About a year ago at the end of 2015 my blog went off line. It turns out it was hacked via the comments section of the site and was being used by bad guys to send spam. My ISP and … Continue reading →

I was driving home on Friday afternoon, listening to Julia Hartley Brewer on LBC. It was a fairly ordinary phone in about (I think) immigration or a similar topic that gets the phones lighting up at an otherwise slow time. … Continue reading →

I think I’ve calmed down a bit since last night when I followed the Radio Academy’s AGM on twitter and then read a few blogs. Two things stuck with me. Firstly the fact that while the need for change is … Continue reading →

Years ago, in a meeting with Ross MacFadyen at the RNIB’s wonderful Insight Radio in Glasgow I heard a phrase for the first time. “Yes we’re a community station, but what we serve is a community of interest”. He was making … Continue reading →

Ten years since his passing, I’ve realised that the more I worked with Jimmy Mack, the more I admired him. I first met him in the mid 80s but had already listened for years to his show on BBC Radio … Continue reading →

Everywhere I go to talk to music programmers the talk turns to the threats and opportunities of online. Rarely, if ever, do any of them engage me in chat about music streaming services like Spotify, Pandora and the upcoming iTunes … Continue reading →

Shortly before Christmas I started moving to get the Scottish Media Podcast under way and went as far as recording an interview for it. As often happens with my diary, real life took control of my diary, notably the addition … Continue reading →

Radio Clyde turned 40 at 1030pm on Hogmanay 2013. I was 10 when it launched and vividly remember tuning in to the test transmissions on 261 metres on my wee transistor radio in Grangemouth. Then the station went to air … Continue reading →

This is a revised version of  an article published in the excellent e-radio on 4th December. That article started out at 900-odd words and i was asked for 500-700. This version takes a view slightly more distant view and re-incorporates … Continue reading →

I’m ‘properly’ middle aged. I turned 50 back in April. Therefore, I’m well out of range of any number of young brands. The models in the Boden catalogue that wear the shirts I love to buy are lucky if they’re … Continue reading →