This is the the long road we have travelled to get to this point in Hope FM's life.

Hope FM started in 1993 and a natural process of change has taken place as it has found its own identity. Initially part of the 'Christmas Cracker' radio project, its aim was to give young people a chance to develop and hone their radio skills. There are people still with the station today who started back in those early days and who have played an increasing role in its development into what it is today.... Community Christian Radio!

Getting there...

As Hope FM has developed it has needed to adapt and learn from its experiences with an inevitable continual change of some of the volunteers involved in preparing and presenting shows. From the early days when we broadcast from a tiny studio in the basement of the YMCA, even the studio itself has grown beyond all recognition.

Being situated in the same area as the fitness training suite with its constant bassy rhythms being pumped out all the time was clearly not ideal so the decision was taken to build a pair of brand new, custom-designed studios in a room that was not being used towards the back of the YMCA, well away from external noise. These studios were completed in a remarkably quick time and all the technical installation was able to take place. It is no coincidence that the change to vastly superior environment and our archaic mixing desk and players gradually replaced with state of the art broadcasting equipment led to the entire station sound becoming much more professional and polished whilst still maintaining the personal touch that is vital for any community station.

The studio now broadcasts using a computerised system specifically designed for radio broadcasting. This allows us to store all of the music, the entire radio jingles package, all advertisements and any pre-recorded speech content on computer and call it up in an instant. The programmes can be prepared in advance and assembled into a playlist that the presenter can control with the use of a touch-sensitive monitor. Of course, the personal touch is still very much evident and the level of technical wizardry means the presenters need a lot more training than was necessary in the early days.

So, what is Hope FM and what is it trying to achieve?

Hope FM seeks to present positive and uplifting music and chat to the conurbation of Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and surrounding areas in Dorset, UK. The potential listening 'reach' is close to half a million people during the summer with Bournemouth being the most popular seaside resort in the UK for both foreign and English holidaymakers as well as a large number of foreign students here to learn English. The target audience is generally speaking the 30+ age group but also providing special programmes for children, youth and older listeners. The speech to music balance is approximately 60/40 and the music style is Contemporary Christian music. This is drawn from the full spectrum of Christian music from Praise & Worship, through the full range of styles like country, MOR, mid-rock and youth styles to Black Gospel.

We are a community station, broadcasting from purpose-built studios in the YMCA in Bournemouth. We aim to serve the community by broadcasting important information such as local news, weather, road reports and local events. 

Our presenters, like the rest of the Hope FM team are all volunteers who give of their own time to train and put together their shows with the aim of being as professional as possible. Being a volunteer does not mean being an amateur in our book!

Full-time Hope FM...

We were broadcasting on a restricted service licence (RSL) for 12 years, allowing us to broadcast on reduced power for a maximum of 28 days in any 6 month period.

However, things changed and the new radio authority, OFCOM, gave us a licence to broadcast 24 hours a day for an initial period of 5 years. This was fantastic news and an answer to many a prayer. We recruited and trained volunteers in many areas of radio including presenting, editing, interviewing, sourcing materials, producing shows, technical support, marketing and so forth.

New era, new manager...

As we were preparing to go on air full time, a mammoth undertaking, it would not have been possible without an experienced guiding hand at the helm. With this in mind, we put in place a highly-qualified pre-launch Station Manager, Kevin Potter, who is now Station & Programmes' Manager. Hailing from South Africa, Kevin has had experience of guiding several community radio stations to air and we are delighted that he is now giving sharing his talents with us. If there is anything you need to know about Hope FM, the full-time station, Kevin is the man to speak to.

The end... or just the beginning? 

There is a lot more yet to be written about the story of Hope FM but if you fancy being part of it and not only reading about it, why not look at our 'Join The Team' page to get an idea for what we need. You could be an answer to prayer!