Radio for citizens by citizens – 30 years of “Studio ECK”
Since 1992 there has been the association Studio ECK eV, the studio of evangelical Christians in Cologne. The task is to actively help evangelical communities and initiatives, as well as other interested groups, with the planning and completion of radio programs for the citizens’ radio with specialists and good technical equipment on the transmitter. 25 Protestant congregations and institutions in and around Cologne are members of Studio ECK eV, which is based with its own radio studio in the Melanchthon Academy in the south of Cologne. A team of 20 freelance radio journalists supports interested groups and individuals in the production. An interview with Armin Beuscher, pastor of the Cologne-Lindenthal Evangelical Church, who has been there from the start:
30 years of “Studio ECK” – what were the beginnings like?
Armin Beuscher: Local radio in North Rhine-Westphalia was not considered to have a great future, and many media people also considered community radio to be a courageous idea that could hardly be implemented in the long term: How is that supposed to work: every citizen can play the radio with sound and voice? Admittedly an ingenious idea if the goal of democracy really has to be spelled out to the people. Everyone can become a co-creator themselves. But who paid for all this? That two-column model – only implemented in this way in NRW – was the attempt: to reconcile a broadly supported radio program and private sponsors and, as a package, the task of integrating citizen radio. But who pays, also wants to order? But the socially relevant groups have always been a strong opponent, that means it was and is about a good balance between profitability and quality of the transmitters and we as community radio operators are part of it. It was clear: This is only possible with professional support. If we as a church want to go on the air, it has to be solid. In 1988, for example, the “Local Radio Committee” was founded under the direction of the city superintendent, Pastor Aubel. I’ve been there ever since.
What does that mean, 30 years “Studio ECK”?
Armin Beuscher: Our concerns were audibility, proximity to the people and dedicated topics that concern us as evangelical Christians. Since 1992 we have been a support association with members from parishes, church districts, the association and individual members and we are on the air. After seven years we produced a CD “7 years under Prokös”, an overview of the first years humorously moderated by the church cabaret Klüngeltüte. It was and still is important to draw the community’s attention to us. According to the motto: Here you can talk about your great work and projects, here you will find professional support and you will be on the radio, which means that your concerns will be heard and your work will be appreciated.
Where did you broadcast from?
Armin Beuscher: Studio ECK had also found an ingenious location for many years. Together with other media professionals such as Viva and Eins Live, we rented the MediaPark in the KOMED rooms. The beginnings were also meteoric, but media worlds change quickly and so do rental prices, so that after years we gratefully returned to the Kartause with a studio and office space. With the youth project “unheard” we, together with the youth parish office and the school department, brought young people to the radio. It was radio work and educational work that were important to us when designing the programs. For a few years there was the “Black Rohling”, the Oscar of the Evangelical Youth Radio. With ever new ideas, we got young people interested in radio and church and also trained them. Radio projects were also popular in the work of confirmands for a long time. At the Kirchentag 2007 in Cologne, we were present with a “glass” studio in the exhibition center. Our office has been in the Melanchthon Academy since 2013, and the studio followed in 2017. This saves walking and high rental costs.
What has changed over the years?
Armin Beuscher: We have to be flexible – through constant new or canceled support measures. Local radio itself, and with it citizen radio, has always been the pawn of political interests. There was a need for ever larger organizations, also at the level of the broadcaster communities – here we as churches were well represented in politics to fight for the possibilities of local radio and to help ensure that local radio is not sawed off. For a number of years we have also produced spiritual impulse short stories with a local reference and thus set a special accent in the broadcasting area of Radio Köln. Unfortunately, due to the shifting of broadcasting slots and a lack of supporters, this broadcast form has not survived for years. We were all the more pleased that from mid-2012 we will be able to broadcast contributions for “Heaven and Earth” with local contributions from the association together with the Catholic Church. Here the parishes and the association parishes and their wonderful offers are in particular focus.
Who is on the team?
Armin Beuscher: Over the years, it was mainly Leonore Kampe, Joachim Ziefle as full-time employees and Hartmut Leyendecker as a volunteer, the everyday work alongside the committed ladies in the office like Ms. Solbach, who repeatedly gave us impetus, both in terms of ideas and with their commitment to technology have given and were at the heart of the work. The board of directors, which is always qualified on a voluntary basis, provides the framework and a large team of journalists ensure that broadcasting times and good content are implemented. And the Melanchthon Academy and the association, represented by Superintendent Markus Zimmermann, provide the framework.
