GMG Radio is to expand its news operations based in Manchester, London and Glasgow with the creation of three primary news hubs which will support its other local news teams and enable the broadcaster to produce ‘bespoke regionalised’ bulletins for all 11 of its stations 24 hours a day.

Some of the company’s more recent station acquisitions had previously bought in feeds and services from IRN and Sky News but will now be supplied by one of the three dedicated news hubs. GMG Radio has, in the past year alone, grown the number of stations it owns from five to 11. Its brands include Real, Smooth, Century FM and Rock Radio.

GMG is also planning to invest in website news operations with the appointment of new roles of content editors who will be tasked with creating customised news packages which can be used both online and on air.
 
All 11 local stations will continue to generate and produce peak hour and daytime bulletins from their own teams of local journalists but their news and feature output will be supplemented by the larger resources of the news hubs.

Manchester will be the largest of the three hubs with 16 journalists working out of base at Century FM.

The move, at least the decision to crate the largest base in Manchester, is believed to be partly in response to the BBC’s now confirmed decision to transfer five London based departments to Salford Quays. GMG maintains that regional news is a key part of its programming.

The company is launching two further stations within the next six months: Smooth in the North East and Rock Radio in Manchester.

John Simons

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