23.01.2002

JUMP SOUNDS OUT LOCAL TALENT
106.6 JUMP FM to nurture East Midlands’ creatives

106.6 JUMP FM, currently bidding for the new East Midlands FM licence has announced its intention to invest in, support and nurture new local broadcasting talent to help contribute to the people development of the creative industries within the East Midlands.

If the East Midlands licence application is awarded to 106.6 JUMP FM, local DJ’s, presenters, producers and journalists will have the opportunity to broadcast and contribute to the station at high profile times. Participants will also receive real feedback, training and support from the skilled radio professionals working at 106.6 JUMP FM.

Committed to discovering new gifted people, JUMP FM will launch JUMPstart, a new initiative set up to give individuals the chance of embarking on a full time career in Radio.

JUMP FM will be dedicated to offering people within the East Midlands the opportunity to take part in JUMPstart, liaising closely with local further and higher education providers to offer students opportunities in combination with local media related courses. JUMPstart will also target Youth Centres and Council outreach projects to reach the socially excluded.

Clive Dickens, Absolute Radio UK Programme and Operations director says: “We are committed to discovering and unlocking new talent to ensure commercial radio stays fresh and retains its localism. Radio should inspire new people, and that’s what we plan to do using the highly experienced people we work with to share their knowledge, expertise and coach participants.

“Our consumer research revealed that JUMP’s core audience wanted people like themselves on the radio, and not some cheesy DJ’s they couldn’t identify with.

“Currently these consumers aren’t being catered for, but we plan to change that and give them the DJ’s, music and content they want to listen to.”

JUMPstart will offer over nine hours a week of high profile programming to discovered new talent to ensure they are given the best opportunities possible to develop their skills and be heard!

106.6 JUMP FM will make a significant investment in time and money to set up JUMPstart to ensure sufficient funding to launch and run the initiative as planned.

JUMPstart will be officially announced at the East Midlands Radio Academy MasterClass which it is sponsoring on Saturday 26 January 2002 in Leicester at De Montfort University. AR-UK directors will also be speaking, offering expertise, advice and answering questions about getting into radio.

Jumpstart is currently being project managed by Alan Carter-Davies who specialises in project development, strategy and analysis from Ammunition Creative Industries, a Nottingham based creative agency.

Working with Alan is local JUMP FM non executive board director Gillian Moore, who also holds posts as Acting Director of the Centre for Broadcasting Journalism at Nottingham Trent University and as a board member of the Learning & Skills Council, Nottinghamshire.

Gillian Moore adds: “This is a remarkable opportunity for anyone who wishes to work in commercial radio. The integration of theory with hands on practice and real feedback is the best way to learn the right skills and gain experience to make a successful career.”

Best described as 'New Music Radio', the variety position to be adopted by 106.6 JUMP FM was born out of local audience research among young adults. This clearly highlighted music style and preferences are not restricted to just dance, rock or other similarly narrow formats.
JUMPstart is a new initiative and welcomes support and comments on how it might evolve and develop through 106.6 JUMP FM. Please send ideas and comments to the project office or email:

Alan Carter-Davies
JUMPstart
Top Floor
9 Clinton Street West
Nottingham
NG1 3DN

Email: alan@jumpfm.co.uk
For further information please contact: Annabelle, Kate or Daisy on 0207 360 6027/6047/6063.