Not many cities are lucky enough to have a radio station as good as Juice, and for that Daniel Nathan deserves a moment in the spotlight.
What makes a good local radio station?
At Juice 107.2, our strapline is “radio made in Brighton”, and we aim to be inclusive, open-minded, irreverent and accessible. It’s about connecting with your audience, which means more than just reading out details of local events on-air. You’ve got to be there too.
You’ve done loads of interesting things -what did you do before owning Juice?
I started out in pirate radio, then I was involved in the lobby to open up community radio. In the early 90s I pioneered the first legal UK station to play ‘alternative’ music with Festival Radio in Brighton and London. I helped launch Kiss 100 in London and co-founded Kiss in Manchester and across Yorkshire and also Surf 107 in Brighton (now Juice 107.2). In 2000, I started totallyradio.com – groundbreaking internet radio, playing music beyond the mainstream.
What was the score with you selling Juice/Surf and buying it back?
At the turn of the millennium media companies were being bought and sold at ridiculous prices and the shareholders in the business were made an offer they couldn’t refuse. A couple of years later, the large firm that bought the radio station trashed it, and then sold it back shortly before going under.
You’re involved in Radio Reverb too – is that competition for Juice?
Having championed community radio for years, I believe it fulfils a need for grass roots community initiative, although of course it competes for the same listeners’ ears. When both radio stations live, and breathe a place as unique as Brighton, it would also be crazy not to find some ways to work together. Brighton Live is a good example, including Reverb, Juice and even BBC Sussex.
Juice seems kinda like two radio stations – daytime and evening. How do you join them together?
Ratings by day and reputation by night. The key time for radio is between 7am and 7pm – television tends to take over from early evening. It’s at these times that we aim to do something more cutting-edge. What we do ‘after hours’ marks us out on the dial and reinforces Juice’s reputation as being ‘made in Brighton.’
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