Author: Dundalk FM
Multicoloured Leprechauns have been sighted arriving for the National Leprechaun Hunt in Carlingford this weekend. [podcast title=”Frances Taylor speaks to Caoimhe O’Malley about the National Leprechaun Hunt in Carlingford”]http://newwpsite.dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/National-Leprechaun-Hunt-with-Frances-Taylor-and-Caoimhe-OMalley3-March015.mp3[/podcast]
Gavin McLaughlin from the Dundalk Democrat was John’s guest on the Sports Academy. Gavin gave us descriptions of the stadium, the atmosphere at the match and the accompanying football talk and opinions of the travelling support. In the second half of the show Dundak FC’s General Manager Martin Connolly joined the discussion and gave very important advice for everyone attending the return leg in Oriel Park on Wednesday 22nd July. [podcast title=”Sports Academy 20th July 2015 Part 1 “]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Sports-Academy0150718-Part-1-Gavin-56-kbps-mono.mp3[/podcast] [podcast title=”Sports Academy 20th July 2015 Part 2”]https://dundalkfm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Sports-Academy0150718-Part-Gavin-and-Martin-56kbps-mono.mp3[/podcast]
We are currently testing our new frequency 97.7fm and would appreciate if you would send us a coverage report to 087 09 09 791. So far, with our new 97.7fm frequency we are getting reports of stronger signals in the Knockbridge, Castlebellingham and Ravensdale areas. We will keep you updated with more information. You will shortly receive a postcard through your letterbox to remind you that from Sunday 1st November Dundalk fm will not be on 100fm anymore. So if you haven’t done so already please retune your radios to 97.7fm. Thank you.
Thanks to Áine Lawless for designing our new Spotlight poster. Do you know someone who has an interest in radio broadcasting and would like to start by doing a one hour show about their favourite band or musician? We have one slot each week for a breakthrough DJ – 3pm – 4pm on Saturday. To get started send us your contact details and we’ll do the rest.
You might have heard of guerrilla film making before. That’s where a crew is given a theme for a film at short notice and given 24 hours to complete it. Well at Dundalk FM we are taking the idea onto radio and are looking for three presenters to be picked out of a hat and do a show each month. We have a prime time slot on the first Saturday of the month from 12pm to 1pm. The three presenters will know a month in advance that they will be working together but… they won’t know the theme for the show until 24 hours before hand. To be in a with a chance to take part in a little radio craziness email alanbyrne@dundalkfm.ie.
We are looking for 97 locations to take part in our Radiothon 2019 Challenge. If you would like to be part please send us a message on Facebook, ring or email us. Open to: Local shops Salons Restaurants All businesses Factories Gyms Community Groups Schools Public buildings Someone’s house??? Dundalk FM Radiothon presenters will visit you for a couple of minutes and our target is to reach 97 locations in 1 day. This will be a fun event so call us on 042 9395100 or email info@dundalkfm.ie to arrange a time to call in for a dedication and to take part in a Just a Minute Quiz.
