Recently in Work; Selected Press Category

Today we (that is my employer, CSV) launched some research for one of the projects which I work on - Agents4Change.

You can see the full press release here, detailing the findings from Ipsos MORI.

It's proved to be suitably newsworthy across old and new media alike, and demonstrated that this tried and trusted marketing method can continue to yield good results.

Coverage includes:

Page two of The Sun (the UK's biggest paper in terms of circulation) a 'News in Brief' bit in the Daily Telegraph, page eight of the widely read Metro freesheet, as well as a pieces on Guardian Online and AOL with TV and commercial radio also getting in on the act.

There's a nice little photo feature of the CSV Agents4Change project in Birmingham on the Guardian Society website.

I'm really proud of this project - a great example of the power of radio - and volunteers - in being able to respond quickly and effectively to very real problems....

By Ben Cook, Third Sector Online, 27 June 2007

CSV is launching a volunteer taskforce to help deal with the destruction caused by the South Yorkshire floods.

The volunteering charity will be assembling a team of full time young volunteers already working on projects in the region to join staff at CSV Action to help co-ordinate the rescue efforts.

The project, which will be known as the Good Neighbour Volunteer Campaign and is based at BBC Radio Sheffield, will also seek hundreds of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire residents to help with the clear up operation.

CSV said it decided to help after it was contacted by David Blunkett, MP for Sheffield Brightside and a former CSV trustee. The operation follows CSV’s response to other emergencies including the Birmingham tornado in 2005.

'We're setting up a register, much like they did in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in other parts of the world where people help each other,' said Andy Kershaw, CSV Action Producer at BBC Radio Sheffield. 'We're offering to put people who need help with clearing cellars and homes, getting clean water and clothing and accessing support services in touch with people who can offer help with time and skills to others.'

To sign up to help call the CSV Action line at BBC Radio Sheffield on 0114 267 5444 or email actiondesk.sheffield@bbc.co.uk

From Third Sector Online more on the recent Sony success for the CSV Action Network:

CSV has joined the likes of Chris Evans and John Humphrys in winning two of this year's Sony Radio Academy Awards.

CSV Action Network, which works in partnership with 36 BBC local radio stations across England to promote community involvement, won the Community Award in the production category for its programme 'The Plot,' broadcast on BBC Radio Berkshire, which involved two derelict allotments in Slough being turned into community spaces.

The charity also produced the winning entry in the category for medium size radio stations with a potential audience of between 300,000 and a million listeners. The programme was a BBC Radio Derby broadcast on bullying in Derbyshire. [Ed: That's not quite right, the station as a whole won, and our content relating to Islam Awareness Week was singled out for a special mention - see our press release for a more accurate account, or read it on the Community Newswire.].

Damian Radcliffe, National Broadcasting Manager at CSV, said: 'The partnership between CSV and the BBC has a proven track record in motivating and inspiring communities, but it's great to also have the quality and professionalism of our broadcasting acknowledged too.'

Andy Griffee, BBC controller of English regions said: 'It was a good night of Sony's success for BBC local radio and particularly for our six-year-old partnership with CSV, our action desks help thousands of people volunteer for all kinds of worthwhile causes each year and make a critical contribution to stronger and more effective local communities.'

The short answer is yes, but with caveats -a fact picked up by the Editorial Leader which rather sensationally has the headline: 'State cash could kill community media.' I wouldn't put it so bluntly, but it is a real issue, as the leader goes on to say:

"People trust charity campaigns and community media precisely because they are separate from the state. CSV, which works with local BBC stations, is rightly concerned: editorial independence is vital to credibility."

Maybe if I get the time I will expand on my views more fully. But based on my current workload, don't hold your breath... :-)

Here is a link to the full non-leader article if you want to read it in context (although you will have to subscribe).

Or click below to see a text only version of it.

Apologies for the fact that after not updating this site in ages, it seems to have becoming nothing more than a forum for self promotion - not least because I seem to be a bit of a rent-a-quote at the moment. Or rather it just so happens that lots of good and interesting things seem to be happening at the moment which I seem qualified enough (just) to comment on.

Balance will be restored at some juncture soon. Honest. Not least because I will soon run out of things to say, and it will be back to movie reviews and holiday photos on these pages I'm sure!

Anyway, in the interim, there's a really nice piece on the Do It website about how to get into radio through volunteering, and I've talked a little bit about some of the opportunities CSV Action offers.

In addition, there's some nice personal insights from the worlds of Hospital and Community Radio, both of which I've done before, and if I had the time I would happily do again. They taught me everything (or rather what little,) I know...

