Mike TV aka
Did you know Mike TV is the only DJ to have aired with three names on Capital Gold. "I'm lucky enough to have helped Capital Gold get it's one and only market leadership when I Produced Caesar The Geezer (bless him) and it won't happen again as the station will close in months.
After too long without moral fibre I decided enough was enough ... " More on this soon

Colin and Edith radio show to end
DJs Colin Murray and Edith Bowman are to end their three-year Radio 1 partnership as part of an overhaul of the station's schedules.
Bowman will now host their 1300 to 1600 weekday slot alone, while Murray is to present a show offering new music from Mondays to Thursdays at 2200.
New shows focusing on particular music genres and presented by experts are to run at 2100 on those four nights.
Most of the schedule changes are due to come into effect on 25 September.
'Evolution'
Murray said: "I'm grateful to be given the chance to front a show that really hits those turned-on, engaged evening Radio 1 listeners."
The programme would be "exciting and personal and it's going to show a blatant disregard for musical pigeon-holing", he said.
Bowman, whose Radio 1 partnership with Murray began with the Saturday breakfast show in 2003, said: "I'll miss our daily banter but I'm on cloud nine at what lies ahead and the incredible opportunity I've been given."
Her afternoon show would be an "evolution of the present one", she added.
Other changes include:
New signings Eddie Halliwell and Trophy Twins to present club music shows
Chris Coco and Fergie to leave the station, though Fergie to continue to put together Essential Mixes
A 1Xtra showcase to highlight the best new black music
Specialist music output to increase by four hours a week overall
Station controller Andy Parfitt said the changes to specialist programming would offer a "broader range of content".
"We believe that this and the amazing talent line-up will help even more listeners to come and sample the wealth of distinctive specialist shows Radio 1 has to offer." (Posted 30 June 2006)

Former Xfm chief takes senior role with Nordic...
Graham Bryce, former managing director of GCap Media stations Xfm, Choice FM and Capital Gold, has been appointed as senior vice-president of the SBS Radio Group in Amsterdam.
Bryce, who was credited with the rise of the indie radio station Xfm, which now has stations in London, Manchester and Scotland, will have full responsibility for the group, focusing on developing SBS stations including Radio 1 Oslo in Norway and Radio City 107.3 in Sweden. Patrick Tillieux, chief operating officer and acting chief executive officer of the SBS Broadcasting Group, said: "Graham is a highly successful and experienced radio operator with a proven track record of building radio stations across different music formats and markets. "He will play a major role in expanding SBS's existing stations and in enhancing SBS Radio's leading position in the high-growth markets in the Nordic region and Central and Eastern Europe." (Posted 30 June 2006)

'ere Wossy, do you have problems 'avin' a sh*t?
Jonathan Ross has hit back after criticism of his conduct during a recent interview with Conservative party leader David Cameron.
Ross asked Mr Cameron if he had had schoolboy sexual fantasies about former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
"I stand by it. It was a perfectly valid question," Ross told BBC Radio Five Live.
Former Tory minister Lord Tebbit called the interview "obscene". The BBC received 21 complaints.
Ross said his show did not set out to upset people.
"I wouldn't want to do that, even though upsetting Norman Tebbit has given me some small sense of satisfaction because he's spent 12 years upsetting me," he joked.
Side-stepped
"If Mr Cameron had felt awkward about that question and answer sequence we would have removed it, but none of his people thought it was a problem and neither did the people I work with, so that's why we didn't," he added.
Mr Cameron changed the subject when asked if he had fantasies about Lady Thatcher "in stockings", and later laughed off another suggestive question.
The exchange took place during last week's BBC One show, Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.
Lord Tebbit said on the BBC's Sunday AM that Mr Cameron had made an "awful mistake" by appearing on the Ross show.
He said Mr Cameron had been "thoroughly embarrassed by Ross using the occasion for making an obscene attack on - and I use the word literally, obscene - on Margaret Thatcher".
"He should never have been there," he said.
The BBC said it stood by the interview, screened after the 9pm watershed. (Posted 29 June 2006)

The Captain gets millions when his ship goes down
Radio group GCap Media is heading for a row with shareholders over its controversial £1.13m payoff to former chief executive David Mansfield.
One investors' group condemned the payoff, which was given as "compensation for loss of office" following Mr Mansfield's resignation in September.
Pensions Investment Research Consultations (Pirc) said the problem lay in Mr Mansfield's contract, which it said was "outside market norms".
"The contract itself was excessively generous, its stipulations were not appropriate in terms of current market practice," a Pirc spokesman said. "That's what we would condemn rather than the fact that the company made the payments."
Pirc, along with other investor bodies, will scrutinise GCap's remuneration report before offering advice to members on how they should vote at the company's annual general meeting next month.
GCap has said that the contract under which Mr Mansfield was given the payoff was a legacy of his tenure at Capital Radio, which merged with GWR last year.
Three of Mr Mansfield's former colleagues - Linda Smith, Peter Harris and Paul Davies - were also paid a total of £1.47m in severance fees.
"The contracts for the former executive directors were negotiated back in 2001; a time when the market was significantly more buoyant," GCap said in a statement.
"The pay-offs were contractual and were made as a consequence of the board's decision that these former executives were 'good leavers' and were choosing to leave the company by mutual agreement.
"Their contracts entitled them to 95% of the sum of 12 months' salary, from the date of notice, and the value of any other benefits they were entitled to over that period such as annual bonus schemes, other incentive schemes and pension payments."
Capital Radio's final remuneration report caused controversy with shareholders: one- in-four investors voted against the half-year report in October.
Mr Mansfield was paid £1.6m last year, including the £1.13m payoff and a bonus of £285,000, despite lasting only four months.(Posted 27 June 2006)

Chairman of GCap Media apologises for £2.6m payouts
It's agonizing to see something you love ending ... being ended ... changed beyond recognition ... and I think it's fair to say no one really knows what the Government's intentions are towards our media. As with the sale of British airports to a European concern it looks likely that a foreign company, possibly America's Clearchannel, possibly Murdoch will step in and buy GCap. The Directors and Board will love it ... another handsome payday, but the patriot realizes that another part of our national make-up will slip further out of our grasp.
One thing is certain the GCap story is one unholy mess.
How could it be possible for such experienced and highly paid industry leaders to manage their business so badly?
Sell it and start again? Sell it and retire ?? The story continues ...