Since 1998, Studio ECK has regularly carried out projects. In addition to the ongoing citizen radio broadcasts, they are an essential part of the educational and editorial work. What projects do you particularly remember?
Armin Beuscher: What we really liked for a long time and shaped our work are the projects with young people. This pedagogical work has been made possible for years by funding from the state broadcasting corporation and EU funds. Our radio workshop has won prizes in many nationwide competitions, especially with the youth projects. In good years, requests came from 40 new youth groups every year. Equipping the young people with media skills and initial experience in journalism has been very successful. Reports on Protestant Cologne and social issues plus the educational work, those were the golden years of our work. Unfortunately, the funding was radically cut and only limited projects with youth groups and school classes are possible, which are very time-consuming and require not only journalistic skills but also pedagogical skills.
What has technically changed in the last 30 years?
Armin Beuscher: The technology was always modernized in several waves. We started with a used mixing console from a radio station in the basement of the old association building and then got a new mixing console after moving to the Media Park. The advent of digital technology was in 1996 with a first editing system. Reportage devices in particular have evolved from semi-professional cassette recorders to MD recorders to fully digital and easily transportable devices. Studio ECK used to lend these devices to the authors and groups. Today almost all authors have their own device. In 2012, the heavily used mixing desk was replaced by a new device that was still analogue and easier to use. At the same time, the tape machine and turntable were retired. All productions were now delivered to the broadcaster on CD rather than tape. Today the transmission takes place via download. In 2017 – with the move to the Melanchthon Academy – a suitable acoustic booth was set up, so there was no separation of the speaker room and technology. During the Corona restrictions, contributions, moderation and some of the technology in the apartments were relocated to avoid meeting each other.
And the listening habits?
Armin Beuscher: The joy of radio and creative design is still there among the younger generation. Listening habits have certainly changed. For a long time now, we have had the option of listening to broadcasts independently via podcast. The audience ratings for our programs are only covered to a limited extent by the large surveys on radio behavior (e.g. the EMA Electronic Media Analysis). The funding pots have changed more than the forecasts that radio will soon become a slow seller.
They have podcasts on topics such as volunteering, Cologne Veedel, dialogue between generations, Corona, sustainability and the environment, retirement, accessibility and refugees. One focus of your podcasts was “Church buildings through the ages”. What makes this topic so topical?
Armin Beuscher: A large number of podcasts can be found and listened to on our homepage. The fact that the topic of church building has come to the fore this year is due to the church building day in September in Cologne. For a few days, Cologne was the center for everyone involved in the topics of churches and building, architecture and art, uses and changes. Here the churches in our church association came into focus, which have broken new ground and even had the courage to build new ones. The Stephanuskirche in Riehl or the Christuskirche in the Belgian Quarter and last but not least the new construction of a community center in Cologne-Weidenpesch came into view. The new church in Overath or the Antoniter quarters are also worth mentioning here. What all these projects have in common is that they dare to take a step into the future and set an example for the changing, lasting presence of the church among people. Alongside this, there is still a need for churches to be converted or abandoned or shared with others. With the examples we make it clear: Church is changing and sets accents for a way into the future.
citizen radio
Since there has been local radio in NRW (1990), citizens have also had a forum for disseminating news and discussing ideas: the “Bürgerfunk”. Here, according to the law, the “socially relevant groups” have the floor – radio as a speaking and informative medium to share experiences with other people.
45 local radio stations are currently broadcasting their programs in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the state media law, each of these stations is obliged to provide broadcasting time as free broadcasting space for self-produced programs by citizens’ groups. The groups are responsible for the form and content of their programs themselves. With the integration of an open and access-free program in a professional medium such as local radio, community radio is a unique model for citizen participation in the media in Germany.
Since large and small groups only have a small chance of producing a program themselves and bringing it to the station, there are support associations or radio workshops that can help. One of them is Studio ECK ev
Studio ECK has been a member of the state association for citizen media (at that time still the state association for citizen radio) NRW since 2017.
Direct link to the podcasts with, among other things, “Church buildings through the ages”