More Fizz, Less Gloss

“From Yate to Thornbury, Almondsbury to Berkeley we provide a good, solid signal in most of South Gloucestershire and you should have no problems in receiving us”. This is the claim of Gloss FM on its website [1]. However there is little to support the assertion.

Following on from my earlier report, I can confirm that the station is not being received at all in Littleton-upon-Severn (parts), Olveston, Tockington, Tytherington, Cromhall, Tortworth, Woodford, Stone, Ham, Hill and Rockhampton. It is not even being received in locations just outside Thornbury like Grovesend and Lower Morton. Even within sight of the Milbury Heath radio mast there is no reception.

There is a weak signal in other parts of Littleton-upon-Severn, and in Elberton and Old Down.

The only areas where Gloss FM is picked up well are Oldbury-on-Severn, Alveston and, of course, Thornbury.

It is inconceivable that the station does not know how poor its reach really is, yet on the same page it only admits that “Known weak signal areas are Lower Almondsbury, Tockington, Charfield, Wotton and some areas of Bradley Stoke”. From my investigation, I have concluded that those areas get no signal, and Gloss FM is inaudible there. 

Reading between the lines you can detect that the poor signal is a huge problem for the station, and the station management knows it. For that reason they have that page devoted to reception issues with this advice: “in more outlying areas or in certain houses with thick walls and small windows our signal may be weaker, so some effort may be required to fiddle with your aerial to get a good signal ... The effect of a good aerial and its orientation should not be underestimated. If you are using a portable radio, ensure the silver rod aerial is fully extended trying multiple angles from horizontal to vertical, and try to move it near a window or the corner of a room”. Well, I used a portable radio, and I had the “silver rod aerial fully extended”, and I was outdoors. If my radio did not pick up Gloss FM, it is because Gloss FM was not reaching there.

There are three reasons why Gloss FM’s attempts to deceive the public about its reception issues should concern us.

Firstly the directors and managers of the station are dominated by known local Anglicans, including the Chair, who is Vicar of Thornbury. Many of the presenters are known Anglican, Baptists and members of the Bristol Christian Fellowship. This is no coincidence - the station wishes to put across a Christian message at every opportunity. That is the whole raison d’être of Gloss FM. Back in September of last year Thornbury’s vicar claimed that Thornbury FM had had 12.000 listeners tuning in and out and 6,000 regular listeners. He went on to contend that, with the relocation of the transmitter, there would be potentially 24,000 listeners [2]. That half of Thornbury’s 12,000 population was regularly listening to Thornbury FM, and double that number tuning in and out is just preposterous. That listeners would increase to 24,000 is pure fantasy, but wait till you see the claims they were making for potential advertisers. So why do we have Christians trying to deceive listeners and others? Aren’t Christians supposed to tell the truth any more?

Secondly, the station has been seeking grants to cover costs related to the relocation of the transmitter. It tried unsuccessfully with South Gloucestershire Council’s Safer Stronger Initiative Fund [3]. It received a small donation from Thornbury Carnival [4]. “It was such a lovely surprise for GLOSS FM to have succeeded in gaining this donation from Thornbury Carnival”, said Glyn Roylance, one of the Directors of Gloss FM. He might have feigned surprise, but since the majority of the Carnival committee have been involved in Thornbury FM in one way or another, he must have had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he said it. Whilst it is unlikely that Thornbury Carnival will make Gloss FM account for the spending of the donated funds, in most cases grant-giving bodies expect to see results for their money, via a final report, and Gloss FM has achieved no significant improvement in its reception as a result of the relocation.

Thirdly, Gloss FM seeks income through advertising. In order to impress potential advertisers Gloss FM makes claims which go beyond fantasy: “GLOSS FM reaches a potential audience of over 100,000 (not including listeners on the internet)” [5], it alleges, instantly quadrupling its earlier unrealistic claim. However, it should be a problem for advertisers, who are based well outside Thornbury, when they find that they are not reaching their expected target audience through Gloss FM. Amongst those who might be disappointed are: The Plough at Pilning, Charisma Blinds of Winterbourne, Hampton’s Delicatessen & Café in Chipping Sodbury, The Railway Tavern at Charfield, Castle Quarry Activity Centre at Tytherington, and the Wotton Electric Picture House in Wotton-under-Edge.

I have attached a map showing my own estimation of Gloss FM’s actual reach, and you can compare it with what the station claims [6].

1. http://glossfm.co.uk/index.php/about/gloss-fm-reception-issues.html

2. http://groups.southglos.gov.uk/gf2.ti/f/173666/2997285.1/wiz/-/Alveston%20mins%20summarised%202%20Sept%202009.doc

3. http://groups.southglos.gov.uk/gf2.ti/f/173858/3319557/wiz/-/SSIF%20Phase%202%20Applications%20Report%20Version%206%202.doc

4. http://thornburycarnival.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/434/

5. http://glossfm.co.uk/index.php/advertise/advertising-with-gloss-fm.html

6. http://glossfm.co.uk/images/maps/broadcast-coverage-map.jpg