Soar Sound Radio
@soarsound.uk
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Soar Sound is a radio station from Leicester presented and managed by volunteers
Could your experience in community media, journalism, podcasting, oral history, events or public engagement help Soar Sound gather local voices at Riverside Festival? Experienced volunteers are invited to support our Castle Gardens presence
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Volunteer Call Out â Help Run Soar Sound At Riverside Festival
Soar Sound is looking for volunteers to help run our presence at Riverside Festival on Saturday 6 June and Sunday 7 June 2026. We will be based in the Castle Gardens area, where Soar Sound will operate as a talks and story-gathering platform. Our role will be to help capture voices, conversations, reflections and local stories from the festival, working alongside the University of Leicester Heritage Hub/Learning Zone and other community media partners. We are looking for people who already have relevant experience, although that does not have to be radio experience.
https://www.soarsound.uk/volunteer-call-out-help-run-soar-sound-at-riverside-festival/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
about 17 hours ago
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reposted by
Soar Sound Radio
Decentered Media
4 days ago
What kind of local media helps people feel heard, informed and connected? Thanks to everyone who joined the first Community Media CafĂ© at Bishop Street Chapel CafĂ© in Leicester. The conversation continues every Thursday, 10.30amâ12pm
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Community Media Café Starts With A Warm Welcome
The first Decentered Media Community Media Café took place on Thursday 14th May 2026 at Bishop Street Chapel Café in Leicester. We were given a warm welcome by the café staff, who helped create the relaxed and friendly atmosphere that these sessions are intended to support. The aim of the café is simple: to provide an open, informal space for people who care about local and community media to meet, share ideas, and talk about practical ways to improve public communication. The first session showed why this kind of regular conversation is needed.
https://decentered.co.uk/community-media-cafe-starts-with-a-warm-welcome/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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What does heritage mean when itâs experienced in the moment rather than observed at a distance? At Leicesterâs Old Town Festival, stories, myths, and memories invite reflection. How do we make space for deeper engagement beyond the surface?
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Spotlight on Heritage â Leicesterâs Old Town Festival 2026
Leicesterâs Jubilee Square, under clear spring light on the 25th of April, becomes something more than a civic space. It turns into a meeting point between timelines, where everyday life intersects with fragments of the past. The Old Town Festival, spread across the cathedral, Guildhall, and Jewry Wall, offers a reminder that heritage is not static or distant. It is lived, negotiated, and, crucially, shared. The accompanying podcast captures this movement in real time. Conversations unfold not as formal interviews but as exchanges rooted in curiosity, humour, and observation. What emerges is a textured account of how people encounter heritage when it is made accessible on their own terms.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-heritage-leicesters-old-town-festival-2026/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
22 days ago
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Can art meaningfully support rehabilitation in prisons? This podcast explores how creative practice helps people reflect, express identity, and manage emotions. What role should art play in supporting long-term change beyond custody?
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Art, Identity, and Rehabilitation: Creative Practice in Prison Contexts
This podcast explores how art can play a meaningful role in the rehabilitation of people in prison. The discussion brings together Rob Watson, Xiaoye Zhang, and Charlie Birtles, recorded at the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton-on-Trent. Each contributor brings a distinct perspective, shaped by their work in community media, arts practice, and engagement with criminal justice contexts. A key focus of the conversation is how art creates space for reflection and expression in environments that are often restrictive and emotionally pressured. Drawing on their experience, the contributors describe how creative practices such as visual art, writing, and performance can help individuals process difficult experiences, manage emotions, and begin to reframe their sense of identity.
https://www.soarsound.uk/art-identity-and-rehabilitation-creative-practice-in-prison-contexts/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
about 2 months ago
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What does a shared studio make possible for artists over time? From first exhibitions to 30 years of collective memory, Studio 17 in Loughborough offers a space for making, learning, and remembering. What would you create in a space like this?
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Studio 17 â Holding Space for Art, Memory and Shared Practice
What does it mean to have a place where art is not only made, but lived? How does a shared studio shape the way people think, create, and relate to one another? And what happens when a space becomes part workshop, part social environment, and part archive of lived experience? Studio 17 in Loughborough offers one response to these questions. Emerging in the mid-1990s from a small group of artists connected to the Albert Street Artist Day Centre, it has grown into a sustained, working studio that continues to support artists at different stages of their journeys.
http://www.soarsound.uk/studio-17-holding-space-for-art-memory-and-shared-practice/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
about 2 months ago
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What does heritage mean when itâs not just preserved, but shared, practised, and reimagined? From archaeology to digital museums, this episode explores how people are connecting past and present in everyday ways.
