Demon FM
 | |
| Broadcast area | Leicester, England |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Leicester's No.1 Community Station |
| Frequency | 107.5 (FM) |
| First air date |
29/09/1995 (Restricted Services Licence (RSL)) 04/05/2009(Community Radio Licence) |
| Format | Student Radio/Community Radio |
| Owner | De Monfort University/DMU students' union |
| Website |
www |
DemonFM is a student radio station based at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. The station is simulcast on FM (on a frequency of 107.5 FM) and online on a 24/7 basis and was set up in 1995 by the Communications Officer of the time, Rob Martin. The first licence broadcast on 106.4FM from 29 September 1995 to 26 October 1995, the second broadcast on 106.2FM from 22 April 1996 to 19 May 1996. The last of the 25 RSL broadcasts were on 97.5FM.
DemonFM finished their 26th and final Restricted Service Licence on 30 November 2008 before beginning a 5-year community radio licence in the spring of 2009. DemonFM had its community radio licence renewed for a further 5 years in 2014. The licence is due for renewal in 2019
The station is part of De Montfort Students' Union's award-winning Demon Media group which also comprises The Demon magazine and Demon TV.
Station facilities
Demon FM broadcasts from the CTS studios, within De Montfort University's 'Queens Building', and previously the students' union's 'Campus Centre' building before shifting all programming entirely to the Queens Building. Demon FM broadcasts to an area of around 5 miles in all directions, covering Leicester's student area and city centre. In addition to the studio, various pre-production facilities are available so broadcasters may prepare material for their shows. The station also typically runs several outside broadcasts.
The current studio is the third building that Demon has occupied. The original studio was a portable building behind the students' union building, with fairly basic equipment. Around 2000 they moved into what had been a small brick building which had previously been a campus branch of NatWest bank. With the construction of The Campus Centre and incorporation of De Montfort Students' Union they negotiated a dedicated area and this included a purpose-built floating room to house the studio facilities, with the station moving across in 2003. When the station began broadcasting under its community licence, a majority of the programming shifted to the Creative Technology Studios in DMU's Queen's Building, with the Campus Centre studio remaining primarily for the use of specialist music shows.
All programming now comes from De Montfort University's 'Queens Building'. The Campus Centre studio has now been demolished. In 2016, DemonFM received investment from De Montfort University to refurbish their main studio.
Programming & Schedule
Demon FM has a range of shows to cater for all music tastes. The schedule is built up with weekday daytime strands and evening and weekend specialist shows.
Demon FM News
The station has a dedicated news team, broadcasting bulletins at the top of every hour from 8am to 6pm every weekday, with half-hour headline updates during Breakfast and Rush Hour shows.
The service is presented by a separate team to the main show presenters and a variety of student, local, national and international stories are covered, alongside entertainment, sports and weather, which are relevant to Demon FM's audience.
Beginning October 2012, The News Show is an hour-long weekly show, covering stories from DMU, Leicester and around the world on a larger scale. Entertainment and Sports are also covered by their respective teams.
Other programmes on Demon FM include InFocus[1], hosted by Thom Chapman, Thomas Guyton-Day, Dan Bewley, Emily Fox, Nikki Le Fevre and Arif Rahman and produced by Toby Jeffrey and Matt Towlson. The programme specialises on issues that affect young people in Leicester, but also specialises in national politics (having hosted a local election special in 2018).
Station management
The day-to-day running of the station is performed by a voluntary student committee, elected in annually by members of Demon Media. This committee is overseen by the managing director (a role taken on by the Vice President Media & Communications, elected to the union council in a full-time sabbatical student position) and other board members of Demon FM Ltd.
Awards
Demon Media (DemonFM's parent company) won 'Best Student Media 2013' at the NUS Awards.
Demon FM won national recognition at the annual Student Radio Awards in 2001 winning the prestigious Best Student Station award, following it up in 2007 by taking home the bronze award.[2]
The station has also won the Best Marketing award in 1998, and picked up the Best Specialist Music Award in consecutive years for 'Future Innovations' in 2003 and 'Street Beat' in 2004. Demon FM has also seen award-winning talent within its member base with member Ali Moore just missing out on the Best Newcomer award to take home silver in 2006 and receiving a Best Male Presenter nomination in the 2007 awards. Will Gavin was nominated for Best Male in 2010. In 2011 presenters Jon Jackson and Erica Dancer received Bronze Awards for Best Male and Female respectively, whilst more recently Neil Kewn & Ed Crofts were nominated for Best Entertainment Programme in 2013.
Student Radio Association
Demon FM is a member of the Student Radio Association, the national organisation set up to support student radio stations in the UK. Many of the station's members have actively supported the association through voluntary committee positions, taking on tasks such as organisation of the annual Student Radio Awards.
References
- ↑ "Shows - DemonFM". DemonFM. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
- ↑ "Student Radio Awards 2007 - Winners". The Student Radio Association. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16. .
