RED FM
Written by Ryan Strength
Photographed by David Kelly

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   A radio station includes employees working in many regions of the communications field. Disk jockeys to sound mixers and everything between are represented and acknowledged. Red FM, one of only two radio stations broadcasting out of County Cork in Ireland is no different. Students from Point Park University had the chance on May 17 to experience first-hand what the radio business is all about in a visit to Red FM, the number one station for listeners under 35.
    Students first met with Grainne Murnane, the Advertising Sales Manager for the station. The revenue from advertisement sales generates all of the money for the station, so she has an important job. Spot advertisements are, on average, 30 seconds long, but, because of the recession, they have been shortened to 20 seconds.
   Besides spot advertisements, Murnane also sells promotions to give out for prizes during radio shows and road show opportunities where they broadcast live from a location. These usually happen at the opening of new stores. Companies can also receive public relations promotions where the DJ’s say a line about the company during a show.
    The station’s license is specifically for 15-34 year-old listeners, so the music and advertisements played can only be directed towards that age group. According to Murnane, the narrow range makes it both easy and difficult to sell to advertisers. If the client wants to sell to that specific age group, it is easy, but if they need a broader range to reach, advertising becomes difficult.
   Advertising, mostly outdoor, also helped the station itself get off the ground when it started ten years ago. The county’s other radio station and its popularity made Red FM’s start difficult.
    “We suffered a little until we got branded and people associated Red FM as a local station,” Murnane said.
    Now, the station has been going strong for ten years, even through the recession. “Locally,” Murnane said, “radio seems to be holding its own better than print.”
    By law, only ten minutes per hour of radio is allowed to be advertising, and a certain percentage of the programming must be in the Irish language. Students had the chance to speak with Eilish Barry, Red FM’s English-to-Irish translator.
   Barry is very skilled in the language because all of her schooling was taught in Irish. At the station, she writes a one-minute piece three times a week that is entirely in Irish. These do not always specifically pertain to Irish culture, but can be a movie promotion or something else. The songs of the top 40 are sung in English, but the dialogue between the tracks is in Irish. However, there are no advertisements spoken in Irish because not many people can understand it.
    There is much negativity in Ireland toward their native language, so Barry likes to keep her pieces “young and fun, but not slang.” Referring to the slang in different areas, Barry said, “Even though it is a small country, the difference is frightening between, for example, Cork and Kerry.”
   Ensuring the station meets the Irish language requirements, as well as the rest of the requirements, is program director Collin O’Sullivan. His job is to make sure everyone else is fulfilling his or her duties.
   The country may be in a recession, and the rules for a radio station in Ireland can be strict, but Red FM has thrived for the ten years it has been on the air. The employees love their jobs and have much faith that the station will continue to succeed in years to come.

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Photo 3: Grainne Murnae
Photo 4: Colm O’Sullivan
Photo 6: Eilish Barry