6 Towns Radio is a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

station covering

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and

Kidsgrove Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276 (2019 census). ...

in the United Kingdom. The aim of the station is to appeal to a wide demographic, covering musical styles including

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, Northern Soul and

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. It has its own studio which based in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. T ...

, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent.

History

6 Towns Radio launched on 8 September 2010. Throughout its history, it has been funded by

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

donation A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

and events. In 2012, the station joined with Cre8 FM from

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

, to provide a joint RSL broadcast. As this went well, 6 Towns Radio had its own RSL in January 2014. Over the years, members of 6 Towns have interviewed many famous names, as well as many local names, including

Keith Lemon Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

, Welsh Rugby player Gareth Evans,

The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in 2002 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Now based in Manchester, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew "Matty" Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer G ...

and Gordon Hill, the Wealdstone Raider. In early 2016, 6 Towns Radio had a major rebrand. The station became known as 6TR, but still retains the name 6 Towns Radio.

6 Towns Radio currently

6 Towns Radio currently has around 80 volunteers who donate their time to present shows and help out. It has a range of programmes designed to appeal to a wide audience, with musical genres including

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, Pop,

and Local unsigned music. The station is very active in the local community and hosts many events each year.

Ofcom licence application

In 2014, 6 Towns Radio applied for a community radio licence from

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

to broadcast on FM permanently. The station’s planned transmitter site was at Burslem Cricket Club, and it proposed a mix of music and talk with a local angle.{{Cite web , url=http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/radio/community/apps/2014/region7/6_Towns_Radio_application_form.pdf , title=6 Towns Radio licence application , access-date=2015-02-22 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223023518/http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/radio/community/apps/2014/region7/6_Towns_Radio_application_form.pdf , archive-date=2015-02-23 , url-status=dead However, 6 Towns' license application, and other local stations were turned down. No station in Stoke-on-Trent was awarded a licence due to frequency allocations. The Hitmix, based in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

, won a licence.

References

External links

6 Towns Radio website6 Towns Radio Facebook6 Towns Radio Twitter
Community radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations in Staffordshire Internet radio stations in the United Kingdom Mass media in Stoke-on-Trent Radio stations established in 2010