Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette

We’ve been as busy as ever on Phoenix FM over the last couple of weeks, as more and more of our shows are featuring live interviews with local people talking about their experiences and the help they need during lockdown.

The majority of our presenters are still coming in live to the studio but some of them are now broadcasting from home and we’re still producing SIXTEEN hours of original local radio each day – and I’m proud to say this is way more than commercial radio stations.

Our daytime shows have featured interviews from many local people including local art dealer John Brandler, yoga teacher Renate Mullins, Phil Norton from Billericay Street Pastors and Michael Janaway from innovative designers Step N Pull.

We’ve also been talking to people from local charities such as SNAP, Saint Francis Hospice and Stand By Me who have been updating listeners on how the pandemic has impacted their fundraising.

In addition, Phoenix FM has been broadcasting live weekly updates from either Chris Hossack, leader of Brentwood Borough Council, or Jonathan Stephenson, its CEO, every Friday morning too.

We’re looking to entertain too – as well as lots of music shows, we’re still doing our best to keep our sports shows fresh. Our 98 Not Out cricket show has had some fantastic telephone guests in the last couple of weeks including Essex and England legend Ravi Bopara and composer John Altman.

Radio and newspapers are a safe haven for trusted news in times like these – with Ofcom reporting that 47% of people have seen fake news on the internet in the last couple of weeks, it’s good to know that traditional media can be relied upon not to spread falsehoods and misinformation.

All of our interviews can be heard again on phoenixfm.com.

* As a non-profit organisation, we’re also reliant on donations to keep on air and we’ve set up a new Business Club for local organisations. To see what we can offer in return, email sr@phoenixfm.com for details.