Tim Davie proves he doesn't really know about radio

Tim Davie has had a fair chance to prove wrong those who thought flogging teeth-rotting drinks might not be a transferable skill to running radio stations. But he's not really doing that, is he?

Today, he's been talking to the MediaGuardian podcast about Chris Moyles' banging on about how he had a minor HR problem for half an hour. He doesn't think it was wrong:

"I don't think it was utterly inappropriate," Davie told the Guardian's Media Talk podcast. "I think at the end of the day, Chris is always going to be someone who speaks his mind. His listeners know that. It was a lively broadcast, he said he had a pretty rough morning, but that's what listeners expect from Moyles.

"There's a huge difference between deep editorial issues that are causing offence to the audience and whether a DJ like Chris is talking about, or frankly ranting about, something for a while. People like myself are very clear that we want to give DJs space to do their thing, that's what we do. It's different to whether there's a breach of editorial standards, where we've got to be very tough."

No, Tim. No. There's a difference between 'having a valid point', 'having an interesting rant' and 'whining about a minor adminsitrative error'. I know Davie probably wants to keep Moyles sweet, but it was a self-indulgent chunk of pity party, and it's okay to say 'he had a valid point, but my God, if he churns out another dull half-hour like this, he's going to have to worry about if he's got a job, never mind if he's getting paid'.