Meet the Small Guys - May 28's Swansea Bay Media

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For all those interested in & working in the Swansea Bay media
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Gower News Click
Local top story - A national tag rugby festival hosted by the Swansea Gladiators , and sponsored by Grwp Gwalia, is to be hosted in Swansea today and tomorrow. Click
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Radio City Click
Top man - Station president and founder Clive Thomas died last year and colleagues have posted this splendid website tribute. Click
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Afan FM Click
Sex and the City spot - All this week Afan FM have teamed up with Penn State Crisps and Port Talbot's Apollo Cinema to offer a big Sex and the City prize. It was won by listener Leanne Jones. Click
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Llanelli Town Click
Cheeky - This community enterprise has named its online search facility Lloogle. Media Master likes.
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Radio Tircoed Click
Today's schedule includes - 7am Phil England & Laura Burke, 11am Debbie Evans with the Arts Show, Noon Happy Jack with 60s, 70s & 80s sounds, 4pm Darren Ripley, 6pm Dave O'Rourke with Rock'n'Soul, 8pm Stuart Loosemore's Acoustic Programme, 10pm Gareth Williams' Easy Listening.
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Links Twitter | Website
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May 13's Swansea Bay Media Highlights

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For all those interested in & working in the Swansea Bay media
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Print South Wales Evening Post Click
Editorial - A Swansea mum has died in a Libyan plane crash which claimed the lives of more than 100 people.
Commercial – Well done to Swansea's Diamond Holidays for the day's most eyecatching Evening Post ad, a British-themed full-page guide to summer coach trips.
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Online South Wales Guardian Click
Editorial - Ammanford Post Office has reopened following its shock closure last Thursday. The Guardian understands the doors were closed following reports of financial discrepancies in the. Click
Commercial – May 20 is due to see the big opening of Ammanford's new Lidl and the chain is rightly using the Guardian to get its messages out. Its home page banner ads have great impact.
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Broadcast Scarlet FM Click
Key local story - Museums across Carmarthenshire are to benefit from a £36,000 boost. The help was announced by Assembly heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones. Click
You heard it here - The official audience of Scarlet FM and sister station Radio Carmarthenshire has risen. Industry body Rajar says the stations now attract more than 40,000 listeners a weeks - up 4,500.
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Community Afan FM Click
Online news (BBC feed)- First lady: A short profile of Cheryl Gillan, the first female Welsh Secretary. Click
Online sport (BBC feed) - Cardiff City: The Bluebirds advanced to the Championship play-off final against Blackpool at Wembley after a penalty shoot-out win over Leicester City. Click
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Links Twitter | Website
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April 22's Swansea Bay Media Highlights

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For all those interested in & working in the Swansea Bay media
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Print South Wales Evening Post Click
Editorial - Police are treating the death of a 29-year-old Swansea woman as "unexplained."
Opinion - Someone with the talent of rugby star James Hook should not be treated as a jack of all trades; the Ospreys are pushing him to be an inside centre but Wales have played him in three other positions.
Commercial – A two-page advertising feature flags up this weekend's ambitious first Gorseinon Food Festival. Those involved include Simon Wright, of Nantgaredig's superb Y Polyn Restaurant, Sian Day's new Kids Cooking Academy and Millie’s Market from Shirley Price.
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Online South Wales Guardian Click
Editorial - Pub giant JD Wetherspoon has confirmed it is looking into the possibility of moving into Ammanford. Click
Commercial – The Guardian has hooked up with FindMeTV to offer a spiffing service to dig out all those small screen shows you missed but are now available as an online catch-up. Media Master's hunt for BBC4 documentary strangely compulsive series The Beauty of Maps on iPlayer quickly came up trumps. Click
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Broadcast Scarlet FM Click
Key local story - Carmarthen police would like to talk to a man in connection with the theft of necklaces worth more than £4,000 from the town's market. Click
You heard it here - Tonight's General Election leaders' debate is likely to include key questions on Iraq, Trident and Europe.
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Community Afan FM Click
Commercial - Swansea music venue Sin City is backing the station's gig guide, with a handy commercial spin-off. Click
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Links Twitter | Website
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AM's backing so good for Swansea Bay media folk

