If there is a place where mainstream media outlets bump into the frontline of Britain’s online culture wars, then commercial speech radio might be it. “The typical model of Radio 4 is pre-recorded and heavily produced in a very traditional way, while commercial radio has introduced speech radio that’s much more nimble, much more interactive and gives the listeners more of a voice,” says Francis Currie, an international radio consultant. And tomorrow a sister station, Times Radio, is launched, an attempt to provide a more upmarket ad-free speech alternative under the brand of a ­historic newspaper. After learning his broadcasting skills on LBC and Radio 4’s Front Row, he was appointed as launch editor of Times Radio last year. There are also close links to the Conservative party; both Times Radio and talkRadio have senior reporters hired directly from jobs in Downing Street.

Source: The Guardian June 28, 2020 06:22 UTC