London Fields Radio

Broadcasting from the window of Wilton’s Cafe in Hackney, London Fields Radio makes bespoke programmes for a local audience - and shows the multinationals how to make great radio. A group of passionate, enthusiastic amateur presenters and producers create podcasts and broadcasts the occasional live show, all for the creative community nearby.

Local programming
There’s a great blend of conversation and music, all inspired by the coffee shop that it’s hosted in. It’s great radio that takes on a local cafe vibe - there are the same recurring characters and performers, and the shows suit the time of the day and week when you’re listening.

For lazy weekends there’s the Slow Sundays mix. For riotous Saturday nights, you can go for The Bass Line. One of the striking things about the programmes is how good their names are. ArtWank with Ophelia Bitz builds on an existing night, but others include For Folks Sake and Fush and Chups.Most commercial radio stations wouldn’t get near this.There are also some more established names - the legendary Jonny Woo’s Drag on the Radio, for instance. And listings site Le Cool have their own show.

Although it could broadcast internationally, the magic of the station is that it's focused on those who live nearby in the E8 neighbourhood. They even tie in with the local street parties.

Broadcast internationally

Sarah Bates, one of the managers of the station, says “People have to record their shows when the café is open. That’s the whole point, because we like the atmosphere of the public chatting and the coffee machine going…”

So while the digital shift was sometimes predicted to end up with giant conglomerates broadcasting internationally more easily, as has happened with big companies like Sky, it does also mean that the low costs and easy distribution can make the hyper-local possible too.

This immediacy, interaction and (occasional) show-off is what makes it great. As Sarah says, “it became local radio for local people, but anyone can come in and do it.”