I just returned from London to learn that ITV are filming an episode of Lewis in my Oxford neighborhood of Jericho. According to the written notice someone from the production team slipped in my mail slot, Lewis will be investigating a murder in Jericho. Anyway, according to ITV [warning: plot spoiler] the police uncover that the deceased has a ‘high-tech nerve center’ in the building opposite that controls his ‘unscrupulous business empire’.

This is of course pure fiction. Broadband speeds in Jericho are too slow to support a corner shop, much less a business empire…

[BTW: Lewis, like most ITV programmes, is completely unwatchable. If you want good crime drama, go to Channel Five / Five U.S.]

And speaking of business empires, I noticed that Ofcom awarded the Oxfordshire DAB licence to an affiliate of GCap. GCap propose a decent mix of programming, but completely ignored the Oxford Union’s station - Oxide. As of this date, I think Oxide only broadcast on the internet. It’s probably a grim listening experience now, but get the kids some modest resources and exposure and I think they would make a beneficial contribution to GCap’s offering.

Ofcom and the radio industry should work with university-run or student-run radio stations to get them on DAB where possible.

In the U.S. most universities of any size — really I am not kidding — have very good student-run radio stations. Many of them are quite popular, particularly when they cover university sports.