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Spotlight on Heritage â Leicester University Heritage Hub 2026
Heritage is often spoken about as something fixed in the past, but the conversations recorded at the University of Leicesterâs Heritage Hub suggest something far more active. This episode of Spotlight on Heritage captures a day where history, craft, research, and lived experience intersect, not as static displays but as ongoing practices shaped by the people who engage with them. What becomes clear across the interviews is that heritage is not confined to museums or archives. It is something that is continually rediscovered, interpreted, and shared. Archaeologists describe the immediacy of uncovering objects that have not been seen for thousands of years, bringing the past into direct contact with the present.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-heritage-leicester-university-heritage-hub-2026/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
about 2 months ago
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What does it mean to be a Cockney today? Is it defined by birthplace, language, or shared experience? In the latest Spotlight on Heritage podcast, we explore how identity, memory, and place shape the story of the East End
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Cockney Identity, Memory, and the Meaning of Place
What does it mean to be a Cockney today? Is it defined by geography, by heritage, by language, or by something more intangible â a sense of belonging shaped by shared experiences and ways of seeing the world? In this episode of Spotlight on Heritage, Rob Watson and John Coster explore the evolving idea of Cockney identity through personal memory and historical reflection. Their discussion begins with the Modern Cockney Festival, a month-long programme of events that invites people to consider how East End culture continues to adapt in a changing city.
http://www.soarsound.uk/cockney-identity-memory-and-the-meaning-of-place/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
2 months ago
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How do women in community media respond when tensions affect local communities? This discussion reflects on the 2022 unrest in Leicester and asks whether storytelling, radio, and local journalism can help rebuild trust & encourage dialogue across communities
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Women, Community Media, and the Work of Holding Communities Together in Times of Conflict
How do women working in community media respond when their communities face tension or conflict? What does it mean to tell local stories from within the community rather than from a distance? And how can everyday communication through radio, local journalism, and storytelling help rebuild trust between neighbours when misinformation and misunderstanding threaten to divide them? These were the questions explored in a discussion recorded for International Womenâs Day, bringing together women who are actively involved in community media and local communication projects. Sumaila Jafri opened the discussion by reflecting on her own background as a journalist who had previously worked in national and international newsrooms.
https://www.soarsound.uk/women-community-media-and-the-work-of-holding-communities-together-in-times-of-conflict/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
2 months ago
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How should stories about childhood sexual abuse be told? Are survivors given control over their own narratives, or are headlines shaped by spectacle and agenda? What would responsible, survivor-centred reporting look like in practice?
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Reclaiming The Narrative â Childhood Sexual Abuse, Media Responsibility, And Survivor Agency
Childhood sexual abuse remains one of the most under-acknowledged forms of trauma in society. It often occurs in silence, is carried in private, and continues to shape lives long after childhood has ended. For Deborah Knight, Chief Executive Officer of Quetzal, the starting point is clear: no one should suffer for life because of abuse they experienced as a child. Quetzal works with survivors of childhood sexual abuse on an individual basis. The impact of abuse is not uniform. Some survivors live with persistent anxiety. Others struggle with trust, relationships, or long-term mental health difficulties.
http://www.soarsound.uk/reclaiming-the-narrative-childhood-sexual-abuse-media-responsibility-and-survivor-agency/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
3 months ago
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What does the Better Together report mean for Leicesterâs future? Can trusted, place-based media help counter misinformation, rebuild civic trust and strengthen shared identity after the unrest of 2022?
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Better Together And The Question Of Civic Media
On Monday 23 February 2026, the African Caribbean Centre in Leicester hosted the formal launch of the Better Together report, the most detailed independent inquiry so far into the unrest that affected the city in 2022. Introduced by Dr Subir Sinha and chaired by Professor Juan MĂ©ndez, with research led in part by Professor Chetan Bhatt, the report represents nearly three years of investigation, testimony and analysis. The inquiry team interviewed more than eighty witnesses, gathered survey data from over one hundred residents, and engaged directly with hundreds more through public hearings and community meetings.
https://www.soarsound.uk/better-together-and-the-question-of-civic-media/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
3 months ago
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How does an affordable dance studio help build confidence and belonging in a neighbourhood often described as low income? Our latest Spotlight on Loughborough visits Wonderland Dance Studio. Listen to the podcast and hear the story behind the show.
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Spotlight on Loughborough â Wonderland Dance Studio
There is a particular energy that you notice as soon as you step into Wonderland Dance Studio. Mirrors line the walls. Costumes are stacked ready for performance. A gymnastics mat sits to one side. The space is compact, but purposeful. It is designed not simply for dance, but for participation. In this edition of Spotlight on Loughborough, Soar Sound visits Wonderland Dance Studio in Shelthorpe to hear how one local initiative has grown from six children to nearly sixty in seven years. Founder Cary Benze explains that the studio emerged from a simple observation.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-loughborough-wonderland-dance-studio/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
3 months ago
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Soar Sound Radio
Decentered Media
3 months ago
How should Ofcomâs licensing plans and the DCMS Radio Review shape the future of independent and local media? Join our Civic Futures Forum on 26 February 2026 at 2pm or 6pm. One session per person. Your perspective can inform the national debate.
