Forget social media, radio is the future of local connection.

After 40 years as a newspaper journalist at home and abroad, Stuart Laundy has relished swapping notebook and pen for microphone and mixer.

“Radio has always been a passion—right back to my days as a cub reporter on the Gateshead Post covering the Tyne Valley, when I and a fellow trainee reporter used to present an afternoon show on Hexham Hospital Radio,” he recalls.

After stepping down from his final newspaper post as editor of the Teesdale Mercury in Barnard Castle, the last year has allowed more time behind the mic for Durham OnAir, broadcasting from the loft of his home in the town.

Stuart joined the station in 2023 and now produces three shows: The Teesdale Takeover, Classic Rock, and the The Monday Morning Music Show from 10am to 1pm.

“The Teesdale show (Sundays 2–4 pm) is like a local newspaper on the radio—headlines and sport from the dale, what’s on, and one or two guests each week chatting about issues of local interest,” he says.

“Classic Rock (Mondays 9–10 pm) is just a delight. It’s the music I’ve listened to ever since I heard a Status Quo track called 'Ring of a Change' back in the late 70s.”

He adds: “I’ve always enjoyed doing a daytime show but never really had the time in the past, so Mondays fit the bill perfectly. I always put a lot of thought into the playlist, mixing the well-known with the less familiar, which I hope will catch the listeners’ ear. And then we have the lunchtime 'Six of the Best' quiz. I mean, who doesn’t love a quiz?”

When not beavering away in the loft, you are likely to find Stuart at the Leeds-Liverpool Canal near Skipton, where he is part of the volunteer lock-keeping team, or at the allotment he tends with his wife, Naila.

Durham OnAir is available on DAB Digital Radio, by downloading the free Durham OnAir smartphone app, or by asking Alexa to "Enable the Durham On Air skill."