BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Infobox Radio Station
name = BBC Radio Lincolnshire


city = Lincoln
area = Lincolnshire
branding =
slogan =
airdate = November 11, 1980
frequency = 94.9 MHz, 104.7 MHz, 1368 kHz
share = 14%
share as of = July 2008
share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php]
format = Local news, talk and music
power =
erp =
class =
callsign_meaning =
owner = BBC Local Radio,
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
website = [http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/local_radio/ BBC Radio Lincolnshire]

BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Lincolnshire — apart from the northern parts, which are covered by BBC Radio Humberside. It broadcasts from studios near Newport Arch in Lincoln on 94.9 (whole of the county) and 104.7 (Grantham) FM, 1368 ( [http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Swan+Pool&ie=UTF8&cd=2&mpnum=0&ll=53.227711,-0.568205&spn=0.001346,0.003353&t=k&z=18&om=1 Swanpool] , west Lincoln) AM and online through its [http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/local_radio website] .

The slogan for the station is "Live, Local, and Loving Lincolnshire".

Programming

Radio Lincolnshire broadcasts from 0500-0100 on weekdays, 0600-0000 on Saturdays and 0600-0100 on Sundays.

Radio Lincolnshire broadcasts all games in which Lincoln City play with full commentary, with additional commentary of Boston United and Gainsborough Trinity online.

The station broadcasts a weekly news bulletin in Portuguese for migrant workers.

The station also simulcasts some programming with counterpart BBC Local Radio stations, including "Pirate Radio Skues" on Sunday nights (from BBC East) and the weekday "Late Show" with Rob Underwood (from BBC Midlands).

During downtime, Radio Lincolnshire simulcasts BBC Radio 5 Live output including the nightly overnight show "Up All Night", the early morning news programme "Morning Reports" at weekends and the third hour of the Stephen Nolan show on Saturday nights.

History

Launched on 11 November 1980 at 07.00 with a commissioned peal of bells from Lincoln Cathedral. The first words spoken on BBC Radio Lincolnshire came from Nick Brunger: "And it's a warm welcome for the first time to the programmes of BBC Radio Lincolnshire." Under its first Manager( later Managing Editor) Roy Corlett the station achieved record audience figures as its programming of news, music and chat became very popular.Corlett left to found BBC Radio Devon and was replaced briefly by Laurie Bloomfield, who also left to found a new BBC local, BBC Radio Shropshire.After Bloomfield's brief stay, the station was managed for 14 years by David Wilkinson, one of the founding team, and a local radio pioneer from his days at BBC Radio Nottingham in 1968. On Wilkinson's retirement in 1999, the station was taken over by BBC Radio Leicester Managing Editor,Charlie Partridge.In 2004, the station recorded record audience figures. People listened to BBC Radio Lincolnshire for longer ("hours") than any other radio station in the country (Q2 2004 RAJAR).BBC Radio Lincolnshire is one of the BBC's most successful local radio stations.

In October 2005, it presided over the creation of a new flag for Lincolnshire.

Transmitters and coverage

The main signal on 94.9FM comes from the Belmont transmitting station near Donington on Bain in the north of the county, which is the tallest mast in Europe, although the MW signal comes from Lincoln. The FM signal is not clear towards the south of the county, leaving only MW. North of Lincoln the FM frequency is clear. The Grantham signal, from just south of the town, is a filler transmitter with low power. Radio Lincolnshire was the only local radio station in Lincolnshire until 1992, when Lincs FM began, also broadcast from Belmont.

With the station's transmitter being the highest in Europe, coverage ation spans nearby counties as well, and the station can be heard on the M1 from Trowell (Nottingham) up to Barnsley, where it interferes with Radio Cleveland.

The Belmont transmitter broadcasts BBC DAB National, Digital One and MXR Yorkshire. For Lincolnshire, a DAB multiplex could only be realistically established by financial investment from the Lincs FM Group, and other transmitter positions could theoretically be used. The DAB licence, was [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2007/10/nr_20071024 advertised] in October 2007, which will not cover Stamford or South Holland, but will cover North Lincolnshire (Scunthorpe) and North East Lincolnshire (Grimsby). On [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/dcr/applications/lincolnshire/ January 24th] , the company MuxCo Lincolnshire was the only company to bid for the Lincolnshire DAB licence. It is 51% owned by the Lincs FM Group, and will have transmitters at Belmont, High Hunsley (in East Yorkshire), Grantham and Lincoln County Hospital. They were [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2008/02/nr_20080219b awarded] the DAB licence on February 19 2008. Transmissions will begin at by least July 2009, and possibly as soon as April 2009.

Alumni

Radio Lincolnshire helped launch the careers of:

* Comedian Boothby Graffoe who presented a two-hour programme on Friday evenings on the station, and briefly on Radio Nottingham, in the late 1980s.

* John Inverdale, presenter of national sports programmes on BBC Television and BBC Radio Five Live, started his radio career as a morning presenter from 1982-5, having worked briefly at the Lincolnshire Echo.

* Sky News weather forecaster [http://www.skypressoffice.co.uk/SkyNews/AboutUs/biography.asp?id=159 Jo Wheeler] worked for a number of years as a Saturday afternoon programme presenter at BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
* BBC Director of Sport, Roger Mosey, began his career at BBC Radio Lincolnshire

* Sky News's Washington correspondent [http://www.skynewsgreenroom.co.uk/SkyNewsGreenroom/presenters/1/biography.asp?id=23 Emma Hurd] , who also presented on East Midlands Today.

*BBC News Washington correspondent, and former Newsround presenter, Mathew Price, was a reporter with BBC Radio Lincolnshire in the mid 1990's

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/local_radio BBC Radio Lincolnshire, includes presenter profiles]
* [http://www.geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKLincs.htm History of local radio in Lincolnshire.]
* [http://www.arar93.dsl.pipex.com/mds975/txmaps/lincoln.html MDS975's Transmitter Map.]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/features/belmont/index.shtml Belmont transmitter.]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/grantham.php Grantham transmitter.]

Audio clips

* [http://www.jinglemad.com/audio/LincolnshireSong.mp3 Jingle]

News Items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4235271.stm Station launches Sunday programme for Portuguese migrant workers.]