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Civic Futures Forum â Radio Policy, Plurality and the Future of Independent Media
The UK is entering a significant period of review for broadcast radio policy. Ofcom is consulting on its future approach to broadcast licensing. DCMS has launched a wider Radio Review that will shape long-term distribution strategy, market structure and public policy into the 2030s and beyond. These processes raise fundamental questions about spectrum management, platform access, economic sustainability, content supply, and the balance between producer interests and the interests of citizens.
https://decentered.co.uk/civic-futures-forum-radio-policy-plurality-and-the-future-of-independent-media/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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Soar Sound Radio
How does your mother language shape who you are? Join Soar Sound on Saturday 21 February, 10amâ2pm at Bishop Street Chapel CafĂ©, Leicester, for a live podcast recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day. Would you like to share your story?
www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-re...
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Spotlight Recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day Saturday 21st February â Soar Sound
On Saturday 21 February 2026, Soar Sound, the Evington Echo and Parallel Lives Network will host a live podcast recording session to mark UNESCO International M
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-recording-for-unesco-international-mother-language-day-saturday-21st-february/
3 months ago
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How does your mother language shape who you are? Join Soar Sound on Saturday 21 February, 10amâ2pm at Bishop Street Chapel CafĂ©, Leicester, for a live podcast recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day. Would you like to share your story?
www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-re...
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Spotlight Recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day Saturday 21st February â Soar Sound
On Saturday 21 February 2026, Soar Sound, the Evington Echo and Parallel Lives Network will host a live podcast recording session to mark UNESCO International M
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-recording-for-unesco-international-mother-language-day-saturday-21st-february/
3 months ago
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Spotlight Recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day Saturday 21st February On Saturday 21 February 2026, Soar Sound, the Evington Echo and Parallel Lives Network will host a live podcast recording session to mark UNESCO International Mother Language Day. The session will take place atâŠ
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Spotlight Recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day Saturday 21st February
On Saturday 21 February 2026, Soar Sound, the Evington Echo and Parallel Lives Network will host a live podcast recording session to mark UNESCO International Mother Language Day. The session will take place at Bishop Street Chapel Café, Bishop Street, Leicester, opposite the Town Hall Fountain, between 10am and 2pm. We are inviting members of the community to take part in a recorded conversation about language. This is an opportunity to share your experience of speaking your mother language, learning new languages, or living between different linguistic and cultural traditions.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-recording-for-unesco-international-mother-language-day-saturday-21st-february/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
3 months ago
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On World Radio Day 2026 we asked: does technology build trust, or do people? In an age of AI, centralisation and noise, what makes a voice credible? Is trust earned through presence, consistency and place?
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World Radio Day 2026 â Trust, Technology and The Human Voice
World Radio Day 2026 invited a clear proposition: technology alone does not build trust, radio broadcasters do. In this discussion, recorded for broadcast on Source FM, that idea was tested against lived experience, professional journalism, and long-standing place-based media practice. What emerged was not nostalgia for radioâs past, but a sober assessment of its present condition. Shamila Jafri, a former BBC journalist now researching Leicesterâs media ecology, described radio as intimate and immediate. Without images, sound carries emotional proximity. Her account of a former political hostage who recognised her voice from BBC Urdu broadcasts during captivity illustrates radioâs distinctive capacity to sustain connection across distance and danger.
https://www.soarsound.uk/world-radio-day-2026-trust-technology-and-the-human-voice/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
3 months ago
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What does it mean to start where you stand? As you listen, what unseen work, quiet care, or shared effort comes into view? When art moves into the street, does it change how you notice the place youâre already in?
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Spotlight on Art â Intangible Labourâs Spiritual Cleanse
What does it mean to start where you stand, not as a slogan but as a practice? If art begins on the pavement, by the bus stop, at the edge of a park or in the corner of an adult education building, what changes in how you listen, how you notice, how you belong? When a poem names what is small and close rather than grand and distant, does it ask you to look again at the ground beneath your own feet? Where does performance end if the street becomes part of the stage?
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-art-intangible-labours-spiritual-cleanse/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
4 months ago
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Is travel still about escape, or has it become a way of testing how we see the world and ourselves? When journeys involve work, volunteering, or listening rather than leisure, what do they reveal that staying put cannot?
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Spotlight on Travel â Standing at the Junction
Travel is often framed as escape, leisure, or consumption. In this edition of Spotlight on Travel, the conversation moves in a different direction. John Coster and Rob Watson reflect on travel as a practice of attention, discomfort, and perspective-shifting, shaped as much by winter darkness at home as by encounters abroad. Drawing on recent journeys to India, Nigeria, Japan, and Cambodia, the discussion explores what travel reveals when it is undertaken with purpose rather than spectacle. Sound becomes as important as image, whether it is the organised chaos of a Mumbai junction or the quieter atmospheres of places shaped by difficult histories.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-travel-standing-at-the-junction/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
4 months ago
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How much creative work goes unseen? Intangible Labour and the New Folklore explores how artists, musicians and performers carry emotion, risk and care through everyday acts of making. What kinds of culture are being formed beneath the surface?
