You might have seen this story last week... it's official; radio makes us happier! New research for the Radio Advertising Bureau found that radio listeners have higher levels of happiness and energy than consumers of other forms of media.

So, with this in mind, I asked everyone in the IMN office to tell me on e-mail or the back of a postcard (I got an actual postcard from one member of the team who seemingly has too much time on his hands) why they love the wireless - and got some interesting responses, I'll post them all over the next few days.

Britt: Radio gets me up in the mornings, keeps me company when I’m in my flat on my own, entertains me whilst I’m washing up, makes me laugh whilst I’m cleaning the shower, lets me know the breaking news of the day….

Radio is such a key part to my life and I genuinely don’t know where I would get the majority of my entertainment from if it wasn’t around. Without sounding like a bit of a geek, I think I prefer listening to speech shows than music based shows, because I love an opinion and a bit of a debate. Some presenters have argued a case so well that in the past I have completely changed my opinion on topics that I thought I was completely routed in. There’s nothing better than listening to a live debate with people from all over phoning in to have their say – so long as no crazies slip through the net!

I love that radio seems so seamless – listeners just have no idea how much work will go into planning a three hour breakfast show, or the panic that ensues if a guest is late or doesn’t turn up, the jingle jams or the mic doesn’t fade back up! Presenters have to come across as pros who know exactly what they’re doing – but from experience there is always something that needs to be fixed quickly or something that goes horribly wrong that needs to be winged!

Chris A: Radio makes me happy because it keeps you up to date with what’s going on in the world - which you can listen to whilst getting on with other things! It also introduces you to new music (well, when it isn’t relentlessly pounding your head with current music anyway) as well as offering mindless background chatter when you’re on the road driving. Radio is instant, varied, and often unplanned (or at least sometimes gives that impression) in nature, which makes it more personable and easier to relate too.