Alastair Ross Goobey, the chairman of GCap Media’s remuneration committee, apologised to shareholders yesterday for authorising £2.6 million in severance payments to ousted directors at the radio company behind Capital and Classic FM.
The non-executive, best known as a champion of corporate governance, issued an unprecedented “explanatory statement” offering a “full explanation” for the sums paid to David Mansfield, the former chief executive, and other former colleagues.
Mr Mansfield, who left last September after a “him or me” clash with Ralph Bernard, GCap’s current chief executive, walked away with the largest sum, worth £1.8 million in total, including a £1.13 million payoff.
The remaining £1.46 million in payments for the loss of office were shared by Peter Harris, Paul Davis and Linda Smith, all of whom worked for Capital Radio, which merged with GWR last year to form GCap Media.
Mr Mansfield, Mr Davis and Ms Smith all left after the tie-up, which turned out to be a disaster, as long-running problems at Capital 95.8 in London were exacerbated by a weak advertising market.
Mr Ross Goobey conceded that the payoffs were “substantial,” amounting “to more than 2.5 times base salary”. He said: “One might expect . . . an executive serving on a contract with a notice period of 12 months would be entitled to less than this.” However, he insisted that the £2.5 million payout was “a consequence of the contracts” that the former employer Capital Radio had entered into in January and February 2001 at a time when he was not chairman of the committee, and when “securing the services of management was more difficult”.
The contracts stipulated that executive directors leaving on good terms were entitled to 95 per cent of 12 months’ salary plus the value of other benefits including bonus. Such contracts have now been scrapped by GCap, Mr Ross Goobey said in his apology, contained in the company’s annual report.
Since GCap was formed in May last year its shares have fallen 6 per cent, with bid speculation propping up the price. Mr Bernard earned £718,000 last year, during a period in which GCap lost £47.9 million (£6.4 million profit).
(Posted 27 June 2006)

Here's a lot of money, go quietly
GCap Media's former chief executive David Mansfield received a £1.13m pay-off after resigning from the UK's biggest radio group on September 19 2005, according to the company's annual report published today.
Mr Mansfield was paid the sum in compensation for loss of office, after a boardroom battle for control between GWR and Capital Radio - which merged to form GCap in May 2005 - was won by GWR's Ralph Bernard, who then took over Mr Mansfield's role.
In total, Mr Mansfield was paid £1.64m for the year 2005-06, including a £285,000 bonus. He also received £10,450 towards his legal costs following the termination of his contract and £13,000 of benefits in kind.
He continued working for the company until January 31 2006.
Mr Mansfield also left the company with 146,374 shares and 307,170 conditional share awards, worth more than a million pounds at today's share price of 228p, as well as options on another 290,917 shares.
And as part of his severance agreement, Mr Mansfield was credited with an extra year's service within the company's pension scheme for which he received £25,645 on top of the £88,839 the company contributed to his personal pension plan over the year, bringing total pension contributions to £114,484.
The pay-offs handed to former commercial director Linda Smith and operations director Paul Davies - also Capital Radio executives who both resigned at the time of the merger on May 9 2005 - are also detailed in the annual report.
Ms Smith received a £596,000 pay-off, a bonus of £140,000 and £1,500 towards legal costs and benefits in kind which included £8,664 in untaken holiday pay. Her total pay amounted to £774,000.
Mr Davies received a £511,000 pay-off and a £151,000 bonus and £1,500 for help with legal costs, with his overall package totalling £691,000.
Peter Harris, Capital's former finance director, received a £358,000 pay-off.
The report includes a statement about the payoffs, made because "shareholders deserve a full explanation of the payments" which centres on the robust nature of the contracts held by the former Capital Radio employees, and assured investors that no current executive has this type of contract.
Last October, GCap felt the wrath of investors as one in four of voted against the company's remuneration report.
Remuneration has been a key battleground between companies and their shareholders in recent years.
The "explanatory statement" reads: "The payments are substantial and amount to more than 2.5 times the base salary. One might expect that an executive serving on a contract with a notice period of 12 months would be entitled to less than this.
"However, the payments are a consequence of the contracts under which the executive directors served, dated January and February 2001.
"Shareholders will recall the environment for media companies at that time, where securing the services of management was more difficult in the sector."
The statement continued: "The board of GCap Media made the decision that the executive directors concerned were 'good leavers', in that they were not dismissed for cause.
"The contracts were quite explicit in the terms of the severance payments on termination."
IT added that "the only non-contractual payments made were in respect of a compromise agreement that prevents any claim for constructive or unfair dismissal, plus a small contribution to the executives' legal costs, made directly to the lawyers concerned. These were modest.
"If the company had paid the executives on a monthly basis during the period of notice, there was a possibility that the overall payments might have been even larger."
Shareholders were assured that "no current executive director of the company has such a contract, and the remuneration committee would not recommend the board to award such contracts in the future."
The report reveals the pay packet of Mr Bernard, the current chief executive, to be £718,000 for the year, made up of £292,000 in bonuses and £23,000 of benefits in kind, which include company car allowance and medical health cover for him and his family. His salary and fees totalled £403,000.
The GCap operations director, Steve Orchard - a former GWR executive appointed to his current role on November 24 2005 - picked up a £269,000 package, including £172,000 in the form of a bonus and £93,000 in salary.
The finance director, Wendy Pallot, received a £416,000 salary - of which £156,000 was a bonus.
GCap Media has paid bonuses totalling £1.3m to the three current, and four former, executive directors just a week after reporting a pre-tax annual loss of £47.9m.
Pro-forma results for the year to March, which stripped out one-off costs and assumed that the merger took place a year earlier, showed a 40% fall in pre-tax profits to £22.2m, on revenues of £220.2m, down 12.7% on the same period last year.
A total of £2.6m was paid in compensation for loss of office, with total remuneration costs for the seven coming to £5m.
A further £377,000 was spent on the salaries for existing and previous non-executive directors.
(Posted 26 June 2006)

The end of Independent Local Radio?
At the same time as chastising Emap with a massive fine Offcom have allowed the company to recoup much of that straight away by eliminating local daytime programming on Vibe 101 and Vibe 105-8.
In a mixed message Offcom have today approved a format change for the two Vibe radio stations owned by Emap. Vibe 101 in the Severn Estury and Vibe 105-108 in the East of England have been given permission to network daytime progammes between 10am and 4pm weekdays from Kiss 100 in London.
As these regional licences are specialist music stations, Ofcom has allowed the change as it would not change the character of the service. Local inserts will occur three times per hour containing local gigs, news and travel.
In his letter to Ofcom, Mike Philips, Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs for Emap, said that Vibe has failed to establish a strong identity and created a lack of credibility with their audience, in comparison to the Kiss brand.
Industry experts suggest this is one step closer to the Vibe brand disappearing and being renamed as Kiss 101 and Kiss 105-108. (Posted 23 June 2006)

