Radio station goes off the air tospendmoretimeonline
NORTHERN JEWISH radio station Jcom is ceasing its medium wave transmissions to focus its efforts online.
Ronny Millet, co-director with Terry Stowe, said that following discussions with its volunteers, “we have decided to end broadcasting over the airwaves and concentrate on where the future lies, which is the internet”.
Spurred by the government’s support for community radio, Mr Stowe and a few friends with media backgrounds launched the station in 2008 from a small room in the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff community centre in Leeds.
In 2011, the station relocated to a more spacious studio within the Donisthorpe Hall welfare home site.
Mr Millet said the sound quality of its medium wave broadcasts had been inconsistent — “and many people don’t have AM receivers.
“Unfortunately the superior FM waveband has not been made available to us.”
The station relies entirely on donations to fund its activities.
A major cost has been the regular payments required by law for the technical administration and supervision of its radio transmissions and Ronny Millet setting up an interview with ex-Israeli envoy Daniel Taub the royalties due on music played. The cost base is lower for internet transmissions.
Jcom will continue to operate from its Donisthorpe Hall studio. In another move to increase its audience, an app is in development which should be available in a few weeks.