The owner and managing director of the Dundee-based commercial station, Wave 102, has written to the Scottish Government urging that radio be included in proposed amendments about broadcasting in the Scotland Bill.
It follows last week’s announcement by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, urging Westminster to include in the Scotland Bill the facility for the Scottish Government to create public service broadcasting TV channels of its own choosing and to be invited to any future negotiations about how the TV licence fee is allocated.
Writes Adam Findlay: “There are around 40 or so radio stations providing a vital entertainment and information service, often in hard-to-reach communities or difficult-to-reach demographics.
“Almost 90 per cent of Scotland’s population listen to some sort of radio service each week with an almost equal split between BBC radio services and commercial radio services.
“This vital sector was almost entirely absent from the deliberations concerning the furture of broadcasting in Scotland.”
Findlay is a former managing director of Radio Forth. With John Quinn, owner of Falkirk-based Central FM, he co-owns Aberdeen-based Original 106.