It was good to see Aberavon AM Brian Gibbons give his enthusiastic backing to community radio station Afan FM on his first visit to their new premises.
Now based in Port Talbot town centre after losing their Afan Lido base to fire, the broadcast crew have some good reasons to celebrate.
Indeed, a press release from Dr Gibbons is headlined: "Grant award tops great month for Afan FM."
It follows the success Afan enjoyed in becoming one of six community radio stations to receive grant funding from the Welsh Assembly Government’s Community Radio Fund.
The announcement, made by Culture Minister Alun Ffred Jones, saw Afan get a share of the £100,000 fund.
The stations were chosen for their commitment to their communities in a number of areas, including; encouraging healthy lifestyles, promoting training and social enterprise for excluded and vulnerable people.
Dr Gibbons told Media Master: “The receipt of this grant caps a great month for Afan FM as they have also recently received The High Sheriff of West Glamorgan award.
"I've been an enthusiastic supporter of Afan since the idea was first mentioned. I know many people have put in a lot of time and effort to deliver this community resource, and they should be commended for their work
“Afan FM plays a valuable role reflecting the issues affecting people living in our community particularly our younger citizens.
"The station is more than the sum of it parts as it also provides opportunities for residents to gain new skills by volunteering for the station and - in some cases - to gain employment."
Dr Gibbons is pictured with with Afan FM's Rachel Harrison and Hash Piperdy.
For the record, other community stations to receive a share of the WAG fund included BRFM in Blaenau Gwent, Tudno FM in Llandudno, Bro Radio in the Vale of Glamorgan, GTFM in Pontypridd and Calon FM in Wrexham.

Crusaders deserve Swansea Bay media splurge

Look out for significant Swansea Bay media activity by rugby league club the Celtic Crusaders over the next week and a half.
On April 1 they're due to bring the first ever Super League game to the area as Gareth "Alfie" Thomas and his teammates meet London rivals Harlequins RL.
That makes for an exciting night out in my book, an antidote to the disappointingly one-sided RBS Six Nations.
The Crusaders asked Andy Pearson Publicity to line up some decent visibility in the Swansea Bay media as the build-up progresses.
Our friends at Afan FM, Radio Tircoed and the South Wales Evening Post have all indicated an eagerness to run match ticket competitions.
Other organisations have put their hands up too to help herald a new dawn in Welsh sport. Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Trust and Swansea Council are among the organisations keen to run employee ticket offers.
Hosts Neath RFC, meanwhile, have also been quick to show their support.
A press just issued from The Gnoll reads: "We welcome Super League here for the first time when the Crusaders play Harlequins on April 1 at 7.30pm.
"It will be the first time the famous old ground has hosted top-class professional rugby league and, with the Crusaders beginning to make an impression from their new Wrexham HQ, great interest is already being shown in one of only two 2010 fixtures the outfit will play in South Wales."
Supporters have the chance to see both codes with a ticket package embracing the Crusaders’ return to South Wales and Neath’s Principality Premiership clash with Pontypridd on Easter Saturday for £20. For dual tickets click here.
Tickets for the Crusaders-Quins game are £10 adults, £8 concessions, £5 U16s. To buy, click here.

Media Master plunges in with Swansea Bay Business Life

With Media Master's own business looking to consolidate a more focused market, a new lane is being strolled this month: advertising.
For the first time, Andy Pearson Publicity has booked space in Swansea Bay Business Life which - by now - will have been mailed to more than 5,000 business people and decision makers.
It'd be welcome if some of them took serious notice of my advertorial. I'll report back in future weeks to discuss the response rate.
The ad, incidentally, features new logo artwork by Swansea's Sigga Design.
In the meantime, here's my blurb as it appears in the high-gloss mag, part of the South Wales Evening Post empire.


IN picking up Swansea Bay Business Life, you made a wise choice. I’m similarly astute in promoting my services here.
The magazine hits thousands of local decision makers, with content finely tuned for the vibrant local business sector.
That’s why you’re reading it and why those like myself, with brilliant professional services to offer, pay to ensure our profiles are raised in its pages.
However, this magazine isn’t the only place I’ll flag up my rebranding. Indeed, I urge all businesses to view the whole media picture in its full widescreen glory.
There are an increasing number of great opportunities for publicity because, thanks to production technology, the Swansea Bay media sector has fragmented markedly.
Choice was once limited to the South Wales Evening Post, Western Mail and Swansea Sound. Now there’s a thriving, multi-tiered communications industry featuring everything from fresh new local-interest websites such as http://www.gowernews.co.uk/ and music fanzines to high-end glossy mags covering style, the arts and lifestyle.
There are new niche broadcasters such as Afan FM and Nation Radio. Whisper it here, but even Swansea Bay Business Life has keen competitors in its lucrative market.
All this means that, although the promotional opportunities are there, the local media landscape has become increasingly difficult terrain.
That’s why Andy Pearson Publicity is essential in ensuring that every penny spent on your media strategy is wisely invested. Editorial pieces should be pitched at the right time to the right journalist, ad campaigns should be carefully considered and soundly structured, promotions should be placed to maximise sales effects.
My own unique database lists, in great detail, around 50 media operations with a foothold in Swansea Bay. It’s there to be used.

