Former IBA Director of Radio John Thompson dies

John Thompson CBE, known as the father of independent radio, has died at the age of 88.

John was selected to establish the operative framework for the new independent radio service, working first within Whitehall and then at the Independent Broadcasting Authority.

An experienced broadcaster, editor and businessman, his brief was to coordinate and push forward the plans for radio on a commercial basis. He has often been called “the father of independent radio”. At the IBA, he was firm but fair with pirate broadcasters. He once wrote: “The pressures from pirates are, in one sense, a tribute to the power and attraction of radio in the mid 1980s.”

John was Director of Radio at the IBA before retiring in 1987 and honored with a Fellowship at the Radio Academy.

Radiocentre staff have paid tribute to John, saying they are saddened to hear of the sudden death of John Thompson CBE last week. He would have been 89 in June.