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Intangible Labour and the New Folklore Exhibition
The Intangible Labour and the New Folklore exhibition, taking place at Leicester Adult Education Gallery on Belvoir Street brings together artists, performers, and musicians who are interested in the kinds of work that usually go unnoticed. This is not labour measured in hours, wages, or output, but the quieter effort involved in creativity, care, endurance, and emotional commitment. The exhibition and the accompanying podcast explore how much artistic work happens below the surface. Artists speak about the time, risk, and personal investment involved in making images, performances, and music. Much of this labour leaves little behind once a moment has passed, yet it shapes how culture is felt and remembered.
https://www.soarsound.uk/intangible-labour-and-the-new-folklore-exhibition/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
4 months ago
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How are artists responding to AI and automation without losing what makes creative work human? Spotlight on Arts on Soar Sound explores the Computala exhibition at LCB Depot in Leicester. What questions does this kind of art raise for you?
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Spotlight on Art â Computala Robots and AI
This edition of Spotlight on Arts explores Computala, a digital and new media exhibition currently showing at LCB Depot in Leicester. Through a Radio Lear podcast conversation recorded at the launch, artists and curators reflect on how artificial intelligence, robotics, and generative systems are reshaping creative practice. Rather than promoting technology uncritically, the exhibition asks open questions about human agency, authorship, systems, and our relationship with machines. Visitors encounter installations, visuals, sound works, and participatory pieces that invite reflection rather than instruction. The podcast aligns closely with Soar Soundâs focus on accessible arts conversations rooted in local cultural life. Computala is open throughout January at LCB Depot, Leicester, with exhibitions, workshops, and events running alongside the main show.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-art-computala-robots-and-ai/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
4 months ago
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How does travel reshape the way we see home and the people we meet along the way? What stories emerge when we look beyond sightseeing and pay attention to everyday life? A question for this weekâs Spotlight on Soar Sound.
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Spotlight on Travel â Finding Meaning in the Journeys We Take
In this edition of Spotlight on Travel, Rob Watson and John Coster return after time away on their respective journeys, bringing with them a conversation that moves far beyond the idea of travel as leisure. Instead, they explore why travel matters, what it changes, and how it shapes the way we understand the places we come from. John begins by reflecting on his recent return to Nigeria, a country he first visited nearly twenty years ago. This latest trip took him deep into the working world of a new media house and into regions that are often described from afar through the language of instability and fear.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-travel-finding-meaning-in-the-journeys-we-take/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
5 months ago
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How do we recognise the creative work that never gets written down or formally valued? This weekâs Spotlight on Art asks what âintangible labourâ means for culture, identity and everyday expression. What forms of creativity do we overlook, and why?
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Spotlight on Art â Intangible Labour and the New Folk Culture
In this episode of Spotlight on Art, the conversation turns to the elusive, everyday forms of creativity that often pass without recognition. Artist and curator Miffy Ryan introduces the idea of âintangible labourâ as the starting point for her forthcoming exhibition at the Basement Gallery, opening 12th January 2026. It is a concept that emerges not from theory but from dialogue, rooted in the instinctive, often unnoticed forms of cultural work people carry out in their daily lives. The discussion unfolds with Miffy, James Chantry, and Paul Conneally exploring how culture is shaped not only by formal institutions but by gestures, rituals, memories and expressions that rarely make it into official accounts.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-art-intangible-labour-and-the-new-folk-culture/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
5 months ago
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What helps artists sustain their practice when they work outside traditional routes into the art world? This weekâs Spotlight on Arts podcast asks how place, confidence, and lived experience shape creative work. What stands out to you from stories like these?
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Spotlight on Arts â Conversations on Creative Journeys
This episode of Spotlight on Arts features a reflective conversation with artists Paul Caper Dexter, Laura Dalton, and Miffy Ryan, recorded at Fearon Hall. The discussion explores how artists develop their practice outside traditional art-school pathways, drawing on personal determination, place-based inspiration, and everyday environments. Paul reflects on landscapes, street scenes, and colour-led portraiture shaped by years of self-directed work, while Laura describes an intuitive, expressive approach influenced by travel, community connections, and creative spontaneity. Together, the conversation highlights Loughboroughâs re-emerging creative energy and the importance of making space for art that grows from lived experience rather than commercial expectations.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-arts-conversations-on-creative-journeys/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
6 months ago
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How can local heritage events help us reconnect with each other and with the stories that shape our city? John Coster and Rob Watson reflect on the Leicester Heritage Fair and what it tells us about community, trust, and the future of local media
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Spotlight on Heritage â Stories, Connections, and the Future of Local Media
This episode of Spotlight on Heritage features John Coster and Rob Watson reflecting on the Leicester Saturday Heritage Fair and the wider role of storytelling, participation, and local media in community life. Recorded in the basement gallery of Leicester Adult Education Centre, the discussion explores how informal heritage events foster connection, trust, and collaboration across diverse groups. The conversation also considers the future of community reporting, the need for authentic and independent media, and the importance of sustainable local funding models that strengthen civic and cultural life in Leicester. In this weekâs…
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-heritage-stories-connections-and-the-future-of-local-media/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
7 months ago
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How does creativity keep local history alive? The latest reports from the Saturday Heritage Fair shares stories of Leicesterâs living heritage â from music and re-enactment to poetry, architecture, and community radio â showing how the past continues to inspire the present.