Ofcom punishes Emap Radio's 'failure of management'
Ofcom has issued a series of damning indictments of Emap Radio, which it said showed "abject failure" in being "unable to manage its talent", had "little control" over its local management and "total inability to impose [compliance] structures".
The strongly worded broadsides came after the media regulator today levied the UK's biggest ever radio fine - £175,000 - following 10 complaints about Kiss FM's Bam Bam breakfast show.
Emap Radio "showed an almost wilful disregard ... for not only Ofcom's codes but also the station's own audience," said Ofcom in its report published today.
Among the regulator's criticisms of Emap Radio's management was the revelation that "the material relating to the most serious fairness and privacy complaint Ofcom had received was not listened to by anyone senior at the station for four weeks".
Senior management, led by the company's head of radio, Dee Ford, admitted to Ofcom that Emap had taken its eye off the ball with regard to the compliance of radio output because the company was busy preparing for its consolidation with Scottish Radio Holdings.
But the regulator said this was no excuse.
"These failures meant that an Ofcom investigation of some very serious complaints was not adequately dealt with," said the regulator, adding that the Bam Bam show was "evidently not under proper control".
Emap also pleaded with Ofcom against the size of the fine, saying that according to the report, "the commercial radio sector had had a difficult financial year and any substantial fine, on top of losses they had already incurred for terminated contracts, would mean only that providing compelling programming would be harder".
Still, Ofcom was not swayed by Emap's argument because of the "number and seriousness of the breaches".
"There was a clear failure by the licensee [Emap] to put in place the necessary management structure to oversee its 'talent'. In the committee's view the compliance procedures in place at the time of the breaches were wholly inadequate and there were some totally inexcusable broadcasts," said Ofcom.
The report continued: "There appeared to be a total inability of management to impose structures to ensure that there was adequate compliance with Ofcom's codes and that the station broadcast acceptable material at this time."
And it added: "Emap Radio had little control or sight of local management and was not seeing any warning signs until it was too late. Emap Radio admitted that the new procedures they had put in place after another of its licensees (Key 103 FM Manchester) was fined by Ofcom were not sufficient. The licensee was unable to manage its 'talent' and the result was the termination of a number of contracts of on- and off-air staff." Ofcom's report shifts the blame from the breakfast show presenter, Bam Bam, whose real name is Peter Poulton, to Emap Radio management.
Emap admitted to Ofcom that a wind-up call to a man who had just been made redundant, for which it was fined £75,000, was "a horrible intrusion into someone's privacy and degrading someone in public".
"It was also extremely bad for the radio station," said Emap, describing as "inexplicable" the decision to broadcast the item, which was pre-recorded, as even Bam Bam had acknowledged it went too far.
But although Bam Bam left the station in April, his sidekick Streetboy, who made the phone call, is still employed by the company to carry out prank calls on the breakfast show. (Posted by Julia Day
Tuesday June 20, 2006)

Emap station stung for £175,000 following 'numerous and serious breaches' of Ofcom's codes and the group's Kiss FM has been fined a record £175,000 for what Ofcom described as "numerous and serious breaches" of its code.
This is the largest financial penalty ever faced by a commercial radio station in the UK and includes the first penalty Ofcom has imposed on any broadcaster for a serious breach of its fairness and privacy rules.
The regulator has today responded to a total of 10 complaints made about the station's output on nine separate dates in 2005, with one of the breaches of the fairness and privacy rules concerning a 'prank' call made by Streetboy - former breakfast host Bam Bam's sidekick. A man - identifiable from what was said on-air but known only as Mr R in Ofcom's adjudication - had inadvertently left a message on the station's voicemail, believing he was calling his human resources manager. Mr R had been made redundant and wanted to discuss his future career options with his employer. Streetboy called him back pretending to be the HR manager and asked him a number of humiliating questions concerning his suitability for employment in other roles in the company, before suggesting he "go and flip burgers or something". Ofcom said Mr R was clearly distressed by the conversation.
Emap Radio described the decision to broadcast the pre-recorded item as "inexplicable", as even the presenter had acknowledged after the programme that it had gone too far. Ofcom said this was the "most serious case of unwarranted infringement of privacy" it had ever heard and fined Emap £75,000 as a result.
The other £100,000 worth of penalties were imposed for other 'wind-up' calls, phone-ins and studio discussions on various Kiss shows containing inappropriate sexual references, inappropriate language and aggressive language.
Ofcom's adjudication concludes: "The number and seriousness of the breaches between April and November last year suggests that for a substantial period of time the compliance of the show was evidently not under proper control."
Emap admitted that some of its procedures were "not up to spec" at the time of the complaints.
Emap has previously held the record for Ofcom's steepest fine on two occasions, and was most recently hit for £125,000 last year. (Posted by Graham Hayday 20 June 2006).

I remember driving through London last year listening to Bam Bam and wondering why we had any laws at all. On this particular occasion Bam Bam and Street Boy felt the need to describe how they'd spent an early morning photographing a sleeping girlfriend, lifting the duvet and taking snapshots of her "fanny". The reality of a new age or the psychological intricacies of a twisted pervert?
It reminded me of a serious misjudgement by failed Radio One Breakfast Show host Sara Cox in July 2000. Handing over to Simon Mayo at 9am she asked Mayo 'How big's your willy Simon?'. This a mere three days after the tragic 8 year old Sara Payne's naked and decomposing body had been discovered, the victim of a sexual murder. Cox seemed to me hopelessly out of touch with the interests of many of her young pre-teen listeners and indeed devoid of common sense.
These 'oratory's' that many programmers push their dj's into making are really best left unsaid.
There will be a heavy price to be paid for this headlong charge into media anarchy, pretending this type of behaviour is normal and then playing 'pass the buck' is doing great damage.
Perhaps the regulatory system is finally being made to re-awaken to it's responsibility.
(Posted by Mike 20 June 2006).

maybe not - Vine's on the list too!
A BBC radio presenter has apologised after a spoof news item saying Soham killer Ian Huntley had been murdered in his prison cell was run on his show.
The spoof item was read out on Radio Two's Jeremy Vine Show as part of a discussion on what would happen if the UK was run by tabloid news editors.
Journalists made calls to the Home Office and the police after rumours spread that Huntley had died.
Vine told listeners the BBC was sorry if it had misled them.
"We were discussing what Britain would be like if it was run by tabloid news editors," Vine continued on hearing that some listeners thought the story was true. We ran, labelled completely clearly, a bulletin of spoof news items which might happen if the country were to be run by tabloid news editors."
He apologised for "any offence this may have caused".
As part of the debate on Tuesday lunchtime's show, a newsreader read out mock news stories the show's producers thought tabloid editors would be happy to see.
The opening item said Huntley had been murdered in his cell and that his killer would be rewarded with an honour by the Queen.
Further mock news items included one saying that prisoners with life sentences would never be released from jail and another saying health and safety laws would be scrapped.
Huntley murdered schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2002.
He was convicted of their murders at the Old Bailey in December 2003 and was jailed for a 40-year term. (Posted 20 Jun)

