The Public File

The Public File is part of Heartland FM’s license obligations to Ofcom (The Office of Communications), the regulatory body for all broadcasters.

Heartland FM is an independent community radio service based in Pitlochry in the centre of Scotland. It currently provides 24-hours of broadcasting 7-days a week on 97.5 MHz, with the aim to entertain, educate, inform and encourage local participation. The service is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and is supported almost wholly by the local community.

As well as being a broadcaster, Heartland FM aims to be a community resource, giving new opportunities to those living and working in the area. The name of the service derives from the area served as it has been, at various times in Scotland’s history, at the heart of the nation’s political, cultural and social development and, it contains the geographical centre point of the Scottish mainland. With local people actively involved in every aspect of the service, Heartland FM is able to contribute to life at the heart of Scotland. It is a tool for the community to use in the area’s interests.

Mission statement and philosophy

Heartland's ‘mission’ is to be the voice of Highland Perthshire. In being this it aims:

To celebrate those qualities that are shared among the local communities, which provide its distinctive character - helping both to form and to reinforce community identity and pride;
To provide a means of expression for minority views, and a platform for open discussion of areas of local contention - acknowledging the validity of diverse views and conflicting interest and airing them;
To provide an effective shop window for locally-based businesses and commercial activities;
To provide support and encouragement for social, sport and cultural group activities;
To provide an effective means for dissemination of public information, advisory service and distance learning material to the scattered/remote population;
To be a means of bringing live musical performances to the locality and encouraging the work of local musicians and artistes;
To increase the confidence and the skills of all involved (with possible benefits to their position in the job market) through its training activities and through involvement in its regular operation;
To achieve this by being radio for pleasure rather than principally for profit.

The purpose of The Public File is to better inform the Public at large as to our content, intent and other relevant information. As a voluntary organisation this will be best achieved through guidelines with more specific detail being provided by direct contact (details below).

News and Information Bulletin Schedules

National News, provided by Sky News Radio, on the hour every hour except:
Monday: 20:00, 21:00, and 23:00.
Tuesday: 20:00, 23:00.
Wednesday: 21:00, 23:00.
Thursday: 19:00, 22:00, and 23:00.
Friday: 20:00 to 23:00 inclusive.
Saturday: 18:00, 20:00 to 02:00 inclusive.
Sunday: 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00.

Local Weather Outlook, Monday to Friday daily at 08:02, 09:02, 10:02, 11:02, 14:02, 15:02, 16:02, and 17:02. Additional information provided daily between 07:00 and 23:00 in the event of severe weather, ie snow, school closures, severe storms, and flooding.

Local, and National, Road Reports, Monday to Friday daily at 08:03, 09:03, 16:03, and 17:03. Additional information provided daily between 07:00 and 23:00 in the event of adverse road conditions, ie incidents, severe weather and disruptive road works.

Local News is not in strictly scheduled bulletins but is either introduced as necessary after the Local Weather and Road Reports above, at random as events unfold, or in specific programming.

Regular news contributors include: Perth & Kinross Council departments like Community Arts, Community Learning, Housing and Community Care, Roads & Transport, Education and Children’s Services, Environmental Services, Press Office, Pension Service, Ranger Service and Leisure Services among others. Also included should be: Breadalbane Academy; Pitlochry High School; Pitlochry and District Primary Cluster; Crieff and Comrie Primary Cluster; Perth College [UHI]; Local Playgroup, Child Care and Kids Club Associations; Tayside Police; Tayside Fire Service; SNH; NTS; Scottish Wildlife Trust; Atholl Estates Ranger Service; Pitlochry Festival Theatre & Gardens; Perth Rep & the Horsecross; Dundee Rep; The Byre Theatre; Birnam Institute and Arts; Highland Perthshire Communities Partnership; The Local Community Councils; Loch Rannoch Conservation, Rannoch Enterprise, Tummel Area Conservation & Development and Upper Tay Area Development groups; Blair Atholl Tourism Association; Church of Scotland - Aberfeldy Partnership; Highland Perthshire Native Woods; NFU Scotland; Aberfeldy JAC; Scottish Landowners Federation; An Comunn Gaidhealach. This is aimed in line with Heartland FM’s Mission Statement and Philosophy (see above).

Apart from the instance of exceptional news events, all Local News is at the discretion of the individual volunteer presenter, and subject to Ofcom guidelines and codes (available on the Ofcom website).

The primary contact for written Local or National News Press-Release, including Facsimile and E-mail, is mailbox@heartlandfm.co.uk. Local and National Music and Entertainment News should be addressed to mailbox@heartlandfm.co.uk for distribution and will normally be followed-up but with a possibly extended timescale due to the voluntary nature.

In the instance of exceptional events, either Local, National or International, including the likes of the closure of the A9 due to landslip, the London bombings, the Asian Tsunami, and events informed by the emergency services or Sky News Radio, coverage is co-ordinated and scheduled by the Management Group at the time within Ofcom guidelines and codes. This allows a greater flexibility and aims to prevent inaccurate reporting.

