Youngsters take to the airwaves

Becky Hardman from Middleton takes to the air.

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Young people from across Rochdale have joined forces in Middleton to plan and produce their very own radio broadcast. The youngsters all applied to be part of the Rochdale Youth Radio Steering Group and are working in partnership with Fusion Radio.
Fusion Radio is a project delivered by Pride Media Association and over the past two years it has given young people in Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale the chance to deliver a live radio broadcast in their own township. To date more than 300 young people have taken part in Fusion Radio, with around 150 achieving nationally recognised qualification in Radio Broadcast Skills and Techniques.

Fusion Radio now plans to celebrate the success of the project with one final live broadcast which is bringing together the young people from each of the Rochdale townships to take over the airwaves together.

The Steering group have named the final broadcast Rochdale Youth Radio in partnership with Fusion Radio. The group is made up of young people who have previously been involved in one of the three radio broadcasts and have now taken on the challenge of preparing and managing the final broadcast.

The group meet once a week at Demesne Media Arts Centre on Langley and spend their time planning the type of music the station will play, sourcing sponsorship and prizes for the listeners, advertising the broadcasts and planning their very own celebratory event for all the young presenters at the end of the broadcast.

Jonathan Burns, Managing Director of Fusion Radio, said: "The steering group have worked extremely hard to plan and prepare the final fusion radio broadcast; they have gained skills in organisation, team work and communication and have taken on a range of roles common to the radio broadcast industry. The group are now enthusiastically developing creative and imaginative ideas to make their radio broadcast a huge success."

Tune in to listen to the steering group and other young people, broadcasting live across Middleton, Rochdale and Heywood on 87.7fm for seven days between, Wednesday 29 October to Tuesday 4 November.