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03
Sept 2020
How local is Stray FM's replacement station?
Loyal listeners of Stray FM have been asking an important question this week - just how local can Greatest Hits Radio be if it covers the nation?
The Stray FM brand has been wiped off the internet. The station no longer has its local presenters. There is one regional drive time show each day.
Instead of Stray FM, those tuned into the frequency will find a different experience. Most of the schedule is filled with music from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. On the hour there is a mixture of local and national news stories. The Harrogate and Yorkshire Dales version of Greatest Hits Radio featured Harrogate-only advertising when we tuned in today.
In July Dee Ford, group director of Bauer Radio, said:
Read more:
- Stray FM broadcasts its final shows before national take-over
- Harrogate MP gives ‘cautious welcome’ to Stray FM assurances
- Ripon councillor criticises Dawn French following Stray FM’s demise
David Dunning, a local radio expert currently based at the York Mix, told the Stray Ferret that the regulator is to blame:
It has been a controversial move for fans of Stray FM who have seen those behind Stray FM leave the radio station.
Sarah Berry, Stray FM's managing director, is the latest to leave. She had been at the station since it launched in 1994 and said:
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