Express FM finds new home at University of Portsmouth Eldon Building
The University of Portsmouth is to be the new home of community radio station Express FM, which celebrates life in south-east Hampshire 24 hours a day.
Express FM will now be broadcast from the University’s Eldon Building, allowing the station to work even more closely with the university, with which it already has strong links.
The station was formerly located in Highbury College on Arundel Street. It is now moving to the Eldon Building’s west wing, a £14million beacon for the arts, which is home to the University’s Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries.
Embedding a radio station in our institution provides an excellent opportunity for students
Dean of the faculty, Professor Catherine Harper, said: “It is wonderful to have a live broadcast operation on campus, which will offer our students and staff professional engagement with the media.
“Embedding a radio station in our institution provides an excellent opportunity for students to take part in career-enhancing activities, which is a key part of our new strategy.
“We’re also delighted that Express FM’s work with Highbury College students will continue, which means we’ll be co-locating different types of students.
“There is so much exciting research happening at the University – from cosmology to sports bra technology – it is important we are known in our own back yard. I think this partnership is a brilliant way to showcase even further the fantastic work the University is doing.”
Express FM is one of the longest-running community stations in the UK, and they’ve just been granted their third five-year licence. The station’s core focus is showcasing the city’s diverse talent, celebrating its successes, raising its aspirations, and giving Portsmouth’s people a voice.
The station broadcasts 45 different shows each week, hosted largely by volunteers. Express is a non-profit organisation which also runs a wide range of training programmes, designed not only to give people of all ages the skills required to produce great radio, but also experiences which make them more employable in whatever career they may choose.
Station director and founder Cheryl Buggy said: “Having started our life at the University’s Wiltshire Building, it’s great to be back beginning our 10th year in the prestigious Eldon Building. We have fantastic new studios, and look forward to bringing the Portsmouth community in to be part of such a great and creative multi-media environment.”
The station express their pride in being supported by the University of Portsmouth, Highbury College, the Southern Co-operative, and Portsmouth College.
In August 2015, Express FM launched their new DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) service as part of a groundbreaking trial, licensed by broadcast and telecoms regulator Ofcom.
Last year, in 2015, Express teamed up with Airwaves Media to bring live radio coverage of the America’s Cup World Series events to their frequency, including essential traffic and travel information, safety messages for all boating spectators, interviews with the teams, and a live commentary which was broadcast locally and streamed globally.