ROCK FM
Rock FM broadcasts on 97.4fm to its Lancashire audience. It started in 1990 as 'Red Rose Radio' The station was split into two different stations, 'Red Rose Rock Fm' and 'Red Rose Gold'. The station was then owned by the Miss World Group but later became part of Bauer Radio as part of the Bauer Media Group. The station is located in St Pauls Square in Preston. Rock FM recently underwent a total rebranding which included the relaunch and simplification of its mobile app.
The station broadcasts from 6 in the morning until 7 in the evening during the week and from 9 am to 12 pm at the weekend. As well as this. every half hour the station broadcasts short news headlines during the breakfast and drivetime shows. Throughout the night, Rock FM broadcasts bulletins from Sky News Radio which are produced off-site from Key 103's newsrooms in Manchester. The station is not owned by but has connections with Global Radio (the same company that owns Heart FM). For this reason, it broadcasts some of their programs such as the Vodaphone Big Top 40 which is produced in Globals Capital Studios in London. The station is mainly known for broadcasting contemporary pop music and current chart hits despite its name. Rock FM has an audience share of 9.4% and has recently been given two sister stations, Rock FM 2 and Rock FM 3. It is thought that it has a relatively stable and loyal audience with over a quarter of all adults in its market listening every week.
THEIR SHOW...
For the final time, below is an example of Rock FM's bulletins along with a breakdown of it so that i can see what aspects of their bulletin i many wish to use in mine when i create it.
0:07
The clips starts with the presenter greeting the listeners, telling the time and then introducing the main news presenter as Cat Wright
0:14
The clip then begins with the first story which is a crime story.
0:32
This story includes a specialist reporter giving a more in-depth version of the story from outside Preston crown court
0:49
The second story then begins after returning to the studio and just involves the presenter talking and includes no other features
1:08
The third story begins after this which is another local crime story it includes a recorded interview with an expert on the subject matter
There is then a break with a transition into the weather section which includes a specific jingle for this part of the bulletin.
The presenter then gives a brief overview of the weather for the rest of the afternoon, overnight and then for the weekend. The clip then finishes with her signing off.
Overall I think that this bulletin includes a mix of features seen in all the previously examples. I think it is quite calm and slow paced due to the lack of music which also gives it a very serious and professional tone. There are a similar amount of stories covered in the bulletin to the other examples (6 discounting the weather report). The main difference was the lack of a travel report but this is due to the fact that Rock FM broadcasts dedicated travel reports at other times mainly during the breakfast and drive time shows.
BRANDING
Despite its relationships with some of the larger Radio production companies, Rock FM is completely independent just like Wish FM. The logo is relatively new and has likely been chosen as it is more suitable as the station has now grown and has two sister stations. It is very simple and just has a gradient filled 'Your' with the Rock FM text overlayed. Despite its simplicity it looks very modern and 'fresh' which is presumably the style the company wants to get across considering the rebranding
