Regulators

Trevor Dann, former chief executive of the Radio Academy, and quondam producer of Dave Lee Travis, went on the Today Programme this week talking about the future of commercial local radio. It comes as Global Radio is trying to win "fast-track" Competition Commission (the old Monopolies and Mergers Commission) sanction for its takeover of GMG's radio interests - likely to result in further consolidation of local stations into larger networks.

Trevor said there's been a failure to regulate the local radio landscape "on a scale to match the banking crisis"; the future for local was "not radio stations but relay stations of playlists and DJs making programmes in London".

Global seem oddly keen at this stage to avoid scrutiny through the normal Ofcom channels, but Ofcom will presumably contribute to the Competition Commission's report. The radio side at Ofcom is run by Peter Davies -Director, Radio Content & Broadcast Licensing. He ought to know his way round local - at the BBC, he was Head of Strategy for Nations and Regions, and involved in a relaunch of BBC London 94.9 (away from the Matthew Bannister/Trevor Dann GLR strategy) and claims involvement in BBC Local Radio's DAB strategy and the BBC's digital radio strategy.

Here he is on the right, at a radio Christmas charity quiz with Ofcom colleagues, in this candid shot from Mediaweek.