TOTP RIP
The BBC's flagship pop music programme Top of the Pops has been cancelled after 42 years, the BBC has announced.
"The time has come to bring the show to its natural conclusion," said the BBC's director of television Jana Bennett.
In a statement, the BBC said the weekly programme could no longer compete with 24-hour music channels.
Top of the Pops was first broadcast in 1964, from a converted church in Salford, Manchester. The final edition will be shown on 30 July.
The pop programme was only commissioned for six episodes when it began in 1964.
But it proved so popular that it won a weekly slot and has been broadcast by the BBC ever since, celebrating its 2,000th show in 2002.
The very first show was presented by BBC Radio 1 DJ Jimmy Savile and the first artists to appear were the Rolling Stones, who sang I Wanna Be Your Man.
Many Radio 1 presenters hosted the show over the years, including Dave Lee Travis and Noel Edmonds. The current presenter is Fearne Cotton.
In its 1970s heyday, the show attracted audiences of 15 million, but by 2002 the figure had dropped to just 3 million.
The show was relaunched in 2003 with former presenter Andi Peters in charge, but it failed to attract new viewers and was moved to BBC Two the following year.
"The team did a stirling job in revitalising the format for our audience," said BBC Two controller Roly Keating, "but we all recognise that the time has come to move on."
So it would have been a waste of time boosting the figures and attracting new viewers anyway.
(Posted by Mike 20 June 2006).

EMI Spaghetti Payola please
Record giant EMI has agreed to pay $3.75 million (GBP2.1 million) after being accused of bribing radio stations to give airtime to its artists. New York Attorney General ELIOT SPITZER claims EMI used THE ROLLING STONES concert tickets to encourage a radio executive to increase its presence on playlists. EMI has not admitted any wrong-doing in making the payment, but the company agreed to change its practices. Under US law, record companies are not allowed to pay for airtime. The settlement money will be donated to music education groups in New York. Spitzer alleged EMI offered illegal "financial benefits to obtain airplay and boost the chart position of its artists by bribing radio station employees with concert tickets, video games and hotel and air fare expenses". He claimed GORILLAZ, COLDPLAY and NORAH JONES benefited from boosted radio play following incentives given to radio stations by EMI. Spitzer launched a nationwide investigation into alleged wrongdoing by music and radio companies in 2004. Universal agreed to pay out $12 million (GBP6.3 million) last month (MAY06) and Sony BMG and Warner Music paid out $10 million (GBP5.39 million) and $5 million (GBP2.69 million) respectively. This probably explains why we are subjected to so much of Robbie Williams inferior catalogue. Interestingly, 2003 Red Dragon FM were charging local bands representatives Total Music Wales for airtime on their Total Music Tuesday Evening Show feature. Total Music Wales which was dependent on European Grant Aid has since gone bust. (Posted 19 Jun)

Emap Bammed - Bam Bam Bammed
Ofcom is expected to hit Emap with what could be the largest fine ever levied against a UK radio company after a series of complaints about Kiss FM's former breakfast show host Bam Bam.
Although Bam Bam - real name Peter Poulton - left London dance station Kiss in April after seven years, the media regulator is still expected to order Emap to pay a hefty financial penalty after a series of nine listener complaints, dating back over a year.
The maximum fine Ofcom can now impose is £250,000, but industry sources believe Ofcom's fine against Emap this time could reach the £150,000 mark. It would be the third time that Emap have held the dubious accolade of the largest fine.
One explanation that the regulator is considering a large fine could be due to Emap's record. Previous fines and cautions appear to have failed to make the firm's management stem the broadcast of offensive content.
The biggest fine so far was levied was against Emap's Key 103 in Manchester, which was fined £125,000 last year after late-night phone-in presenter James Stannage made a string of racist comments and joked about the death of Iraq hostage Ken Bigley.
And in 1999, the then regulator the Radio Authority, made what was the biggest fine ever at the time for the sector - £50,000 - against Emap, for late night phone-ins on Hallam FM which breached taste and decency standards and included incitement to crime, a gratuitous description of paedophilia, and the condoning of and encouragement of rape.
As well as a fine Ofcom would also be able to make other statutory sanctions including banning the station from repeating a programme; or making the station broadcast a correction or a statement of the regulator's findings. It can also revoke a station's licence.
In both the Stannage and Bam Bam cases, neither show had a producer, a role that can help DJs stick to guidelines and uphold standards.
Last week Ofcom said it was considering taking regulatory action against BBC Radio 1 for repeatedly breaching the broadcasting code's rules on swearing and inappropriate content, after upholding complaints against DJs Chris Moyles and Scott Mills.
Upholding complaints against swearing by breakfast DJ Moyles and ruling that a wind-up call by Mills, the station's drivetime presenter, was "a serious misjudgment", the media watchdog said it would consider "further regulatory action" if it happened again.
Ofcom said it was unable to comment on the Kiss complaints, but confirmed that there were nine pending a ruling.
A spokeswoman for Emap said it would not comment until Ofcom had made its ruling public.
(Posted 19 Jun)