Swansea Bay media folk celebrate awards

Broadcasters at Swansea Bay radio station Afan FM are celebrating some awards success.
The High Sheriff of Swansea has commended several presenters for their volunteer work.
Sam Vaughan, right above, of the After Hours evening show and the young members of Teen Voice, below, were honoured for their dedication to volunteering.
Sam said: “It’s an honour to be recognised for my work at Afan FM and I thank Afan FM for supporting me.”
Station manager Hannah Lewis said: “I thank all the volunteers at Afan. Everyone gives their time to make sure Neath Port Talbot has a voice.
"I thank the High Sheriff for saluting Sam and our Teen Voice group for their hard work over the past year and a half. I congratulate all the other winners of this worthy award.”
To become a volunteer at Afan, in presenting, journalism or production, email studio@afanfm.co.uk.

Swansea Bay media new kid: Councillors briefed

Interesting times in Port Talbot. Councillors have been invited to a meeting to hear about plans for a not-for-profit local news cooperative.
It takes place in the Bevin Avenue premises of social regen body New Sandfields Aberavon (NSA) on the evening of Monday, March 8.
Local News South Wales is a social enterprise established to provide news, information and training.
The board of seven directors - all professional journalists - is eager to brief Neath Port Talbot Council elected representatives at the get-together in their office loaned by NSA.
Market research has started and will establish what the townsfolk seek. Wise money is on a hybrid offering, with the younger residents probably seeking an online offering, their older neighbours probably seeking a print element.
Early feedback from councillors, AMs and MPs has been warm, with most citing a need for hyper-local content since last year's recessionary demise of local paper the Port Talbot Guardian.
Other grassroots media taking root within the Neath Port Talbot county boundaries in recent years has included youth sector community radio station Afan FM, a string of proudly low-tech advertising vehicles under the Community Magazine banner, and attractive, glossy advertorial titles Valley View and Neath Gnolledge.
All are chipping away at commercial and editorial content below the Radar of the area's media big boys such as the South Wales Evening Post, Swansea Sound and BBC Cymru Wales.
Media Master will follow the progress of all with interest.

A big Swansea Bay welcome back to Afan FM

Tune in to Afan FM today (Monday) ... at 11am they plan to be fully back onto the Swansea Bay airwaves. Hear them at http://www.afanfm.co.uk/.
It'll be a welcome return for a valuable community broadcaster ousted from its Afan Lido home by the complex's December fire.
I'm thrilled to report that their future is tremendously bright. A business good-guy has offered them an awesome new studio suite and it offers them a magnificent opportunity to thrive.
They should be the ones to tell you about the premises so I'll keep schtum on the matter now ... but what I must say is that Afan FM's dedicated team provide a warm welcome there.
Hannah Lewis and Hash Piperdy, the station's manager and deputy manager, gave me a guided tour a few days ago.
The move from the Lido has meant a huge amount of work but they and their people have risen to the challenge. Their energy should do nothing but good for the Swansea area's media circuit.
Since the blaze, the station has run in a limited, keep-the-pot-boiling way - but now they're ready to come out fighting once more.
They've been running an informal Facebook poll on what should be the first song at 11am today - I can't wait to hear what it is. Swansea Bay, listen out!

Fire can't dim the Swansea Bay radio spirit

One of Swansea Bay's big news stories of recent weeks was the Aquadome fire in Port Talbot.
The Afan Lido, as it's still often known, was more important to its community than many realise.
The Aquadome was home to Afan FM, a hard-working community radio station.
Afan FM usually broadcasts more than 40 weekly hours of specialist programming. Its key audience across the Neath Port Talbot county borough is aged 11-25.
Sadly, the blaze saw it fall silent. Now a re-launch is being arranged for February 1 and it's a chance for local business to rally round, flash the cash and help give the station a welcome boost.
If such generous enterprises happen to count young people amongst their market then there may even be a little commercial spin-off. Ad rates and programme sponsorship deals are incredibly inexpensive.
You can keep up to date through me or through the Afan FM website and Facebook pages - http://www.afanfm.co.uk/ & http://bit.ly/buOURM.
What's more, you can even submit ideas for what should be the first song they play when back on air.
Swansea Bay Media Master wishes everyone involved a smooth countdown to the big day.