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Saturday Heritage Fair â Creativity, Community, and Leicesterâs Living Past
The Saturday Heritage Fair at Leicester Adult Education Centre celebrates creativity, community, and living history. Produced by Soar Sound Radio, this podcast features songwriter Meg McNeill on Leicester music pioneer Lawrence Wright, Bert McNeal from the Leicester Civic Society on civic heritage, re-enactor Rose on medieval storytelling, volunteers from Satsang Radio on cultural connection, and poet Tim Grayson on creative heritage at Belvoir Castle. Together, they show how Leicesterâs people are keeping history alive through music, architecture, performance, radio, and poetry, linking the cityâs past with its future. The latest recordings from the Saturday Heritage Fair at Leicester Adult Education Centre capture how creativity and memory intertwine in the cityâs living heritage.
https://www.soarsound.uk/saturday-heritage-fair-creativity-community-and-leicesters-living-past/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
7 months ago
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How does Leicesterâs past shape the city we share today? The latest Soar Sound Radio podcast from the Saturday Heritage Fair features voices from across Leicesterâs cultural, civic, and creative life, exploring how stories, archives, and art keep our shared heritage alive
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Saturday Heritage Fair â Voices of Leicesterâs Living History
The Saturday Heritage Fair at Leicester Adult Education College celebrates Leicesterâs diverse history through storytelling, oral history, and community collaboration. Produced by Soar Sound Radio, this podcast features interviews with local historian Ned Newitt, the Media Archive for Central England (MACE), Leicester Civic Society, St. Philipâs Centre, the Silk Road Project, and Gro Social Capital. Together, they explore how art, archives, and civic action connect past and present, highlighting Leicesterâs heritage as a living, shared experience. Listen to the podcast to hear the voices shaping the cityâs story today. The Saturday Heritage Fair at Leicester Adult Education College once again proved how rich and varied Leicesterâs cultural story is.
https://www.soarsound.uk/saturday-heritage-fair-voices-of-leicesters-living-history/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
7 months ago
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How do we keep Leicesterâs stories alive? The Saturday Heritage Fair brought together collectors, storytellers, and re-enactors exploring how shared memories shape who we are today. Listen to the Soar Sound Radio podcast to hear voices from across the cityâs living heritage.
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Saturday Heritage Fair â Bringing Leicesterâs Past to Life
The Saturday Heritage Fair at Leicester Adult Education Centre (11 October 2025) showcased local history, storytelling, and community heritage. Produced by Soar Sound Radio, the event featured interviews with the East Midlands Oral History Archive, Vikings of Middle England, The Elizabeth Heyrick Society, the Literary and Philosophical Society, and Satsang Radio. Organiser John Coster highlighted how heritage connects people through creativity, conversation, and shared memory. The accompanying podcast captures Leicesterâs diverse voices, exploring how oral history, re-enactment, and local media bring the cityâs past to life and inspire future generations.
https://www.soarsound.uk/saturday-heritage-fair-bringing-leicesters-past-to-life/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
7 months ago
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How do we turn everyday memories into part of our shared heritage? In this weekâs Spotlight on Heritage, Tina Barton talks with John Coster and Rob Watson about scrapbooking as a creative way to preserve personal stories. Listen now on Soar Sound Radio.
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Spotlight on Heritage â Scrapbooking with Tina Barton
In this episode of Spotlight on Heritage, John Coster and Rob Watson meet artist and creative educator Tina Barton to talk about the value of scrapbooking as a way of preserving personal and family memories. Recorded in the Basement Gallery at the Leicester Adult Education Centre, the discussion looks ahead to the Saturday Heritage Fair, where Tina will be running a hands-on scrapbooking drop-in session alongside other creative workshops and displays. Tina describes scrapbooking as more than just a craft activity. Itâs a way for people to explore their own stories, reconnect with the past, and record moments that might otherwise be lost.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-heritage-scrapbooking-with-tina-barton/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
7 months ago
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Soar Sound Radio
LeicsRutFHS
7 months ago
Heritage Fair next Saturday (11th). We will be there, if local, why not pop along !
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John Coster
7 months ago
Final measure up in Hansom Hall .... our 9th FREE heritage event since 2015 hosted at the Leicester Adult Education Centre takes place this weekend on 11th October 10am-3pm .... join us at the Saturday Heritage Fair
doc-media-centre.org/2025/09/07/s...
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Decentered Media
7 months ago
Radio Lear is now live on the Leicester and Loughborough multiplexes, sharing AI-generated and artist-made soundscapes. How might artists reimagine radio as a space for creative transformation? Follow and support through Decentered Mediaâs Patreon to get involved.