The Way To Win Listeners - Part 1
GCap Media today announced that in a first for the industry, it had commissioned a new radio quiz show which will be entirely self-funded from premium rate phone calls.
The programme, entitled Cash Call, will be produced by Somethin’ Else (producers of Hit40uk) and Optimistic Media, the participation and entertainment TV production arm of Optimistic Entertainment plc. The programme is the first to be produced by both companies as part of a global joint partnership to create participation quiz shows for radio.
Cash Call will broadcast live every Sunday from 12.00-2.00am across most of GCap’s One Network stations and will be hosted by Capital Radio’s Chris Brooks. Listeners can take part by phone to win a minimum of £1500 in cash prizes in each show. The broadcasts will feature segments such as Mystery Voice and Guess the Noise and the quizzes will be virtually uninterrupted with no commercial breaks and only three music tracks played during the show. The first programme is due to be broadcast in the next few weeks.
Dirk Anthony, Group Programming Manager at GCap Media, commented: “Radio is at its best when it’s interactive and prize competitions have always been a popular format with our listeners. By creating a dedicated quiz show, we’re giving listeners a great new way of interacting with the station while implementing our strategy to develop new revenue opportunities.”
Steve Ackerman, Managing Director of Somethin’ Else, said: “We are thrilled that our new joint venture with Optimistic has successfully received its first commission from GCap Media. We have confidence in the format and hope very much that it will become a real alternative to traditional advertiser-funded programming.”
Carolyn Maze, Managing Director, Optimistic Entertainment, added: “This unique partnership enables us to translate our participation TV expertise to commercial radio for the first time. We are obviously keen to expand the interactive quiz show format across a wide range of platforms.”
Somethin’ Else is unique in its cross-platform approach to broadcasting, exemplified by its work with the hit40Uk brand which it has brought to television, radio, mobile and online across the globe. Optimistic Entertainment introduced the concept of participation TV in the UK and has recently been the first to introduce the concept into the USA through its partnership with GameShow Network.
The quiz programmes will be produced by Samantha Bryant of Somethin’ Else.They will be Executive Produced by Steve Ackerman, Managing Director, Somethin’ Else, and Director of Content at Optimistic Media, Simon Willis. (Posted 19 Jun)

The Way To Win Listeners - Part 2
Send in The Trojan Horse to compromise the opposition - from next year Magic and Heart will have a new competitor ... Capital Life, and it will apparently be broadcasting on FM. Information remains sketchy but it seems that Capital Gold will close down and the DJ's GCap want to keep will be moved onto the digital service Capital Life which will for the first time become a fully live and interactive radio station. www.gcapmedia.com - www.ukcapitallife.com
Capital Life will be playing Magic and Heart music with names like David Jensen & Paul Coyte and attempting to claw back some of GCap's lost listeners. Thus it's hoped to make easier the task of Capital FM regaining it's Number One Spot.
One recently departed ex-Capital Gold DJ, Alex Belfield makes plain on his website his belief that GCap intend to terminate Capital Gold. www.alexbelfield.co.uk
It has been no secret with GCap already announcing the end of it's AM transmissions of Capital Gold and with Chairman Ralph Bernard's deliberate omission of the Capital Gold logo from his GCap greetings page. (Posted 19 Jun)

Who's afraid of Radio One ... The BBC
BBC Radio 1 is to introduce fines for presenters who use foul language on air following two complaints against breakfast show DJ Chris Moyles.
Moyles was censured for using a derogatory term about women and for accidentally swearing at a listener during a live phone call.
Ofcom said the incidents were not acceptable on a breakfast programme heard by children.
Radio 1 said it "takes Ofcom's findings very seriously".
"Live and edgy broadcasting carries risks but Radio 1's Controller, Andy Parfitt, has made it clear to both staff and presenters that inappropriate language is unacceptable," it said in a statement.
Any future similarly serious compliance issues may result in the consideration of further regulatory action
The station has told Ofcom that, in the future, presenters who accidentally swear or use other foul language on air will be subject to disciplinary measures.
If the rules are breached twice within 12 months, the presenter will suffer a financial penalty.
Radio 1 said these new procedures were already in place, but Moyles would not be fined on this occasion.
However, the station told Ofcom that Mr Parfitt had raised the issue of foul language with the DJ "who had given an assurance that his use of language would be more carefully managed".
A prank call on Scott Mills' show was called a "serious misjudgement"
Two further complaints against Radio 1 were also upheld by the broadcasting watchdog.
A prank phone-call on Scott Mills' afternoon show, which contained bleeped-out swear words, was found to be "overtly aggressive" and "clearly unsuitable for broadcast".
Moyles' breakfast show was found to be in breach of broadcasting guidelines for a third time when it allowed a guest to swear during an interview.
In the latter case, Ofcom said it was satisfied that the presenter had asked the guest not to swear.
It also welcomed the fact that Radio 1 had reminded production teams how to deal with language from contributors in light of the breach.
However, the watchdog said it had serious concerns about "the number and, in some cases, the seriousness of compliance issues that have arisen" at the station.
"We recognise that Radio 1 aims to produce imaginative and innovative programming but the station also attracts a wide-ranging audience, including large numbers of children," it said. "Any future similarly serious compliance issues may result in the consideration of further regulatory action."
The BBC is also considering introducing the red card / yellow card system used in Soccer, one yellow per show would lead to a suspension for a show and two yellows - the equivalent to a red would be a month long ban - three reds and it's the sack. Employing responsible broadcasters with an eye on public decency is thought to be totally out of the question. Yeah!!!
(Posted 12 Jun)

BBC accused of homophobia
The BBC has been accused of "blatant homophobia" after it defended Chris Moyles' description of something he didn't like as "gay". The BBC governors said the use of the word gay to mean "lame" or "rubbish" was widespread among young people, and it was "to be expected" that the DJ would use similar expressions. John Quinn, director of children's protection group Beat Bullying, said: "The BBC have just greenlighted the use of gay as a derogatory word." (Posted 11 Jun)

Who's afraid of Radio One?
BBC Radio 1 has been accused of encouraging knife and gun crime by Conservative leader David Cameron.
Mr Cameron singled out the station's Saturday night schedules which feature DJ Tim Westwood's hip-hop show.
Radio 1 strongly denied Mr Cameron's accusation, saying it took its responsibilities "very seriously" and followed strict producer guidelines.
It said hip-hop was a "vibrant" genre which sometimes reflected the "harsher realities of people's lives".
The Conservative leader made his comments on Tuesday evening at a British Society of Magazine Editors event.
"I would say to Radio 1, do you realise that some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives?", said Mr Cameron.
'Courage'
He was responding to a question from June Walton, the editor of Good Housekeeping, about how the Conservatives would tackle the growing problem of knife crime.
Mr Cameron said his remarks were an example of him having "the courage to speak up when you see something that is wrong" despite the fact that "you will get a lot of bricks thrown at you".
Mr Cameron's comments about knife crime follow a string of high profile cases in recent weeks.
A spokesman for BBC Radio 1 said: "Radio 1 strongly refutes any suggestion that the station condones or encourages knife or gun culture.
"The station takes its responsibilities very seriously and has strict producer guidelines that govern all of the output.
"Hip-hop is a huge international genre with a vibrant UK scene and that music reflects the sometimes harsher realities of people's lives and cultures."
'Apalling' lyrics
Only five months ago the Tory leader appeared on Radio 1, in what was widely seen as a bid to demonstrate his youth credentials.
Interviewed by presenters Colin Murray and Edith Bowman, he said he was a fan of The Smiths, Radiohead and Pulp, and selected Cheryl Tweedy when asked which of the Girls Aloud group he thought most attractive.
The Tory leader is not the first politician to link song lyrics to violent crime.
In 2003, then home secretary David Blunkett dubbed so-called gangster rap lyrics "appalling" and vowed to speak to music producers and community leaders in a bid to curb them.
And former culture minister Kim Howells attacked some rap artists for creating a culture "where killing is almost a fashion accessory".
In July 1999, clergyman's son Tim Westwood was himself injured in a drive-by shooting in South London.
A spokesman said there was absolutely no need to worry about artists who released instruction manuals such as 'Get Rich Or Die Trying' and they were in no way as bad as previously banned records like 'Relax' and 'Love To Love You Baby'. (Posted 7 Jun)

