New radio station in Essen: Local radio stations unite forces!

New radio station in Essen: Local radio stations unite forces!

An innovative radio station model is now being put into operation in Essen, bringing together four local radio stations, including Radio Mülheim and Radio Oberhausen. This was initiated by FUNKE, the station's parent company, in order to better meet the challenges of the radio market. [Lokalkompass] reports that the new studios and editorial areas have already been set up in the new Essen headquarters. From May 2023, listeners will benefit from a shared broadcast slot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The managing director of Westfunk, Axel Schindler, sees this model as a great opportunity for creative exchange and emphasizes the advantages of collaboration; At the same time, however, the editorial location of the service providers in the regions remains unaffected. Editor-in-chief Olaf Sandhöfer-Daniel makes it clear that not much has changed from the listener's perspective - only the spatial conditions are now in focus. The contemporary technical standard in the new studios speaks for itself.

Challenges for local radio

Local radio stations in North Rhine-Westphalia are under economic pressure, which gave the initiators reason to initiate structural reform in order to remain fit for the future. According to information from journal-nrw The DJV-NRW fears that such radio station models could potentially convert local stations into regional stations. Nevertheless, the editors-in-chief are convinced of the advantages of this model.

They explain that this is not a savings model - the editorial teams will remain independent and the collaboration between the three editors-in-chief should be expanded. The plan is to further deepen the existing collaborations that already exist at nine stations of the Funke subsidiary Westfunk. The possibility of creating more digital offerings and setting up additional positions to refresh the program is viewed particularly positively.

Future prospects under one roof

At a time when the pressure on media providers is increasing, there is hope for greater visibility within the Funke media group. Despite the move to Essen, there are clear announcements that the reporters will continue to work in their distribution areas in order not to lose the regional connection.

The editorial offices in Wesel and Moers will also be retained as production locations so as not to lose local connections. Planning is already underway and the editors-in-chief are striving to negotiate the contracts in such a way that the broadcasting house model can survive in the long term. Dennis Schindler has already promised investments as long as the channels move to the new location.

The future of the radio network in the Ruhr area could therefore not only be characterized by new formats, but also by more creative synergies. The time remains exciting as the media company and its editorial teams adapt to the new broadcasting company model. It remains to be seen whether this will work well in practice, but the initiative already shows that a good hand is being used to make a fast-moving industry fit for the future.

Sources: Local compass, radio scene, journal-nrw.