Welcome to Sound & Vision Media

Today is hugely significant for British sport – it’s now just one year until the start of the London Olympics. The countdown to the greatest show on earth moves up a gear as we prepare to welcome the world to come and play in our back yard. But here in Exeter, we’ll be marking a one-year milestone of a more poignant nature in just a couple of weeks.

On August 10 2010 Adam Stansfield died from bowel cancer at the age of 31.

He was one of the most popular players ever to pull on an Exeter City shirt. Adam gave his all in every game he played and the supporters loved him for it.

He was first and foremost, though, a family man – a cherished husband, father, son, brother, grandson and uncle.

He had an incredible impact on those who knew and loved him or simply admired him from the terraces and stands of football grounds up and down the country.

And that overwhelming respect for what he stood for as a man and as a professional footballer led to the formation of the Adam Stansfield Foundation.

The Foundation is committed to supporting youth football here in the Westcountry as well as raising awareness of bowel cancer.

At SAV Media we are committed to promoting the excellent work that the Foundation does and we were really honoured to be asked this week if we would co-ordinate their publicity.

Of course we said yes in an instant and we can’t wait to get on with the job of telling everyone what an incredible organisation the Adam Stansfield Foundation is and what fantastic fund-raising events are coming up.

It’s hard to believe that almost a year has passed since Adam’s death. There’s been a phenomenal amount of hard work done to get the Foundation up and running and so many great events held and personal challenges undertaken in his memory.

But it’s important to keep the momentum going as we approach this sad anniversary and here at SAV Media we’ll be doing all we can to keep Stanno’s legacy in the spotlight.

(SAV Media's Mark Tyler with Exeter FM Presenters Chris Dinnis and Nino Firetto)

Exeter 107.3 FM is now in local hands after a takeover of the city’s radio station in a move that has the backing of the former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Ben Bradshaw MP. Broadcasters Mark Tyler and Paul Nero, who work together at SAV Media, have gained control of the station, which has studios at Marsh Barton. They have bought a 51 per cent stake in Exeter FM from its former owners Sunrise Radio, a London company that operates the country’s largest Asian radio network.
 
“This means that local broadcasting really is back in Exeter, East and Mid Devon. Now we want to give people the opportunity to get much more involved with their station,” says Mr. Nero, Exeter FM’s new managing director and a former executive at the BBC and regional ITV station TSW, who also runs national copywriting agency Plain Text.
 
He and Tyler, who becomes director of news, sport and features, have extensive broadcast experience at national, regional and local level. They have already formed a successful partnership at the Sound and Vision Media PR company and media training academy. “Paul and I care passionately about local radio and it's been a long-held dream to give Exeter and the surrounding area the radio station it deserves,” says Tyler, a former BBC journalist and head of sport at ITV Westcountry where he also presented their evening news programme. “We want to reverse the pattern of local radio becoming less and less local. As other stations increasingly produce their programmes from London or Plymouth, we want to move in the opposite direction and provide a voice for this area.”
 
“Exeter FM’s loyal listeners can be assured that we’ll still be a music-based station playing classic hits and the best of today. But we’ll be less repetitive, less focused on the charts, and we’ll treat listeners as intelligent grown-ups. Our news, sport and features will be inspired by what matters in this area. Basically if it’s important to Exeter, East and Mid Devon, it'll be on the city's only truly local radio station.”

The move has been welcomed by Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, the former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who worked with Tyler at BBC Radio Devon before his move into politics.

He says: “I’ve always been an strong advocate of local radio, and I’m delighted that Exeter FM’s new owners are passionate about giving our community a real voice. Wherever you look there seems to be a move away from local broadcasting, so it’s refreshing to see at least one station bucking the trend. I wish them every success, because Exeter deserves a radio service that we can all be proud of.”
 
Popular presenters including Chris Dinnis and Nino Firetto are staying at the station. Dinnis says: “During my many years in radio I have worked for some media juggernauts with no connection or real affinity for the fantastic place we live in. Now I’m back on a station that’s owned and run by West Country people who live and breathe the region. I’m thrilled to be working in the city and excited and optimistic about the new era for Exeter FM.“
 
Exeter FM, which broadcasts on 107.3 FM, launched in 2008 and now has a four-weekly reach of 47,000 listeners. The deal was negotiated by Pynes Hill based legal firm Follett Stock, who have a weekly legal slot on the station every Tuesday, hosted by Chris Dinnis.

Paul Nero and Mark Tyler