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Leicester Emergent Arts Radio â A Platform for Metamodern Sound and Experimentation
Radio Lear, Leicester Emergent Arts Radio, is a metamodern sound platform broadcasting on the Leicester and Loughborough multiplexes. Combining AI-generated audio with artist-created soundscapes, it offers an experimental, PRS/PPL-free space for creative exploration. Supported via Decentered Mediaâs Patreon, it invites artists to collaborate, contribute, and expand the possibilities of artistic radio. The launch of Radio Lear marks a milestone in developing…
https://decentered.co.uk/leicester-emergent-arts-radio-a-platform-for-metamodern-sound-and-experimentation/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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Decentered Media
7 months ago
The new Challenges and Opportunities for UK Local Media report calls for joined-up policy and innovation. But does it go far enough on social cohesion, extractive media models, and Foundational Economy renewal? How can we create hybrid, socially rooted systems of communication?
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Welcoming a Timely Intervention on Local Media â and Setting the Bar Higher
The Challenges and Opportunities for UK Local Media report offers a vital assessment of declining local journalism and fragmented media policy. Its call for coordination and innovation aligns with Decentered Mediaâs advocacy for social value communication. However, it underplays issues like social cohesion, corporate extraction, and Foundational Economy innovation. The next step is developing transformational, hybrid models of civic communicationâlinking information, deliberation, and learningâto build sustainable, community-rooted media ecosystems.
https://decentered.co.uk/welcoming-a-timely-intervention-on-local-media-and-setting-the-bar-higher/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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Radio Lear
7 months ago
In Leicester on DAB, and online...
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What makes a cityâs creative economy thrive? In this Spotlight on Business episode, James Burkmar of LCB Depot shares how networks, events and new spaces like Canopy help Leicesterâs creative scene grow. How do you see creativity shaping local economies?
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Spotlight on Business â James Burkmar and Leicesterâs Creative Economy
This episode of Spotlight on Business on Soar Sound features James Burkmar, Workspace Development Manager at LCB Depot in Leicester. He reflects on his career journey, explains the growth of the creative economy, and shares how LCB Depot has become a hub for networks, events and collaboration. The discussion highlights the role of initiatives like Last Friday and the new Canopy development at Pilot House in supporting creative enterprises and strengthening Leicesterâs identity as a centre for innovation and community. The first edition of our new Spotlight on Business series on Soar Sound features a conversation with…
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-business-james-burkmar-and-leicesters-creative-economy/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How do we keep the stories of grassroots sport alive? In this Spotlight on Heritage episode, John Coster and Rob Watson discuss National Sporting Heritage Day, asking how local clubs, coaches and volunteers can preserve memories and create lasting legacies. What do you think?
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Spotlight on Heritage â National Sporting Heritage Day
This episode of Spotlight on Heritage marks National Sporting Heritage Day with John Coster and Rob Watson discussing the importance of preserving grassroots sport. They reflect on the legacy of major events like the Olympics and Paralympics, the challenges of sustaining community clubs, and the role of volunteers in keeping local sport alive. The conversation highlights how photographs, programmes and memories from cycling clubs, football teams and minority sports all contribute to a shared civic heritage that deserves recognition and support. In this weekâs Spotlight on Heritage, John Coster and Rob Watson mark…
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-heritage-national-sporting-heritage-day/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How do unpaid carers in Leicester find support for their own well-being? In this weekâs Spotlight, we hear from Age UKâs Carers Support Service about activities, advice and recognition for those who care for others. What more could be done?
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Spotlight on Leicester â Supporting Unpaid Carers with Age UK
This episode of Spotlight on Leicester features Dave Bushby from Age UKâs Carers Support Service. The discussion explores the realities of unpaid carers in Leicester, the support available through groups, trips, and activities, and the importance of carersâ health and well-being. Dave highlights the role of community connections, GP referrals, and social prescribing, as well as the challenges of funding and recognition. The conversation shows why carersâ contributions matter and how services help them feel supported and valued. In this episode of Spotlight on Leicester, John Coster and Rob Watson are joined by Dave Bushby, Team Manager of the Carers Support Service at Age…
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-leicester-supporting-unpaid-carers-with-age-uk/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How can communities strengthen themselves without relying on handouts? In Loughboroughâs Bell Foundry, residents are turning to gardening, upcycling and creativity to build resilience and pride. What can we learn from their approach to empowerment and self-sufficiency?
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Spotlight on Arts â Building Community in Loughboroughâs Bell Foundry
The latest Spotlight on Arts podcast explores the work of the Bell Foundry Community Committee in Loughborough. Rob Watson speaks with Trevor Potter and Miffy Ryan about grassroots responses to deprivation, poverty, and social isolation. They describe how local residents are developing self-sustaining projects such as gardening, upcycling, and community-led creativity to strengthen resilience and independence. The discussion highlights questions of class, empowerment, and the value of grassroots action in shaping stronger neighbourhoods built on trust, talent, and shared responsibility. This edition of Spotlight on Arts comes from Loughborough town centre, where Rob Watson spoke with Trevor Potter and Miffy Ryan about the Bell Foundry Community Committee.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-arts-building-community-in-loughboroughs-bell-foundry/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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What draws people to live classical music in Leicester? Nicholas Daniel, Creative Director of the Leicester International Music Festival, shares why this yearâs programme matters and why music must be for everyone. Will you be at Hansom Hall in September?