Chris Moyles - "I meant Gay not Gay"
A complaint the BBC broadcast homophobic material has been dismissed by the corporation's governors.
The complaint objected to Chris Moyles' use of the word "gay" and comments made by US rapper The Game on the Jo Whiley show on BBC Radio 1 last July.
It also cited the effeminate Derek on BBC Two's The Catherine Tate Show.
But BBC governors decided the items "met the required editorial standards and did not demonstrate homophobia".
The complainant also said the BBC did not give gay men and women the same protection as other minorities.
The governors' programme complaints committee - which operates independently of the BBC - acknowledged Chris Moyles' description of a ringtone he did not like as "gay" could cause offence.
But the use of the word "gay" to mean "lame" or "rubbish" was widespread among young people, it said.
"In broadcasting to an audience of predominantly young people, it was to be expected that Chris Moyles would use expressions and words which the listeners used themselves," the committee's report said.
Jo Whiley made a "sincere, full and swift" apology
"The committee believed that Chris Moyles, when using the word, had meant no offence to gay people.
"It did, however, feel that it would be advisable to think more carefully about using the word 'gay' in its derogatory sense in the future."
On Jo Whiley's show, The Game caused uproar for calling gay men "faggots" and "not real men".
The governors' committee said: "The Game's comments were very offensive, completely unacceptable and clearly homophobic.
"However, it also noted that the presenter, Jo Whiley, was swift to make a full apology for what had been said and to distance herself and the network from The Game's comments."
Whiley showed "courage and presence of mind" in making a "sincere, full and swift" apology, the committee said.

"This apology was an appropriate and proportionate response to what had occurred and meant that, taken as a whole, the programme did not breach required programme standards."
The BBC cancelled further interviews with the artist but lamely decided not to ban The Game's music from its airwaves.
The Catherine Tate Show complaint centred around its "overtly effeminate" character Derek, who takes offence when people assume he is gay.
Viewers were invited to laugh at his campness and obvious "gayness", the complainant said.

Derek was an "extreme stereotype" of a gay man, the governors decided - but said humour was often based on stereotypes.
The sketches were supposed to be "funny, not realistic" and the show should not be taken "literally or too seriously", they said.
"The committee agreed that humour does and should challenge and push boundaries," the report said.
"The series was very well received and popular, demonstrating that its challenging material was acceptable to most people."
The committee also rejected the claim that the BBC did not treat sexuality with the same sensitivity as race, saying the same considerations and guidelines would apply in both cases.
A spokesman said Scott Mills job is safe. (Posted 5 Jun)

We messed up big time now pay us double or else
Members of the BBC's board of governors will receive large pay rises when they become BBC Trustees in January.
Chairman Michael Grade will receive £140,000 a year for a four-day week, compared to a £82,946 salary in 2005-6.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport says the changes are in line with salaries at media regulatory body Ofcom and reflect Trustees' extra workload.
The changes follow the Hutton affair in 2003, which saw the resignations of the BBC's chairman and director-general.
Three members of the board of governors, as well as Mr Grade, will be staying on to take positions with the BBC Trust.
"The new Trust will be a completely different organisation with extra responsibilities and time commitments and the remuneration will reflect that," said a DCMS spokeswoman.
"We want to make sure that people interested in being Trust members are not put off by remuneration levels which do not cover the costs."
A new vice-chairman will receive £75,000 a year for two-and-a-half days a week, compared with £28,060 for a current workload of one-and-a-half days a week.
Trust representatives for the nations will get £40,000 for two days a week, a rise from £28,060 for a day and a half.
Other members who currently receive £15,963 for one-and-a-half days will now be paid £35,000 for two days. (Posted 31 May)

He's been a Vaughn in my side now goodbye
Carl Lyons, marketing director of Capital Radio, has left the station after three years.
Lyons, who came to the CGap-owned radio station from lastminute.com, is planning to return to the new media sector from whence he came.
He was recruited three years ago to launch the Johnny Vaughn breakfast show, and was responsible for all marketing at the station.
He said: “I’ve had a fantastic three years at Capital and I am very proud that we’ve launched and established London’s favourite breakfast show. I’m looking forward to pursuing options in the Interactive space but wish all my friends and colleagues at Capital the best of luck. I’ll be listening.”
Steve Orchard, GCap group operations director, said: "We are sad that Carl has decided to leave the station, he is a fantastic brand marketer and has done a great job since he was recruited to launch the 'Johnny Vaughan Breakfast Show'."
Lyons is the third senior member of staff to leave CGap since it was created by the merger of capital and GWR two years ago - commercial director Linda Smith and chief executive David Mansfield have also left the station since the deal. (Posted 31 May).

GCap's Essex FM bans James Blunt
Essex FM has reacted to James Blunt's suggestion that anyone who doesn't like his music being played on the radio should simply switch it off. The station has announced that from today listeners will no longer hear 'You're Beautiful' and 'Goodbye My Lover'.
Programme Controller Chris Cotton: "Quite often there will be popular artists that people are starting to grow weary of. This time, the number of specific comments about James Blunt were more than we have ever seen for one particular artist. The amount of feedback is enormous, so it looks like there'll be a pretty long-term ban. This does tend to happen when artists reach a certain level of popularity, when it becomes wall-to-wall coverage."
The GCap Media station said it was responding to recent audience research, which revealed that listeners had tired of his songs. Last week at the Ivor Novello awards 'You're Beautiful' was voted international hit of the year and whilst accepting his award he commented: "To all those bastards who don't like my music - you're all adults, you can switch your radio off."
That's why while Mr Cotton is operational line manager in a struggling giant of a radio company that seems to have lost touch with it's listeners, American Chart-topper James Blunt is one of the biggest recording artists of the past twelve months. I suspect the battle to win back listeners from the intelligent, sophisticated and often surprising musical choices of Radio 2 is going to involve rather more than banning an artist previously scheduled every two hours. Essex FM in this instance is responsible for the 'burn'. It's the type of non-sensical decision we've come to expect from commercial staions who rely more and more on gimmick rather than substance. (Posted 30 May).