Local Events, What’s-on and Charities Support coverage is often included in the above but the primary Event features are 08:30, 11:30, and 5:30 daily on weekdays and throughout Saturday mornings. The emphasis is on the inclusion of Local Community endeavours, Local, non-profit organisations, Charitable endeavours, and Local Music and Arts. Commercial promotion requires careful consideration and is normally only acceptable through sponsorship. The Events Guide is aimed, and tailored, for both the Local Population and the Visitors to the TSA (Transmission Service Area).

An Introduction to Ofcom Localness Guidelines

Localness is not an issue for all stations, but where it is demanded within the format, it should be addressed directly as per these guidelines.

The extent to which local material is included in the service provided by a licensee varies by station and is specified in the station’s Format. Ofcom regards the Format, as supported by the localness guidelines, as fulfilling the statutory requirement regarding the provision of an appropriate amount of local material and a suitable proportion of locally made programmes.

Localness can be both characterised and delivered in a number of ways (news, information, comment, outside broadcasts, what’s-on, travel news, interviews, charity involvement, weather, local artists, local arts and culture, sport coverage, phone-ins, listener interactivity etc.), therefore precise definitions can be unhelpful.

Ofcom guidelines are not rules or demands as such. However, in its move towards ‘output’ rather than ‘input’ regulation Ofcom feels it is useful to outline the sort of considerations that may come into play if it becomes necessary to investigate a station’s localness output. Many of these considerations are based on listener expectation.

It is the obligation of each station to deliver a suitable level of localness output as defined within the Format in whichever way it sees fit within its licence conditions. The guidelines set out the areas of issue that may be questioned by Ofcom if it has cause to investigate a station’s localness output. The extent to which any particular guidelines have been considered may vary, dependent on the context of the complaint.

Local material - what it is

Station programming of specific relevance which also offers a distinctive alternative to UK-wide or nations’ service;
Content drawn from, and / or relevant to, the area is often the major point of difference between stations, and therefore licensees should be able to identify a range of local aspects of their stations and how they are providing output specific to their area;
The feel for an area a listener should get by tuning in to a particular station, coupled with confidence that matters of importance, relevance or interest to the target audience in the area will be accessible on air; and
Programming likely to give listeners a feeling of ownership and / or kinship, particularly at times of crisis (snow, floods etc).

Local material - What it isn't

Localising news (e.g. conducting vox pop interviews in one area and playing them out as if from another or inserting local place names into UK-wide stories) without local news / information generation would not be regarded as a contribution towards localness;
Pure promotional off-air activity such as station promotion in the area (vehicles carrying station logos, roadshows, etc.) are not in themselves substitutes for localness without on-air activity involving something other than self-promotion;
Competitions / promotions that invite and involve listener participation from outside a station area would not be regarded as a contribution to localness; and
The Communications Act 2003 [Section 314] stipulates that advertisements are not regarded as local programming within the context of localness and Ofcom' s localness guidance.

These statements are guidelines which recognise localness can be delivered in many ways, which are neither mutually exclusive nor individually obligatory. For instance, regular featuring of local music or artists is not a pre-requisite ingredient for the delivery of localness, but would certainly be regarded as a contribution towards such delivery. Similarly, the organisation of roadshows and the presence locally of promotional vehicles are regarded by Ofcom as important aspects of radio station activity, but could only be regarded as a contribution towards the delivery of localness if such activity manifested itself constructively on-air, as Section 314 requires Ofcom to consider only what is included in programmes.

Local material – News provision, automation, networking, studio location, etc

In addition to the above general guidance we want to outline the sort of factors likely to be considered by Ofcom if the provision of local programming at a particular station is questioned. Such factors are guidelines only, but the extent to which they may appear to have been considered might influence Ofcom’s findings in the event of Ofcom ‘output’ scrutiny.

For listeners, it is the quality, relevance, timeliness and accuracy of the news that matters, not where it is read from. Any group of stations may therefore operate news hubs in any way which makes operational sense for them. However, in order to provide a comprehensive local news service in touch with the area it is covering, Ofcom believes each station should have direct and accountable editorial responsibility for covering its licensed area. It also believes that the appropriate provision of professional journalistic cover, based within the licence area, on days when local news provision is a Format obligation, is a reasonable minimum expectation. Any individual station should have procedures in place to be able to react to and report on local news events in a timely manner.

Therefore, while Ofcom understands the need to record news bulletins this should be as an exception rather than a rule. Ofcom also draws the attention of licensees to the research findings and listeners’ expectations that peak time bulletins should be live (or pre-recorded only shortly before transmission); an expectation we believe is reasonable.

It is up to each station to decide how best to produce its locally-made programming and so there are no restrictions on the amount of automation (e.g. using voice tracking) that a station may use. To the extent that such programming forms a part of local hours (as defined in the station’s Format), any such automated programmes should be locally-made and to the extent it comprises part of the station’s local material should take account of Ofcom’s localness guidelines. However, as with news, licensees are expected to take into account listeners’ expectations and be able to react to events on a timely basis when it comes to automated and live programming; and

While stations are free to network programmes outside the requirements regarding locally-made programming in their formats, and are free to use automation as they see fit, they are still expected to be able to respond to local events in a timely manner, providing live local programming in the way and at times that audiences expect.

