Forth Valley College’s innovative student multi-media platform, Connect Forth Radio, officially went live on Tuesday 12 November.
FVC Principal Dr Ken Thomson OBE, was the first guest to be interviewed live as the Stirling Campus based Connect Forth Radio hit the airwaves from 12-2pm.
Initially the station will broadcast live, using industry-leading Myriad software, and be available to listen to via Moodle on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. After continuous in-house development it will then be rolled out to the Forth Valley area. Connect Forth Radio content is mainly produced via the wide range of media students from BA Digital Media, HND Audio Visual and NC Media cohorts who will offer a mixture of music, news and pre-recorded documentaries, dramas, interviews and feature packages.
BA Digital Media students Craig Paterson (22) from Bo’ness and Adeel Ahmed (27) from Falkirk, were the first ones to broadcast live on air as they presented the first schedule programme. The first song played was All Over The World by ELO.
Connect Forth offers impressive radio, video, social media and online platforms under a striking newly designed brand and will be using these to promote and enhance the new live radio broadcast stream. It is integrated with academic study within the media department while also offering extra-curricular opportunities for students across the college.
Complete with a full management, social media and production structure – as would be found in any industry media organisation – Connect Forth offers Media and Creative Industries students the opportunity to apply for management and production roles to create the perfect content which can be broadcast to the full Forth Valley College student and staff body.
All previous student management teams have been instrumental in helping the station to take the next step forward and leave a legacy for future students to improve upon even further. They have been fully supported and mentored by the Creative Industries Media Team and this year’s cohorts will be no different.
FVC Principal Dr Ken Thomson, said: “I am delighted to have been invited to be the first live interview guest on the Connect Forth Radio platform, and thought it was a great experience from start to finish. The high levels of professionalism that surround Forth Valley College’s multi-media platform are plain to see and I am sure they will go on to build a popular and productive broadcasting operation.
“I am very proud of all the staff and students who are working, or have worked, on Connect Forth over the last few years to develop an industry standard multi-media platform which will help to make the next generation of digital media professionals ready to enter their chosen profession.
“I am sure the whole college will welcome what has been created here by the Creative Industries department and I look forward to watching them develop even further in the months and years to come.”
Gavin Orr, Media and Communications Lecturer and Connect Forth Radio Station Manager, said: “For Connect Forth Radio this has been 5 years in the making. Huge thanks must go to all the students who have worked on Connect Forth since its inception. It’s their hard work, vision and continued enthusiasm that have brought us here. This is only the beginning for going live. The Connect Forth brand and platform have great plans for the future, from radio going 24/7 to TV expanding its production house. Watch this space and “Stay Connected!”
Fi Milligan-Rennie, Curriculum Manager in the Department of Creative Industries, said: “This is an exceptionally exciting time for Forth Valley College and our Connect Forth platform. We have always had the ambition to develop our own live radio station and I am beyond excited that today’s the day! Run entirely by our students Connect Forth Radio cements our audio teaching experience in making learning work!”
Working the refectory floor to spread the word and organising social media on the day was BA Digital Media student Brodie Cross (20) from Stirling who drummed up several requests on the first show.
Shannon Lafferty (23) from Bannockburn a NC Early Education and Childcare student, said: “This is great I might well request a nice wee song to help me study.”
Classmate Shannon Lee (21) from Stirling, added: “I think it is a great opportunity to chill out. If I had a bad day, I could come out here at lunch-time, request a song and relax a little bit.”
Kris Cummins (26) a former FVC BA Media and Communications student and one of the early developers of the Connect Forth brand, who now works as a Writer and Director with BBC Scotland, was also interviewed on the launch day. He said: “It went really well and I thought the presenters were great. It is kind of amazing to see how far Connect Forth has come since I was here. The media team has helped it come on leaps and bounds.”
