Our mission

Ocean City Radio launched on 05/11/2018 from a converted four berth caravan in a residential setting. It was created with the vision of re-building the sense of community that previous generations had enjoyed. The founder was of an age that allowed him to recall the days when people used to acknowledge each other in the street, exchange pleasantries, interact and generally get on. The same days when you would not think twice about knocking on a neighbours door to ask for a cup of sugar or greeting a new neighbour who has just moved in with a welcome card. Those days when it was just ‘assumed’ that everyone was equal without causing inequality by introducing worthless legislation to enforce it.

The overall objective of the station was, is and will always be to provide a radio service which not only caters for every musical taste but one which is interactive and encourages its listeners to partake in all it does. From on-air discussions and debates to interactivity out & about at events. We constantly strive to provide and maintain a programme schedule that the people in our catchment area want and need. We are always looking for new ways to break-down barriers that everyday people suffer in their daily lives. We cater for those suffering from isolation due to age, disability, financial hardship, poor health (mental and physical), social status, ethnicity, faith and so much more. While at the same time maintaining partnerships at the other end of the scale with local schools, colleges and musical agencies. Our programme schedule includes content created by disadvantaged children, local unsigned music artists, independent government agencies and organisations such as Age UK, Samaritans, Citizens Advice, Plymouth Community Homes, debt advice organisations and more besides.

Ocean City Radio is a not-for-profit community interest company which just about breaks even each year. We are dependent upon income from a subscription that our team members contribute to pay the day to day bills and rely upon small-scale advertising by local businesses and grant funding for the annual costs of licencing and DAB platform fees. The cost of advertising with us is a small fraction of that charged by equivalent commercial stations and just enough to keep us afloat. We have also been fortunate to secure financial donations from some of the higher profile companies in the area who have asked for nothing in return.

Due to the nature of the station ie: the entire team are volunteers, it has always been an impossible task to fill our schedule with live shows all day every day. Many of our team are in employment and can only commit time they have outside their work and family commitments. To overcome that hurdle, we employ the services (free of charge) of what are known as ‘syndicated’ shows which are produced by independent radio enthusiasts who create a radio show which can be adopted by any radio station who need to fill a gap in their programming.

Most important within the OCR story is the TEAM. A collection of around 25 local people who have come together with a common goal of rebuilding community life through the art of radio. We come from all walks of life but have something in common..we are all LOCAL people with LOCAL accents who talk about LOCAL things. We believe that this kind of radio has been sorely missed since the demise of Radio Plymouth and Plymouth Sound before it.

We are proud to promote our strong ethical stance, non-prejudiced attitude and anti-discriminatory practises. We have firm links with the church and operate with ‘Christian like’ values. We are great believers in social inclusion which is reflected in our workforce. We have members who are still at school or college, members who are gaining practical experience while they complete a period of study in one of the media fields, members with vast experience of radio, and those who joined us simply because they have had a dream of being on the radio since childhood. you do not need to be experienced or super-confident to join us. Many people are recruited who have low mood, lack confidence and have absolutely no experience. They go on to be happy, confident and competent radio presenters who can use those transferrable skills and attributes in their future career prospects.