, great, you've made a connection and you've done your job. That said, there isn't anything stopping you from publicizing your show, getting posters made, advertising on facebook, establishing a blog, building up an audience - just don't drag yourself down with a silly little number.

Technical

Headphones Keep On Disappearing

Yes, we know. And it's hugely annoying - it is this sort of thing that is the reason we spend so long training members at the station - please please please take care of everything in the studio as if it is an injured kitten, and if you do break anything tell one of us as soon as you know, don't try and hide it - the sooner we know, the sooner everyone else can have it fixed. We won't be mad, mistakes happen, so just take care of things please.

Why Can't We Have Different Card System, Sophisticated Spy Based Access System

Dude that would be totally cool, and we are looking into something like that, but I don't think Pleasance would be best pleased - actually the easiest way to sort out the problem is that if everyone works together and tries so hard to not lock keys in studios or take them accidentally or not. Not only do you inconvenience other shows, but our relationship with Pleasance breaks down and we can't do the cool things that we used to do - 24 hour broadcasts and so on. Short answer - remember your card. If you don't bring one, you can't do your show. So the next time the show after you doesn't have a card, then don't let them do a show. Tell them Uncle Hitch is sorry and disappointed, but you will have to learn.

I-pod Jack

When we first put in the Ipod jack into the studio, we thought it was a revelation; we couldn't have been further from the truth. It was a disaster for one very simple reasons - Ipod's aren't made for radio broadcasting, a problem that even better mp3 players suffer from. Aside from the low quality from this type of connection, it clicks, it hides what you are playing, it allows you no control on stopping and starting tracks - in short it is a disaster for radio broadcasting. The same applies for most laptops and phones - unless you are using professional DJing software, the problems remain. As part of this please never use things like Spotify, Grooveshark and Youtube to play out tracks when on air. Aside from a licensing nightmare, the quality and control when using these tracks are completely inappropriate for a radio broadcast. Make sure you have a legitimate copy of the tracks, and try to bring them in two different formats - cds and mp3s. Though the internal network is far from ideal, the stuff we have we have a for a reason; that said we are looking into a better system for sustaining and playing library of audio. Also people kept on stealing the lead.

OnDemand/Iplayer sort of thing

Our website is still new and this is one of the features we wanted to implement from the very beginning, along with show pages and a far sweeter members section and so on. Being a station run by volunteers we can't push this as much as we'd like, but it is in the pipe lines. For now though, mixcloud is awesome and you should all use it and tag any show "FreshAir.org.uk". It'll happen at some point.

That's all for now but I will have another look through applications and answer more specific questions at some point. Hope these have been helpful and give an indication of what goes on behind the scenes at Fresh Air.

More advice

Check out this document featuring content from the SRA conference of 2008 SRA Conference Feedback