Your Station - Frequently Asked Questions

How many staff do you employ?  

There are currently 12 full time staff and another 8 part time including weekend helpers. In the early days the station employed 25 people!!

 

Where does Isle of Wight Radio get its money from?  

We are a totally self-sufficient business receiving no Government funding. We rely totally on advertising revenue. Without the commercials that you hear on-air there would be no local radio station.

 

Where do you get your news from?  

Over the years we have built a huge base of news contacts on the Island who often keep our reporters in touch with things that are happening. We are also sent press releases by all local organisations and have a satellite link up with all the London news networks so that we can access all the national and international news.

 

Where do you find your presenters?  

 We're very proud that virtually all our main presenters are local. Some of them like Alex Dyke have worked at other stations, others have worked their way through the ranks locally.

 

Who owns Isle of Wight Radio?  

We're part of a radio group based in High Wycombe called The Local Radio Company. It’s a fast growing group that owns over 24 other stations around the country.

 

Who is your regulatory body?  

Our licence is overseen by OFCOM and we work under very strict guidelines and codes of practice. They have the power to fine the station or even take our licence away if we misbehave!

 

Who are your oldest and youngest presenters?  

John Hannam is one of our veterans, claiming to be between 40 and 60 but we're not sure how true that is!! Most of our other presenters are in their 20s and 30s.

 

What is “the computer” that presenters sometimes refer to?  

Isle of Wight Radio uses a digital playout system called Enco DAD. This system holds all of our songs, adverts, jingles and everything else that gets played on the radio. At the moment, we have over 5,000 songs on the computer, which means a very big hard drive! There are 3 Enco DAD's, one for each studio, and each Enco DAD can access all of the audio.

 

Can I listen to Isle Of Wight Radio via the internet?  

You can listen to us online anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With over 1,000 listeners online every week, it's one of the most popular areas of the site.

 

Can I have a job?  

Not right now! Any job vacancies will be advertised on-air. We do offer work experience to students (16 years and above) who have already shown some interest in radio.

 

How do I become the next Alex Dyke / Andy Shier / Justine Field etc?  

There are already many books out there on “how to be a DJ” and there really isn’t a quick and easy answer. It’s largely to do with experience and a bit of luck too. The best advice is to get as much experience under your belt as possible; that’s on-air experience and life experience too. Be yourself – don’t try to be someone else. Make some tapes and keep on trying!