After 13 years at Talksport James Whales had his contract terminated for urging listeners to vote for Boris in the mayoral elections.  Given the current state of the law it would naturally be wrong to criticise Talksport for their decision to fire Whales.  But the fact they felt compelled to take such action speaks volumes about the extent to which the regulation of broadcast media inhibits free speech. 

When I get into the office in the morning I read through the papers; Sun, Times, Guardian, Telegraph, and Daily Mail.  What they all share in common is the freedom with which they express political bias - there’s no restriction on their ability to urge readers to vote for candidate X or Y (indeed the Evening Standard made no bones about their candidate of choice in the mayoral election). 

I’ve never understood the logic of the broadcast media restrictions; are viewers less able to make intelligent decisions than readers?  Am I more likely to be swayed by Sky News than the Times?  No and No. 

Perhaps it’s time the law reflected reality…