Community radio guest slot: Bro Radio's monthly local-history hour (and when it is worth it)
Harvested 2026-10-28 03:32Z. Index had 'local radio' 1 (a next-idea note only) and 'community radio' 0; BBC Radio Wales/Cymru programme inboxes are a separate skill (bbc-radio-wales-cymru-programme-inboxes.md). Bro Radio's newsdesk is already in the unsent press tip-off plan (the project workspace, [address kept in the project workspace], waiting for the project lead's GO). This skill is a different door: a guest or contributor slot on a specialist history programme, not a news story.
What we found (read 28 Oct 2026)
- Bro Radio (Barry YMCA, Vale of Glamorgan's community station; About page, read): "monthly audience of 22,000 listeners*" and local news "read by 16,000** people every week" (the station's own starred figures; method not checked, not RAJAR). Mostly volunteer-made local programmes. Site has free "Submit a Story" and "Add your event" forms (events route already used in assets/events-calan-gaeaf-bonfire-2026.md).
- History On Your Doorstep (Bro Radio listen-again + RSS, read): "Bro Radio's resident historian Graham Loveluck-Edwards delves into local history in and around the Vale of Glamorgan." 58-minute episodes on Tue 25 Aug, Tue 22 Sep, Tue 27 Oct 2026, 19:00 — the 4th Tuesday each month, so the next is very likely Tue 24 Nov 2026 (inference from three dates, not confirmed). Episodes stay up as a podcast (rss.autopod.xyz/show/12417.rss), so a mention keeps working after broadcast.
- Wales has ~9 community stations (State of Wales, 2019): BGFM, Bro Radio, Calon FM, GTFM and others; in our area also Radio Cardiff 98.7 (its newsdesk is already in the tip-off plan).
- Practitioner testimony, Lucienne Boyce (historian/novelist, ALLi "Making the Most of Local Radio", read): one local-author press release led to BBC Radio Bristol, a books show, and community station BCfM; for her non-fiction The Bristol Suffragettes, an anniversary hook brought BBC radio and TV to her and BCfM gave her an hour-long show; she was "asked back onto various shows" and one studio visit led to another booking. Advice: never turn a station down as too small; small shows build confidence; pre-recorded slots get edited.
- A talk-radio host's side (Anne R. Allen blog guest post, read): the host does ~20 hours of live radio a week and won't read your book; send the book, a short bio and a list of sample questions; say you'll fill a last-minute cancellation; non-fiction beats fiction for bookings; the audience skews older, better off and information-hungry. Caution in the same post: a locally published memoir author "will end up giving away more copies than she will sell."
- One-sheet (Erin Flynn Jay on Build Book Buzz, read): one page, headline + subhead tied to a hook, talking points as bullets, no attachments.
- No sales numbers found from any community-radio author appearance. Treat this as reach, credibility and evergreen podcast content, not a sales channel; measure it, don't forecast it.
The playbook
- Listen first: one recent episode (RSS above) to learn whether he takes guests, covers Llandough/Penarth, and his tone. If he never has guests, pitch material, not a guest.
- The hook, heritage only: Llandough's documented past (1,026 inhumation burials, Medieval Archaeology 2005 — the figure the press prep already sourced), Tŷ Mawr as a former manorial house, the Welsh-Patagonia link (Cedwyn II, Puerto Madryn), period records and photographs. Tie to a date where one exists (St Andrew's Day 30 Nov, St David's Day 1 Mar, the Mimosa anniversary 28 Jul).
- One email to the station address ([address kept in the project workspace], programme named in the subject: "History On Your Doorstep: a Llandough story for a future show"), ≤150 words + 5 sample questions + one line offering archive images/clips he may use on air and on socials, no attachments, link to one Cedwyn page.
- Offer two formats: a pre-recorded 10–15 min segment, or material for him to present. Mention flexibility for a last-minute slot.
- After broadcast: embed the episode link on the relevant Cedwyn page, post once on the Cedwyn channels crediting the show, thank the station; ask if he would return to the subject (Boyce: one booking leads to the next).
- Measure: a short coded path read out on air (e.g. cedwyn.bucklerfamily.estate/radio redirecting to the page with UTM) + "how did you hear" in the buy flow. Kill rule: if two appearances produce no coded visits, stop pitching radio and keep only the free event listings.
How we apply it to Cedwyn
- PROPOSAL, gated: this is press, so it waits for the project lead's GO like the tip-off plan. When GO arrives, pitch the programme after (not in the same email as) any newsdesk tip-off, so the station does not get two cold emails the same week.
- Who speaks is the project lead's choice. Public text never names him; if he does not want to be on air, the pitch offers the material and the documentary clips only.
- Draft as a HubSpot task in the hive format (company address only, never the presenter's personal contact; drafts only, never send). Editorial rules: no banned words, nothing about the court case, accusations, family holdings or addresses; heritage content only.
- Prep that costs nothing now: the 5 sample questions and the /radio coded redirect can be written into a patch; the RSS can be checked each month for whether guests appear.
- Earliest realistic target: the January–March 2027 episodes (St David's Day hook), since November's show is under four weeks away and the GO is outstanding.
Sources
- broradio.fm
- listenagain.broradio.fm (RSS rss.autopod.xyz)
- stateofwales.com
- selfpublishingadvice.org
- annerallen.com
- buildbookbuzz.com
Raw Markdown: community-radio-bro-radio-history-hour-guest-slot.md · version and changes: changelog · machine index: agents.json