Notes from the Remote Broadcast Q and A Session 4 5.00 pm – 6.00 pm 14th May 2020 John Englishby, Dan Pope, Eimear O Kane, Brendan Coughlan, Cathal Cassidy, Alan Byrne, Cathal McCooey, Mary Rose Muckian, Philip O’Brien, Sean Callaghan and Padraig Quigley. We will run a follow up on Thursday 21st May 2020. Programming Congratulations to Dan on the quality and style of his recent AlphaBeats V show. Comment about recording shows on Zoom – Mary Rose. I find that conversation can be stilted and doesn’t flow when you are talking at a laptop or tablet/phone. The way to improve this is to use headphones and a microphone so the audio is more immediate and engaging. Equipment/Software Padraig told us how he upgraded a laptop by installing SSD RAM. We are applying for a grant to buy some podcast kits for presenters, in the meantime a €25.00 USB mic will bring your audio up to the level we hope that everyone will have. 320 Kpbs is the highest wav quality and is the recommended setting for when you are saving a show and sending it in. Eimear is acquiring a laptop:) Editing Thank you to Philip for his explanation of how he created a promo for the Alpha Beats Show using backing music, recording his voice directly to the DAW and the AlphaBeats whisper file. John gave a demonstration of the Joe Jackson Spotlight show he was working on and will organise to give Mary Rose a lesson on editing. Community Call Some presenters are interested in joining a team of researchers, presenters and editors for our COVID-19 Radio Series. Zoom meeting to be set up. https://dundalkfm.ie/covid-response-community-call-starting-in-may020/ Future Broadcasting Environment 8th June is when we will resume regular broadcasting whilst maintain social distancing. Only presenters – no guests. Until then there is a roster on who is allowed in and for what duration David Bellew will be at the studio some evenings to allow for zoom live broadcasts to take place. Next Week A guide to broadcasting from home by Padraig and a Reaper edit demo with John. In the meantime a free radio playout software you might like to try is Zara. You can download Zara here https://www.zarastudio.es/en/download.php Notes from the Remote Broadcast Q and A Session 3 5.00 pm – 6.00 pm 7th May 2020 John Englishby, Dan Pope, Eimear O Kane, Alan Byrne, Cathal McCooey, Philip O’Brien, David Bellew, Padraig Quigley and Mary Rose Muckian. Advice on Sound Desks/PC/Laptop Microphones If you are purchasing a new laptop then one with 16GB Ram with an i5 processor would be preferable for music editing and recording. When connecting a USB mic you might have to set the input level to high to get the best quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct5Z2921Bx4 – Zoom – How to record a separate audio file for each participant. Free Online Voice Recorders https://www.rev.com/onlinevoicerecorder https://cleanfeed.net/ https://zencastr.com/ Alternative to Zoom Video Chat https://hangouts.google.com/ Audio Editing Q and A What is the difference in audio quality between Wav and mp3 format? Wavs have a lossless quality are much bigger, by a factor of 10 and tend to be better quality and mp3s have a lossy quality and are sort of squashed down versions of the wav but still very good to most people ears. Mp3s are transportable more easily over email so you have to use a different platform something like Dropbox or We transfer, what we call F. T. P. file transfer protocol to get the wav files to your recipient. When you copy a mp3 it will lose a generation of sound so it will lose quality every time. For a great information guide, take a few minutes to review this Sound on Sound article about different file types, sizes and quality levels.https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/what-data-compression-does-your-music Most phones record in mp4 quality. This can be converted to mp3 using an online converter where you upload the mp4 file and then download the mp3 version. Pre Records Timings – once the complete shows adds up to 50 minutes, there is leeway to have 27/23, 26/24 or 25/25 minutes. Next Week: We will have a demo and Q & A on Audacity (Philip and John) and Reaper (David). Programming Spotlight – John is recording a Joe Jackson Spotlight. We will run a 3 hour live music show on a Friday evening for a station fundraiser in a few weeks time. Padraig will record a promo with Brendan for the 1957 show. Slane Concert Series – Cathal will do a test run with Pat Byrne using Zoom. The 100 Years of Music stings will be available to download on the show webpage. A new one hour show was mentioned by Cathal and he is looking for takers – it’s called ‘5 degrees of separation’ – one song leads to the next, to the next, to the next…. Community Call is a new 24 part series. MaryRose, Eimear, Dan and Philip have expressed an interest in helping to research, present and edit the show. Another way to do the series would be to focus