I'll define what I mean by quality and compare and contrast with the alternatives. I'm not going to go into too much detail or cite too many specific examples regular readers already know the facts and background, new readers can do a bit of digging.
For me a quality sports phone in has a good few facets.
• Displays a fair degree of neutrality. I hear you cry Ewan is a Jambo and Roughie is confused where is the neutrality in that. Have you listened to Radio Clyde or Radio Scotland don't even try to tell me they are neutral. On one show of the regular panel members says “I don't hate Rangers I just despise them” and on the other a frequent guest describes Rangers fans as Troglodytes and prevaricators. I think you know how I'm talking about if you want more background have a read through some old follow follow magazines.
• Be prepared to tackle the thorny issues and big stories without taking sides, comes back to the neutrality thing again surprise surprise. Real Radio took the Videogate thing by the horns; Ewan even had the temerity to ask Mr Strachan at a Celtic news conference about it, I know you could hear outraged from Carfin, trying to find his crayon to write to the editor of The Herald. However on Clyde when a caller tried to discuss the video, listeners were told by a man who had four priests at his daughters wedding that this wasn't a footballing story and they weren't going to discuss it. Meanwhile on Radio Scotland the tumbleweed blew past.
• Take callers from all sides and allow all opinions to be discussed. Ewan and Roughie I think sometimes play the good cop bad cop routine very well. They always seem to take contrary opinions a thing which in my humble is good and adds to the debate. Radio Clyde seems to cater specifically for Celtic Minded individuals, suppose that is to be expected when most of the panel is Celtic Minded. Radio Scotland is just sad and pathetic and seem to derive a lot of their “humour” from calling us “Huns” and DOBs etc. Neither of the two seems really keen on discussing anything to do with Rangers in a positive light.
• Be prepared to take on people in the media head on if they are being unfair or biased in their agenda. Real Radio had a certain journalist on who is notorious in more ways than one on to discuss his views on Rangers. Although it wasn't a great show, think that someone had his finger on the fader. At the end Ewan had a good go at the aforementioned journalist. Can you ever see that happening on Radio Clyde or Radio Scotland?
• Allow Fans onto the show. Real Radio allowed David Edgar from the Rangers Supports Trust onto the show twice, once on a panel with someone from the Celtic equivalent and another time on his own. If you haven't heard David talk or met him you really should, he has a very positive outlook on all things Rangers and will fight his corner. When he was on the second time he handled himself very well, got the Trusts point over and was funny and erudite and certainly didn't prevaricate. Lets look at Radio Clyde views on supporters trusts “I don't know much about them, but I know I don't like them” not much chance of David getting an invite there then. David appeared on Radio Scotland a week or so ago I don't know if you heard it or not? I've read a transcript of the “discussion” to be blunt someone was well and truly set up. He was asked loaded questions with a very clear agenda aimed at portraying all Rangers fans as bigots.
• Be prepared to have a go at fans who suffer from verbal diarrhoea. Ewan has dealt well with a couple of idiots who called in; one claimed that Rangers fans didn't listen to Radio Clyde because the initials were RC, Ewan put him firmly in his place. Clyde and Scotland let anyone on who wants to have a go at Rangers don't ya know, doesn't matter how stupid or twisted the caller is they get on.
However my appreciation for Real Radio has died a bit as caller after caller calls in denouncing Rangers about the sectarian singing at Ibrox, however they were keen to point out that there was no sectarian singing at Parkhead. There was however a common factor in with all these callers they were all Celtic fans.
One even called up and told Ewan and Roughie, that a secret survey was carried out and they found that 96% of the songs sung at Ibrox were Sectarian as against 4% at Celtic Park. Did Ewan or Roughie challenge him on the veracity of this survey? Did they hell!
In the style of Jim Bowen, of Bullseye fame, here's what they could have asked. Where did the statistics come from? Who carried out the survey, when was it done? How was it carried out? How a song is classed as sectarian, if you cast your minds back to the videogate palaver Celtic's PR department claimed that shouting IRA and Sinn Fein were political chants and not Sectarian. In a recent court case "the Sash" was deemed non sectarian.
I've had a look at some of the little gems that the Celtic support sing you know the ones “Cheer up Alex McLeish oh what can it mean to be a sad Orange Bastard with a …..” or that classic “On the one road” which has been changed to include a line “and then there will be no protestants at all.”
However we are continually told that our songs are Sectarian and theirs are political, has it ever been considered that one mans Politics is another man's Sectarianism. They could also have asked if perhaps in this particular instance it was a case of 93.7% of statistics are made up on the spot.
WATMAN