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Spotlight on Arts â Leicester International Music Festival
In this edition of Spotlight on Arts we talk with Nicholas Daniel OBE, one of Britainâs most celebrated oboists and the long-standing Creative Director of the Leicester International Music Festival. Nicholas shares his story of how he first came to prominence as BBC Young Musician of the Year at just 18, and how his passion for performance, teaching, and commissioning new works has shaped a career that now influences audiences worldwide. The conversation explores the themes and programme of the 2025 Leicester International Music Festival, which takes place from…
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-arts-leicester-international-music-festival/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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What makes independent heritage different from official narratives? In this weekâs Spotlight on Heritage podcast, John Coster and Rob Watson discuss the Saturday Heritage Fair in Leicester and why family stories, lived experience, and shared memories matter. Will you be bringing yours?
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Independent Heritage and the Saturday Heritage Fair
The latest Spotlight on Heritage podcast features Rob Watson in conversation with John Coster about the upcoming Saturday Heritage Fair in Leicester. They discuss the importance of independent heritage, where family stories and personal artefacts are valued alongside official narratives. The fair offers a space for intergenerational learning, storytelling, and authentic community connection. With live broadcasts from Soar Sound and contributions from Radio Lear, the event highlights how lived experience shapes understanding of the past, present, and future. This edition of Spotlight on Heritage turns the tables, with Rob Watson interviewing John Coster about the upcoming Saturday Heritage Fair.
https://www.soarsound.uk/independent-heritage-and-the-saturday-heritage-fair/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How can festivals like Leicester Communities Together help people find support, meet local services and share ideas? Reporting for Soar Sound, Helen Pettman spoke with groups in Jubilee Square about advice, creativity and community. What makes these events valuable in your view?
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Leicester Communities Together Festival â Helenâs Report
At the Leicester Communities Together Festival on 13 September 2025, Jubilee Square hosted advice stalls, performances and family activities. Reporting for Soar Sound, Helen Pettman, editor of the Evington Echo, interviewed local organisations including Citizen's Advice, Age UK, Leicester Libraries and Turning Point. Her conversations highlighted support for housing, mental health, carers, fostering and community creativity. Well attended and energetic, the festival showed how Leicesterâs communities share knowledge and build connections, with organisers praised for delivering an event that was both informative and enjoyable. The Leicester Communities Together Festival, held on 13 September 2025 in Jubilee Square, proved to be a lively and meaningful occasion, bringing local people and organisations into the heart of the city.
https://www.soarsound.uk/leicester-communities-together-festival-helens-report/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How can festivals like Leicester Communities Together help communities share knowledge, celebrate diversity and build resilience? John Coster hosted lively Spotlight on Leicester discussions with groups and volunteers in Jubilee Square. What role do you think these events play?
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Leicester Communities Together Festival â Spotlight Discussions
The Leicester Communities Together Festival on 13 September 2025 brought Jubilee Square alive with advice stalls, performances and community spirit. Hosted by John Coster for the Spotlight on Leicester podcast, the event featured engaging conversations with local leaders, artists and volunteers. Topics ranged from diversity and resilience to mental health and creativity, showing how Leicesterâs communities work together. Well attended and lively, the festival proved both informative and entertaining, highlighting collaboration as a strength of the city. The Leicester Communities Together Festival, held on 13 September 2025 in Jubilee Square, brought hundreds of people together for a day of shared learning, celebration and connection.
https://www.soarsound.uk/leicester-communities-together-festival-spotlight-discussions/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How can meeting services face to face at the Leicester Communities Together Festival change how residents find support and build connections? Listen to Spotlight on Leicester to hear council, community and voluntary voices share their perspectives.
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Spotlight on Leicester â Leicester Communities Together Festival
Spotlight on Leicester explores the Communities Together Festival in Jubilee Square, where services, charities and community groups meet residents. In the podcast, Kate Galoppi outlines council support, Mo Peberdy shares lived experience of volunteering, and Krupa Bhatt highlights inclusion. Together they show why face-to-face contact matters and how the festival builds stronger connections. This event is part of Leicesterâs wider commitment to accessible support, participation and wellbeing across the city. In this edition of Spotlight on Leicester, we focus on the upcoming Leicester Communities Together Festival, which brings people, services and community groups into Jubilee Square for a day of connection and celebration.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-leicester-leicester-communities-together-festival/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
8 months ago
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How does art help us shift perspective and make sense of difficult experiences? In this episode of Spotlight on Arts, John Coster and Rob Watson talk with Miffy Ryan about live art, collaboration, and creating spaces for shared creativity.
