Media in London

Media

Newspapers & Magazines

For the latest information about shops, restaurants, and arts events, peruse Britain's glossy monthly magazines -- Tatler, Harpers & Queen, Vogue, Wallpaper, House & Garden, the Face -- and the weekly Time Out (www.timeout.co.uk). The Times (www.timesonline.co.uk), the Evening Standard (www.thisislondon.com), the Independent (www.independent.co.uk), and the Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) have comprehensive arts sections including reviews and advance news of future events. The Web sites of these newspapers are full of tips on what's hot and happening.

Radio & Television

The main channels are BBC1 and BBC2 from the British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC2 is considered the more eclectic and artsy channel, with a higher proportion of alternative humor, drama, and documentaries. The independent channels include ITV (Independent Television), which occasionally shows big-budget series and films, as well as occasional "reality" shows (I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Here), and soaps, both homegrown (Coronation Street, which the Queen is rumored to watch) and international (the Australian Neighbors) and some U.S. series. Another independent channel, Channel 4 is a mixture of mainstream and off-the-wall, famous at the moment for its bi-annual series of Big Brother, while Channel 5 has a higher proportion of sports, U.S. cop shows, and B movies. Satellite and cable channels (many of which are beamed into hotel rooms) have increased the daily diet now available round the clock.

Radio has seen a similar explosion, with 24-hour classics on Classic FM (100-102 mhz), rock on Virgin (105.8 mhz), nostalgic on Heart (106.2 mhz), and talk on Talk Radio (MW1053 khz) -- and that's just a sample of the independents. The BBC's Radio 1 (FM97.6) is for the young and hip; Radio 2 (FM88) is for middle-of-the-roadsters; Radio 3 (FM90.2) plays classics, jazz, and arts; Radio 4 (FM92.4) has news, current affairs, drama, and documentary; and Radio 5 Live (MW693 khz) has sports and news with phone-ins.