The Unshaven Pursuit of the Unexpected

There are two observations made about working in Radio which are repeated so often that they have gone past the realms of cliche and onto a much higher and more banal plain.

The first - who'd have thought it - is that because there are no cameras (unlike in telly!) you can turn up to work without 40 tons of make up and still do your job.

The second, and this is really insightful, is that if you work in Breakfast radio, you have to get up early. And that the noise of your alarm going off at 4.12am or whatever isn't really much fun.

Really? Can this be true?

Both of these observations were made this weekend in the Guardian's Saturday magazine. A photo article - capturing "Britain's best and most contraversial presenters" - was the magazine's cover story. What followed was ten pages of pictures of our 'favourite' broadcasters accompanied by little more than adverts for the programmes they present. Very, very lazy indeed. 

Not only that, the pictures were standard publicity shots - there might have been at least an attempt by the magazine to take snaps of these presenters actually in studio, actually doing their jobs, actually giving us something interesting to see. But, no. Pointlessly lame. Unless of course a really big picture of Chris Tarrant's face is what you're after.

It's also just struck me that of the 27 presenters mentioned, all but 7 work for the BBC. There's plenty of talented broadcasters working in commercial radio - but they were notable by their absence from this shockingly prosaic waste of paper.

Of all the comments made by the DJs and journalists featured, only one stuck in my mind because of its way with words and it came from an unlikely source: Nicky Campbell.

Unfortunately, I just can't take him seriously because he seems to take himself so very seriously. I'm sure he's very good but every question he asks seems like he's overcompensating for once having presented the TV gameshow Wheel of Fortune. Nicky, please stop trying so hard. Simon Mayo once fronted a Saturday night primetime show for idiots called Confessions and yet you can't hear him straining for credibility (even if in reality he is).

The comment that I found so memorable in an otherwise embarrassing use of ten pages of the magazine, was Nicky Campbell's description of what he does, five mornings a week. He called it: "The unshaven pursuit of of the unexpected." Marvellous. As a description of what radio is all about, its pretty much spot on for three reasons. One, that yes, you don't have to look your best in order to perform at your best. Two: Radio is the most instant of all media and what you're always after is an unexpected moment, something surprising, funny or moving which becomes the highlight of your whole show.

Most of all though, is reason three. On radio all you really have is words. They are your tools and in the right hands, wonderful things can be made. If you can't command the English language, you're never going to be a great broadcaster. I'm not saying that Nicky Campbell is one, but at least he'd bothered to think of an articulate response to a boring question and demonstrate a turn of phrase we could all be proud of.

Well done, Nicky. I think I'll start quoting you.