GCap chief admits Capital has turned off London
GCAP’s chief executive yesterday told The Times that the Capital Radio owner had alienated its London listeners.
Ralph Bernard admitted that the flagship radio station had lost its strong London identity, as the group announced a 40 per cent slide in pre-tax profits and a 26 per cent revenue decline at Capital Radio.
GCap is considering a shake-up of Capital’s breakfast show, which could see the introduction of a strong female sidekick to tone down Johnny Vaughan’s laddish humour.
Mr Bernard said that Capital needed to “own London”, as it did throughout much of the 1990s, and has vowed to return the station to its former glory. He is planning to promote Capital through events in London and through internet features, including London- focused podcasts.
Mr Bernard added that he had a marketing budget in place to promote a revamped Capital when the time was right.
He also said that it was a “myth” that the BBC is more dominant than commercial radio. The commercial sector has a larger share of the audience that matters, 15 to 44-year-olds, he said. “The market share issue is skewed, as most of the BBC’s audience are older people, who most advertisers do not target.”
GCap said yesterday that underlying profits fell sharply because of a downturn in the advertising market. Pre-tax profits fell 40 per cent to £22.2 million.
It said that group revenues in April and May were expected to be down 4 per cent, with Capital Radio down 26 per cent, largely the result of the company’s move to reduce the amount of commercials that the station runs by about half.
GCap recently hired Scott Muller, the programme director at Nova, the Sydney radio station, to transform Capital Radio. It is understood that, while Johnny Vaughan is likely to remain at the station, the group is keen to appeal more to younger women with the introduction of a strong female co-presenter. Mr Bernard refused to confirm this.
The two top managers at Capital Radio were recently dismissed as the group moved to stem falling revenues and fight off rivals. The commercial radio group announced that it had parted company with Capital’s managing director, Keith Pringle, and the programme director, Nik Goodman.
Mr Bernard said that he was working to develop the group’s digital stations further by introducing advertising. While there is already advertising on Planet Rock, which has 500,000 listeners, there is currently no advertising on Chill.
GCap’s shares were yesterday down 1.74 per cent at 240p.
(Posted 27 May - article by By Amanda Andrews, Times Media Business Correspondent)

Bruno Brookes suffers a heart attack
Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Bruno Brookes is recovering after suffering a heart attack.
The 47-year-old was treated at St Thomas' Hospital in central London where he appeared on a television documentary.
Brookes was taken into the hospital by ambulance earlier this week after suffering chest pains. Doctors took pictures and, after seeing that the right side of his heart was blocked, used a "stent" to open up the artery.
He appeared on City Hospital, the BBC's fly-on-the-wall documentary about St Thomas', where he said the attack was a "wake up call".
The DJ, who smokes, told presenter Nadia Sawalha: "I suppose I knew it was a question of time before something like this happened."
He added that he would now try hard to kick his smoking habit.
"I know that is very much part and parcel of why I am here today," he said.
Brookes second only to Alan Freeman as setting a template for Chart Show presentation, hosted Radio 1's main Sunday Top 40 Show for several years in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as other programmes, until he was axed following a cull of erstwhile 'Smashey and Nicey' DJs.
He later set up a successful internet radio station and also established a company that manages presenters and trains broadcasters. (Posted 27 May)

Merger costs push GCap into £48m loss
GCap Media "closed a chapter" on one of the most tumultuous media mergers of recent years yesterday, as the radio broadcaster created by the marriage of GWR and Capital Radio Group reported a pre-tax loss of £47.9m.
Britain's largest commercial radio group endured a torrid debut last year as it launched into an advertising downturn and was racked by a series of internal upheavals that forced out the chief executive. Ralph Bernard, the new chief executive of GCap, said yesterday that the business was on the right footing after taking financial charges relating to the merger, including a non-cash amortisation hit of £42.8m, which helped to push the company into its £47.9m annual loss.
"Today represents a closing of that chapter. This is a business that is stable, that does not have anything like the turnover of staff that it had, that is on the front foot and has a clear strategy that is accepted by investors."
Pro-forma results for the year to March, which stripped out one-off costs and assumed that the merger took place a year earlier, showed a 40% fall in pre-tax profits to £22.2m, on revenues of £220.2m, down 12.7% on the same period last year.
GCap said it lost £2.4m in turnover through a new advertising policy at the ailing Capital Radio - formerly known as 95.8 Capital FM - that limited the station to two adverts in each ad break. Mr Bernard said Capital's competitors had taken money from the station as a result and a revamp of the programming would take up to nine months to draw back listeners, leaving open the possibility of further audience declines at a station that accounts for 12% of group revenues. Capital Radio, now the third largest station in London after years as the number one, has frozen marketing budgets while it undergoes its overhaul.
"We recognise that Capital is a major contributor to potential future profits. We also recognise that it has been in long-term decline," Mr Bernard said.
He denied the merger had been a failure, but admitted that senior management had underestimated the size of the cultural chasm between the two workforces at GWR, owner of Classic FM, and Capital Radio Group, owner of XFM. Between them the two sides had 57 stations. A prolonged depression in radio advertising revenues also hurt, Mr Bernard said, though rivals such as Emap and Chrysalis have blamed the sector's woes partly on GCap's underperformance.
"We underestimated the cultural differences between the two businesses and I have yet to find a perfect merger between two businesses that have been scrapping for share in a small pool," he said.
Patrick Yau, analyst at Bridgewell Securities, said GCap was now in a position to win back the advertisers and audiences that had deserted it since the merger: "The patient is slowly getting better and the early signs are good." However, he said there was "a long way to go" before Capital Radio regained its status as London's biggest radio station. Richard Menzies-Gow, analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, added that GCap was unlikely to reap the benefits of its strategic changes for "some time yet" but the business appeared to be "off the bottom".
Shares in GCap, which made its stock market debut at 334.5p, fell 4.25p to 240p yesterday, valuing the business at £396m. The group said it expected advertising revenues in April and May to fall 4%, despite a 17% fall in April last year, with Capital Radio falling by 26% as a result of the new ad break policy. June sales are also expected to be negative, said GCap.
(Posted 27 May - article by Dan Milmo, The Guardian media business editor, Thursday May 25, 2006)