on the sports clubs in town. RTE Doc on One – Presenters ChoiceOur documentary slot is at 9.00 am on Saturday and the programme is repeated at 5.00 pm on Sunday. If you want to pick a documentary from https://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/ and send in your choice, we will add it to the schedule. Choice By Presenter 1 A Solemn Undertaking Alan Byrne 2 Johnny Cashs Forgotten Tour of Ireland Caoimhe O’Malley 3 Don’t Go Far Paul Donnelly 4 Hidden Heroes of the Belfast Blitz Donal Carroll 5 Women of the Revolution Tara Mulholland 6 Prince at the Castle Michael Murray 7 The Man from Tallahassee John Englishby 8 Con Carey and the Twelve Apostles John Hennessy 9 One day you’ll understand Tony Banda 10 A Matter Of International Secrecy Marissa Lucchesi Notes from the Remote Broadcast Q and A Session 2 5.00 pm – 6.00 pm 30th April
Thanks to John, Consuelo, Danielle, Noel, Mark, Venus, Mark, Richard, Colin, Liana, Niamh and Hammond for your attendance at today’s Information Session. Our staff Padraig and Marissa will be following up to help you to record a one-off music show (choice of AlphaBeats, 100 Years of Music or Spotlight). Hoping to see you back with us when we begin our blended training in September. Alan Byrne, Manager. 1Info Meeting Slides 20200729
Above are our team of new radio volunteers researching their choice for the 5 Irish Tunes show – Dean Wright, Barbara McClure, Luka Stopic, Mary Gantley, Conor Clarke, Bruno Vilares and Róisín Ward Morrow. Seoirse McCann and Sean Callaghan called to share their experience of presenting on Dundalk FM and to encourage our new volunteers to join the September Radio Course. The links were recorded on the night, edited by Alan Byrne the next day and broadcast on Dundalk FM on Saturday 27th August – you can see the Running Order and listen to the show on the link below. From what we heard on the night, we are sure that we will be introducing new community radio programmes into our schedule starting in October. https://www.mixcloud.com/DundalkFMMixcloud/5-irish-tunes-new-radio-volunteers-information-night0220827/
Dundalk FM General Election 2020 Guidelines for Presenters The BAI Guidelines will apply from 16th January 2020 until the closing of polling stations on 8th February 2020. The main points of Rule 27 to consider are All presenters will be made aware that news and current affairs is presented in a fair and impartial manner without any expression of the broadcaster’s own views. Broadcast content must not display bias in favour of, or against, any election interest, including parties or candidates. Endorsements on-air by a broadcaster of election interests, including candidates or parties are not permitted. It is not appropriate for persons involved with election interests to present programmes during the election campaign period. Comments made off line have the potential to undermine the perceived impartiality of our coverage. Advertising We do not advertise election events, notices regarding meetings or other events being organised by election interests either as paid ads or Community Notices. Advice Advice may be sought anytime via election@bai.ie or by phone 01 644 1200. Background Information A folder entitled ‘Election 2020 ‘ has been created in the E Drive. It contains the BAI Guidelines and a record of our coverage. Communications This document will be displayed in the Reception, Production Studio, Main Studio and Canteen area and volunteers and staff will be sent a link to the documents which will be saved to our website. Complaints Complaints will be handled according to our Complaints Code which is available on dundalkfm.ie. Conflict of Interest Staff and volunteers will be asked if they have a conflict of interest. This means that if you are canvassing or promoting a candidate (even online) then it is advisable to stand down from programming until after the election. The Programme Committee will decide on a case by case basis on appropriate arrangements. Moratorium The Dundalk FM moratorium is from 10am on Friday 7th February 2020 until 10pm on Saturday 8th February 2020. Opinion Polls A presenter must give information such as the date the poll was taken, who commissioned and paid for the poll, who conducted it and the number of people polled. Party Political Broadcasts Dundalk FM will not transmit any party political broadcasts. Programming Election Coverage will feature as part of our Current Affairs shows – Town Talk (Marissa Lucchesi) and on The Brunch (Cathal McCooey). Don’t cover the Election unless you run it by the manager or a member of staff in advance. A record of contributors, time on air, topics of conversations will be recorded on Running Orders and a Summary Sheet. Social Media Presenters should aim to become a trusted source of information. Post meaningful, respectful comments — in other words, please, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
