Grim thoughts

‘The medium needs glitz, it needs glamour, it needs an ego,’ read an ominously worded column in this week’s Radio Times, accompanied by a glamorous head-shot of its author, the director of Channel 4’s new online-only radio station. A shiver ran down my spine. If we in radio want to compete with TV, says Nathalie Schwarz, then we need to start loving ourselves.

Anxious to find out what this group hug might involve, I rushed to my laptop and attempted to sign on to www.channel4radio.com. But my antiquated telephone line was unwilling to make a connection with this ‘edgy, bold, mischievous’ medium and refused to log me in. Even if you do have broadband, and can raise a response from those online controllers at Channel 4, you must first fill in an electronic form before being allowed to download. No stretching the arm out of bed as the alarm goes off, fumbling for the right button, and switching on to Terry or John or Chris to listen to Channel 4.