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Spotlight on Arts â Miffy Ryan Live Art
This Spotlight on Arts episode features live artist and curator Miffy Ryan in conversation with John Coster and Rob Watson. Miffy reflects on her journey from early creative interventions at school to her current practice of live art, curation, and community collaboration. She discusses using art as a language to process emotions, challenge institutional expectations, and create open, improvisational spaces where people can explore creativity on their own terms. Highlights include her âLady of the Seaâ performance at Leicesterâs Highcross shopping centre, her focus on trust and vulnerability in collaboration, and her role in the upcoming Docspace exhibition.
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-arts-miffy-ryan-live-art/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
9 months ago
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Two community events are coming up where Soar Sound volunteers can report, interview and share stories live on air. How can community radio give voice to Leicesterâs people at events like the Info & Advice Festival and the Heritage Fair?
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Volunteer Opportunities for Soar Sound Autumn 2025
Soar Sound is inviting volunteers to take part in two major Leicester events this autumn. On 13 September 2025, the Information and Advice Festival at Jubilee Square will showcase services for health, activity, and community support, with Soar Sound broadcasting live stories and interviews. On 11 October 2025, the Saturday Heritage Fair at Leicester Adult Education will bring together over 25 local heritage projects, workshops, and talks, where Soar Sound volunteers will interview exhibitors and visitors, create live content, and share updates online. Volunteers can gain hands-on experience in audio recording, editing, photography, and social media, while connecting with people in the community media and heritage sectors.
https://www.soarsound.uk/volunteer-opportunities-for-soar-sound-autumn-2025/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
9 months ago
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Joining John Coster on Tuesday this week is Miffy Ryan. Explore Miffy's approach to live art, and what inspires her to be creative. You can hear Spotlight on Arts every Tuesday from 1pm.
9 months ago
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Soar Sound Radio
Decentered Media
9 months ago
Another day, another Spotlight on Art programme recording for @soursound.uk with @DocMediaCentre đ
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How can community media bring people together in a city as diverse as Leicester? This episode of Spotlight on Arts hears from Utsav Radio, Satsang Radio, the Evington Echo and more at the Soar Sound Roadshow. What role should local voices play in shaping our future?
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Spotlight on Arts â Celebrating Local Voices at the Soar Sound Roadshow
What does community media offer that mainstream broadcasters cannot? How are local radio stations like Utsav Radio and Satsang Radio preserving language, music, and cultural identity in Leicester? Why is the Evington Echo still vital for community storytelling after four decades? What inspires new volunteers to join local journalism, and how can younger generations shape its future? How do events like the Soar Sound Roadshow strengthen connections across diverse communities?
https://www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-on-arts-celebrating-local-voices-at-the-soar-sound-roadshow/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
10 months ago
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Soar Sound Radio
Decentered Media
10 months ago
What makes community media thrive? Passion is essential, but sustainability needs more hands. How could your skills support local projects like Evington Echo, UTSAV, Satsang and Soar Sound Radio? What would you gain by sharing your expertise?
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The Power of Collaboration in Community Media: Reflections from Spotlight on Arts
How can collaborative community media strengthen local connections and cultural life? What benefits do volunteers gain by sharing their skills with grassroots media projects? Why do initiatives like the Evington Echo, UTSAV, Satsang, and Soar Sound Radio need wider support to remain sustainable? What role can professional expertise play in helping these organisations develop robust governance, training, and creative capacity? How does active participation in local media enhance personal growth, build networks, and contribute to inclusive civic engagement?
https://decentered.co.uk/the-power-of-collaboration-in-community-media-reflections-from-spotlight-on-arts/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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What makes a photography exhibition more than a display of images? In our latest Spotlight on Arts podcast, we explore creativity, collaboration, and the social role of photography through DocPhoto 8. How do shared spaces shape artistic journeys?
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Capturing Stories, Building Connections â Reflections from DocPhoto 8
Explore the stories behind DocPhoto 8 in this Spotlight on Arts episode. Hear from photographers and curators about creativity, collaboration, and the evolving role of photography in documenting life, culture, and history. Listen now on Soar Sound. The latest episode of Spotlight on Arts takes us to the basement gallery of Leicesterâs Adult Education Centre, where the DocPhoto 8 exhibition recently concluded.
https://www.soarsound.uk/capturing-stories-building-connections-reflections-from-docphoto-8/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
10 months ago
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reposted by
Soar Sound Radio
Decentered Media
10 months ago
Radiocentre says radio delivers public valueâbut who gets to define this public purpose? Should claims rely on audience size or meet established Social Value tests? How do we ensure accountability when public money or commercial privilege is involved?
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What Does âPublic Valueâ Mean in a Commercial Media Landscape?
Radiocentreâs Force for Good report highlights commercial radioâs role in providing trusted news, companionship, and community support, but defining true public value requires more than audience size or market success. Under the UK Social Value Act, public funding or regulatory privilege must demonstrate measurable social, economic, and environmental benefits, ensuring accountability rather than industry self-assessment. Commercial radio deserves recognition for its independence, yet public purpose media needs clear terms, transparent evaluation, and alignment with national policy priorities.
https://decentered.co.uk/what-does-public-value-mean-in-a-commercial-media-landscape/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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