Radio Times sold - end of an era

The news today that Radio Times has been sold to private equity firm Exponent brings to an end 88 years of ownership by the BBC. The deal has just been made public and so far there are no details of what will happen to the staff. First reports on PA says that they are expected to transfer to Exponent when the deal is complete.

As someone who was working at TVTimes (it is all one word, by the way) when ITV sold it to IPC, I know full well the uncertainty such a sale can bring. Quite often that uncertainty comes to nothing and all is well and people keep their jobs. Let's hope this is the case with Radio Times.

But working conditions may change. I remember the dry comment uttered by writer Marsha Hanlon when TVTimes changed ownership: "Gravy train derailed; no one hurt."

The four-day week, generous expenses and high salaries we all enjoyed at TVTimes became a thing of the past. Indeed, they were never a thing for staff who joined the magazine after the sale.

But despite the good times at TVTimes, I have a soft spot for Radio Times. I started my journalistic career there as a sub-editor - only we weren't called that as we would have to have been paid NUJ rate wages. We were Programme Assistants, responsible for the putting together the television and radio listings pages.

Journalism has changed over the years. Things have become meaner and leaner. It's the way of the world. Radio Times is no longer the biggest selling magazine in Europe but it still sells more than a very healthy 1,000,000 copies every week.

I wish it well under its new owners. Free from BBC politics and the demands of the BBC controllers, here's hoping that the disproportionate number of Doctor Who covers will disappear.