They were cheeky, weren't they, calling their station Radio Ireland - so close in sound and delusions of status to Radio Eireann. (Very handy for getting interviews abroad, too, I would have thought.)

Now, can you hear them singing in Montrose? "One Radio Ireland, there's only one Radio Ireland . . ."

Ten months after its initial launch, the station that was criticised for not sticking up billboards depicting Emily O'Reilly, Ann Marie Hourihane, Cliona Ni Bhuachalla et al has finally got itself a unique poster campaign: a punter buried in money thanks to a fab cash giveaway. In fairness, while that poster is a bit weird (you've got to get rather close to recognise the "Minute with a Million" stopwatch), the Today FM graphics aren't too bad. The kids liked 'em enough to put the car sticker on the sitting room window, and we're redecorating the boxroom in matching colours. Yes, if I were on the IRTC (some chance) I'd definitely have voted "Yes" on the logo, which adds vibrancy and colour to the nation's radio-station-logo scene. The next thing I would have done would be to check my notes from the original launch of Radio Ireland (I'd have a very good filing system). What ever happened, (I'd have asked politely) to that deal with Paul Mercier to develop a new dramatic serial, supposedly starting last autumn? And here, under John Kelly's name on the schedule: "new talents, regional reports, educational issues . . ." What's that about? I kind of liked the stuff on the blurb for the main mid-morning programme about "health, relationships, child care, gardening, food . . ."

Ah, sure, things change, and it's a struggle to make a bob in Ireland these days (or even to avoid losing hundreds of thousands of pounds). In fact, in radio, it turns out there's only one way to do it: thus Dublin listeners have not two but three virtually identical stations to choose from, at least by day. (And how long before Today FM starts giving us a feel-good late-night psychic? It could complement its weekend love-song programme, the classily titled Between the Sheets.)

The absurdity is that within a year of its arrival on the airwaves the national commercial licence-holder can change its profile so thoroughly, yet the licensing authority has little choice but to rubber-stamp the changes - or face a backlash for ignorant interference with commercial imperatives.

Undoubtedly, the dignity of the IRTC would be better served if it had no ongoing role with Today FM at all, if it could shrug its collective shoulders, throw up its hands and say: "What a shame - nothing we can do."

If the airwaves are to be regarded as a national (i.e. State) asset, then keep them in public ownership, make them available to community groups, eccentric individuals, etc, and take some broad regulatory interest in ensuring their accessibility.

If, on the other hand, some frequencies are going to be subject to market pressures, then flog them to the highest bidder and let 'em go. Much as we might like good radio, there's really no justification for a harmless business like this being subject to a high level of regulation of its output.

The current situation which sees well-intentioned people mouth pieties about public service broadcasting to the IRTC, then crawl back with Chris-Evans-inspired programming for approval when things get rough, is an insult to everyone involved.

All is not lost, for some strange reason, and Today FM is still well worth listening to in the evening. However, on Wednesday evenings RTE Radio 1 is posing a strong challenge among music lovers from 8 to 9 p.m. - when Jivin' Joe Jackson plays similar music (jazz, blues, folk) to what John Kelly spins, but with his unique brand of annotation.

Part one of The Years Go Pop could have been called The Year Goes Boom, with Jackson taking 1945 and the A-bomb as a watershed for popular music and culture. As an historian Joe talks a bit too much jive - contrary to his suggestion, social realism in theatre, and protest songs, are hardly a post-war phenomenon. Jackson knows better, I'm sure, but can get carried away with generalisations when he's on to a good point.

As a reader and explicator of pop songs, however, he is without peer. The sounds of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dizzy Gillespie were all - if you can believe it - enhanced by Jackson's loving commentary. This series goes straight in at number one with a bullet on the not-to-be-missed list.