Radio One & Radio Two are too good, scrap them ...
A media think tank has called for the BBC to sell off Radio 1 and 2 "as soon as possible".
The BBC's annual radio budget of £450m had severely limited growth in the commercial radio sector, the European Media Forum (EMF) report said.
As the two rely mainly on music they have a limited public service role - a factor which strengthens the case for privatisation, it added.
The EMF estimated the BBC could raise more than £500m through a sell off.
"Our argument is that whereas you can put forward a pretty compelling case for a public sector role for Radios 4 and 3 - and also Radio 5, it gets a bit thin when you look at Radios 1 and 2 - and they could survive quite easily in the private sector," said the report's author, economist Keith Boyfield.
Growth limited
The report argued that the UK radio sector was suffering from "stunted growth", and the problem had been intensified by the BBC's ability to cross promote and cross subsidise across a number of media platforms.
The EMF also argued that Radios 1 and 2 would fare well in the commercial sector as the stations currently attract the highest radio audiences in the UK.
"If both Radio 1 and 2 were sold in a combined sale the proceeds might arguably total £500m or more," it added.
But the BBC said both radio stations offered diverse music, documentaries and current affairs shows that could not be found in the commercial sector.
It said the stations provided innovative and challenging content that the market would not otherwise provide.
Kelvin MacKenzie, former chief executive of the Wireless Group which controls a number of UK local radio stations, welcomed the EMF's privatisation call as a "splendid idea".
The wide availability of commercial music on radio, the internet and through downloads meant that the two stations could no longer lay claim to offering a public service as set out in the BBC's remit, he said.
Commercial woes
"Why does the BBC want to hang onto basically what is, on Radio One, pop music, and on Radio 2, middle of the road music, when all they're really doing is bankrupting commercial forces?," he told Radio 4's Today programme.
Commercial radio is currently going through a "nightmare" which is made worse by the fact that the BBC has a 60% share of the radio audience, Mr MacKenzie said.
"Why should advertisers go to commercial radio when they're missing 60% of the audience?" he added.
The report came as Chrysalis - which owns the Heart and Galaxy brands - blamed a tough advertising market for a sharp 46% drop in full year profits to £2.1m.
Earlier this year, radio broadcaster GCap Media blamed falling audiences and short advert breaks for a 17% drop in revenues in the first three months of the year.
Without BBC 'state' owned Radio One and Two to sharpen up ILR we we could expect an even lower standard of music radio programming from them. Like it or not the high fees paid to broadcasters like Terry Wogan and Jonathan Ross who have a supremely high commercial value created from public interest in them. At the other end of the shareholders scale, there's a moronic 'hey we could make another £10k a year by getting a computer to do that' mind-set. Music is art, and it needs a commercial free environment to flourish, hard to believe but for nearly ten year's London's Capital Radio wouldn't play Blur 'Parklife' even though it was one of the moist enduriung hits of the nineties - presumably someone on the board disliked it. ILR should and can be far more entertaining and relevant than recycling an Our Tune feature that was albeit unbeatable on Radio One through 1977-1993 ... come on, that's nearly thirty years ago. (Ed. posted 22 May)

The international number one ...
Audience figures for the BBC World Service have reached a record 163 million a week, the corporation announced today. The figure is 14 million higher than last year and beats the previous record of 153 million listeners in 2001.

15 seconds of fame ...
Never mind Big Brother bull, here's important news from our TV correspondent Space Detective Evans ... "Had to tell you about Jonathan Ross last night - as the opening credits rolled and Jonathan Ross's name was announced - in walked GUY GOMA the famous wrong interviewee!! Having been invited on GMTV and BBC news to tell his story he's picked up quite a fan club! And you know what - when he walked on the audience went crazy! Quite lengthy clapping and cheering - I think people have really taken him to their hearts! He just walked back out again but it was a really funny idea they got him to do that! Folk seem to have warmed to him because it was a genuine blunder that brought him his 15 minutes of fame - wasn't attention seeking like a lot of would-be celebs these days! Still don't know if he got the job though??!!" (and Pie in the Sky Records won't comment on rumours that he's been offered a record contract!) (Posted 20 May)

Hal Berre accuses Chris Moyles of racism...
Hollywood star Halle Berry asked motor mouth Tyke Chris Moyles whether he was having a "racist moment" on his radio show. (I hope that's not Tyke-ist. Ed. or mouth-ist)
The Oscar-winning actress made the comment while on Radio 1's breakfast show to promote the latest X-Men blockbuster.
The pair were discussing acting along with her co-star Hugh Jackman when Moyles adopted an American accent and challenged his guests to "put your hands up in the air" because he had a gun.
Jackman suggested he was being a "Brooklyn Bond", at which point Moyles replied: "I'm a black American guy."
Berry, 39, then interjected: "Are we having a racist moment here?"
Moyles insisted the comment had not been intended as racist, and the interview continued.
A BBC spokesman said: "There was nothing racist. She carried on chatting for another 5-10 minutes after the comment."
Berry was in London to promote X-Men 3: The Last Stand, released next week. The comic book adaptation portrays a society suffering from deep antipathy between mutants with superpowers and ordinary humans.
After her appearance on Moyles's show, the actress, who plays mutant Storm, told a press conference at the Dorchester Hotel: "Being a woman and a person of colour, I often feel left outside.
"Because of my gender, nationality and colour of skin, I can relate to my character in X-Men."
She nearly went on to say how everyone kept their distance at school because she was smelly. As she refused to wash the other kids held their noses trying not to wrench, but that would be smellist and far too obvious a conclusion to draw."
Oh yeah, c'mon Leeds! (Posted 19 May)

The Guardian & Radio 2xs The UK's London-based newspaper 'The Guardian' recently used a picture of the radio2XS studio to illustrate a major article about the UK's punitive radio royalty licensing regime. The latest changes in the rules have demanded that all UK commercial radio stations cease to broadcast to overseas listeners via the internet and this has resulted in all stations installing 'gatekeeper' software to prevent foreign listening. This is even more extraordinary since it protects only overseas copyright-owners and many are bemused as to why this task should be taken on by the UK authorities. The picture, taken in 2004 by UK telecommunications giant, BT, shows Editor Jeff Cooper in the main production studio in Sheffield. Although the rule change doesn't affect OnLine-only stations like 2XS, Cooper is bemused by the changes: "I find it extraordinary that the UK's 'licensed' FM and AM broadcasters, who were once such a proud and powerful lobby, have laid down and rolled over in the face of this nonsense. There is a very serious matter of principle involved here yet the radio industry's collective representative body, the CRCA, seems to have sold them down the river. As far as I am aware, the UK is the first country to isolate its commercial radio industry from the World Wide Web. The BBC, of course, is not affected". (18/5)