Yours nostalgic for chinagraph pencils and cart machines,

DJ Damian

Very happy today after a good night for the CSV Action Network last night at the Radio Industry's biggest bash of the year.

Here's the press release.

I'm very proud of Victoria, Debra, Louise and Nina that their work - and the work of the BBC teams we work alongside - have been recognised.

Sadly I didn't go to the Sony's although I did go in 1999, with Kat, when someone (who will remain nameless) gave us some spare tickets. We did the free drinks and then ducked out of the ceremony to and have a chin wag.

Somehow we ended up in ASK Pizza in Notting Hill, in black tie. The staff kept looking at us strangely, and I kept trying to persuade Kat that we should fake a successful marriage proposal, so that we could get our meal for free. She wouldn't have any of it. Quite right too! You wouldn't catch Baron Von Rouge, her real life husband doing that....

I've been doing a lot of work on this subject - what happens to the analogue TV spectrum when, by 2012, we've all gone digital - and it's something I'm very passionate about.

The Guardian featured my views last month, and in particular my concern that a) spectrum isn't simply sold off to the highest bidder and b) that a more sophisticated model - one which acknowledges the social value which could be realised through different spectrum usages - is developed and deployed by the regulator.

Following on from this Third Sector have done a short feature on the work being done by VCS coaltion group, Public Voice, on the subject (which I'm overseeing) and also has a few lines from me too.

There seems to have been quite a bit of interest elsewhere too, which is great, as this is an issue that more people need to be aware of. (Examples here, here, and here.)

Third Sector: 25 October 2006 by Indira Das-Gupta

CSV's Action Desks project helps local community groups recruit volunteers with the support of BBC radio stations.

Volunteering organisation CSV's Action Desk project provides a link between community groups that need volunteers and BBC local radio audiences.

The desks will be encouraging the public to take part in the charity's annual Make a Difference Day, which occurs on 28 October.

CSV has a presence at all 36 BBC local radio stations: Action Desk reporters (including volunteers) gather information and news about volunteering opportunities in their areas, which are broadcast on the local stations.

Bulletins are based on live interviews or are pre-recorded and might consist of a call for someone to drive a minibus for a children's group, for example.

There are wide variations in how the desks operate, but most put out three or four bulletins a day and collectively they can reach up to 10 million listeners a week. The desks are staffed with the help of volunteers, mainly media studies students who wish to gain practical experience.

Jason Moyes, regional broadcast manager for CSV's Action Desks in northern England, says: 'Action Desk staff tend to spend as much time as possible out and about, meeting local groups and building up relationships.In this way, they come across good stories for the station, so it's very much a two-way thing.'

Moyes said the majority of people who listen to the bulletins are over 50. 'We are working with the BBC's regional Where I Live websites to reach a much younger demographic,' he says.

From Third Sector Magazine

Volunteers are being encouraged to share their experiences in a project to inspire would-be volunteers. CSV's Volunteer Britain competition is looking for films, digital stories and audio clips from professionals, amateurs and under-18s.

The winning entries will be screened at a gala event in London next month, and will also be shown on the Community Channel and at special regional screenings.

The competition is being run in conjunction with the Year of the Volunteer, and all entries will be archived for future use by the media.

Damian Radcliffe, national broadcast manager at CSV, says: 'The standard of entries has been really good so far; there have been some incredibly moving stories.'

'We hope that by seeing others get something out of volunteering, people will be inspired to volunteer themselves.'

'But it's not just about getting new people to try volunteering; it's also about giving people the chance to tell their own stories. There's no editorial agenda so it means people will get to hear voices that normally go unheard.'

Helen Potter began volunteering at the Burd drop-in centre for people with mental health issues in Gwent, Wales, after she was diagnosed as a manic depressive. She has made a digital story, comprising a collection of stills with a voiceover, for Volunteer Britain. She says: 'Volunteering helped my confidence and self-esteem, so much so that I went back to education to get a BTec in counselling.'

'I felt people responded to me because they knew I could relate to what they were going through. They also knew I was there because I wanted to be, not because I was getting paid.'

'I decided to make a digital story because I wanted to show people that, even if you are diagnosed as a manic depressive or have other mental health issues, you can rebuild your life.'

Potter adds: 'A lot of people who might think they have nothing to offer as a volunteer have experiences of, say, dealing with a particular illness, which would help them relate to others in a similar position.'

The Volunteer Britain competition closes on 16 September. Visit www.csv.org.uk/volunteerbritain.