Locally made programmes:

Where a station is required to provide locally-made programming, its studios should be located within its licensed area, although Ofcom will consider requests for co-location on a case-by-case basis, taking in such factors as Format obligations, financial impact, output impact, operational needs, etc.

Programming and Music Policy

The core of Heartland FM’s programming policy is to be Audience driven from the Local population that it serves.

Weekday Daytime broadcasting is based around the singles released between 1956 and the Present, very much including pre-release, with album track inclusion as appropriate or available. Heartland FM does not respond to the commercial imperative, but to the Audience, and aims to provide those wishes wherever possible. The result of this is that there is no Playlist as such, however there is an emphasis on New UK, and Worldwide, music contained within daytime and specialist programming, dictated primarily by the Audience, but also at the Presenter’s and Programming Group’s discretion.

Specialist programming covers an open range of music genres and currently includes Celtic, classical, country, dance, through pop to world. In effect Heartland FM aims to give the Listener the widest choice possible, while also supporting new volunteers who may wish to specialise in their chosen genre and also offer training and advice to those who want to progress in the Radio industry.

Whilst Daytime broadcasting may follow a more conventional route of “hits past & present” the same is not true of specialist programming where the volunteer is also the producer, this allows for the greatest flexibility in choice and some very powerful programming.

Locally Made Programmes

All Programming currently on Heartland FM is bespoke, with the exception of Mod coverage provided by Radio Mod; an RSL set up to cover the event. Some Programming comes from volunteers who live without the TSA, but are exclusive to Heartland FM, apart from one which is now shared with a new station in the south of England. In the past we have shared Programming with America, Australia and New Zealand, and would hope to do so again.

Automation

As a volunteer station aiming to provide the local community it is inevitable that some periods require to be automated. Within Ofcom guidelines for Daytime these might include:
06:00 – 08:00
12:00 – 14:00
18:00 – 19:00
These are not definitive timings and exclude 'Special Event', weekends and Outside Broadcast. It is likely that a Presenter will be “on station” during these periods. It is also possible that some shows, in particular directly community shows, are recorded and broadcast “As Live” for editorial purposes.

Complaints Procedure

While all Heartland volunteer broadcasters are trained in Ofcom guidelines and matters of taste and decency there is always the potential for an accidental slip up. In these rare occurrences, should offence have been caused and you wish to complain, whether in editorial, programme content, programme scheduling, reception, or advertising, the first approach should be made direct to Heartland FM [contact details follow]. While, as a community station where your input is our output, should the reply from the station be unsatisfactory there are a number of other avenues to follow:

Advertising and sponsorship on TV or radio: specific adverts
Complaints about adverts on TV or radio are dealt with by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA enforces the Advertising Standards Codes which Ofcom applies to television and radio broadcasting. The Advertising Standards Authority can be contacted at:

The Advertising Standards Authority
www.asa.org.uk

Tel: 020 7492 2222
Mid-City Place
71 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6QT

Advertising and sponsorship on TV or radio: something else
The Ofcom Contact Centre is open Monday-Friday between 09:00 and 17:30.
Their phone number is 020 7981 3040
If you are deaf or speech-imparied, textphone number is 020 7981 3043. Please note that this number only works with special equipment used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Fax number is 020 7981 3334
Welsh speakers can call 020 7981 3042

TV or radio interference or reception problems
Radio interference/reception problems
Problems with sound quality - buzzing, crackling etc.
Both analogue radios (with FM, MW, LW or SW frequency bands) and digital radio sets (DAB) need a good aerial to guarantee the best sound quality. If you’re quite far from the nearest transmitter it can be difficult for radio signals to go through thick brick or concrete walls, so you might find that putting the radio on a window sill with the aerial near the window glass can help. If the radio is close to an electrical device with a large motor (for example, a washing machine or fridge-freezer) this can also cause interference. Try moving the radio from room to room to see if the reception problems improve or worsen.

If you’re using the radio’s built-in aerial, see if your radio allows you to plug in an external aerial. Most High Street electrical shops will sell a desktop FM aerial which may allow for better reception. If you have a rooftop TV aerial you may also be able to connect this to your radio. A qualified aerial installer can help with advice. The Confederation of Aerial Industries (CAI) keeps a list of accredited installers. Contact the Confederation of Aerial Industries.

You can also ask our specialist field engineers to investigate. However, please note that under certain circumstances we may need to charge for our engineers’ time.

Station Contacts

Address:
Heartland FM,
9 Alba Place,
Pitlochry,
Perthshire.
PH16 5BH.

Telephone: 01796 474040
Fax: 01796 474007
Email: mailbox@heartlandfm.co.uk

Clive Bridges – Chairman
Martin Hobson – Head of Engineering
Marion McDonald – Advertising & Marketing
Bruce Patterson – Operations
Pete Ramsden – Programme Controller