ZS: For those that don’t know, what is Jam Radio?

AM: Jam Radio is a radio station run by the students for the students and runs every day from 10.15am through to 10.15pm, and we aim to do shows relevant to students that students will enjoy.

Do you tell these students “we’d like this type of show” or are they able to do whatever they want to on their own shows?

In the past Jam hasn’t been strict in terms of, “we need to do this, we need to do that”. However, in the coming year we want to stick to a schedule so that we are meeting the needs of the student body. There’s no need in having a student radio station that only plays the kind of music only 5% of the student population want to hear, so we’re trying to open out Jam Radio so that it’s accessible to as many students as possible.

How are you making sure that happens?

Over the past few months Jam has been conducting some market research to find out what students want to hear on the radio and we’re finding out that people don’t necessarily want to hear banter or chit chat that is only accessible to those who know the presenters on the shows. They want to hear current affairs, student news and sport news. So we’re trying to broaden our schedule so that it meets more of these criteria. This year we’re bringing in more quality control with the shows, having people set out their shows at the beginning of the year so that we know what people are planning to do, how they go about doing those shows and give shows to those who are seen as best for the job. And when it comes to training, every presenter will receive a training certificate before they’re allowed to go on the air, so that we know that they know the rules and what to do and that they’re qualified to have a show.

What are the plans for Jam Radio events this year?

We’ve got a few things that we’re keeping under tabs at the moment. Sanctuary Sessions is something Jam set up last year, which are acoustic sessions that take place at the Union bar Sanctuary, and the way we’re going to organise them this year is we’re going to have quite a few people booked for the night but we’ll also have an open mic, so that people with guitars or beautiful voices can get up and play a few songs which will be nice. We want to make this a monthly event starting in October. Jam will also be joining Hullfire at the end of May 2009 for our first Hull University Media Awards, which is very exciting. We’ll be issuing awards to worthy candidates at the end of the year to say “Well done Hull University Union Media – you’re great!” No seriously, it’s important for people to have something to aim for or to strive for, so getting one of these awards will make them feel good and that all that hard work has been worthwhile.

Could you tell us a little about some of the live sessions you had on the radio last year?

We managed to get a couple of bands playing Asylum to come up and do a session with us, The Holloways and The Subways were big ones. And we also had a few local bands and student bands on various shows. This year we really want to get involved as much as we can with the music scene Hull has to offer. So there are going to be more shows devoted solely to that kind of music, trying to seek out new bands.

We’ve heard a bit about Jam Radio trying to get played throughout the Student Union. How far have you got with that?

We’re currently in talks with the Union, and we just need to show to them that we are providing the wants and needs of the students. And what we really need is as much student support for Jam Radio as possible, in terms of tuning in and getting involved in events. I think in some ways Jam really needs to prove its worth. If we’re showing that we’re doing consistently fantastic shows and we’re becoming an entity at the heart of the Student Union, then it is possible. I think we need to start this year, just proving it to them before we’re going to be taken seriously.

For more info visit:

www.ilovejamradio.co.uk

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