Tuned in to the community John Hatfield listens in as Clyde's Paul Cooney explains the secret of the station's success

The communications revolution has seen the explosion of rival media from daytime television, cable, satellite and freeview to i-Pods, mobiles and computer games, but 30 years after it was launched Clyde still pulls in one million listeners every week and holds an admirable 27.6% market share in its listening area.

Real Radio, which emerged in January 2002 after taking over the ailing ScotFM franchise, is the challenger in the blue corner and has impressed the judges as a serious contender.

John Myers, Real's managing director, has been rabble rousing in the media with justifiable claims that his station is the real deal. With 26% market share in central Scotland, it now claims to have more listeners than Clyde.

The affable Cooney, not a man to let his blood pressure rise, acknowledges Real as a worthy rival before pointing out that the official listening figures for audience share show Clyde 1 and Clyde 2 have 27.6% of the market in their transmission area against 13.1% for Real.

In the true Clyde heartlands of Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire, that figure is much higher. Share of listeners in Glasgow is 45%. With yet another Scottish commercial radio licence about to be awarded in Edinburgh it is getting harder for older generations to recall, and younger listeners to imagine, what an incredible impact Clyde had when it launched.

In 1973, there was no authentic voice for Scotland in the broadcast media, which consisted of three television channels that shut down for half the day and then disappeared into white dot oblivion shortly after 11pm each night. Radio was confined to Radios One to Four and the whistling, fading, distorted signals from Luxembourg in the evening.

Cooney, who joined the station as a teenager in the 1970s, when he was nicknamed Man Friday owing to his versatility and willingness to help out, realises the value of this heritage: ''There was no west of Scotland voice in the early 1970s. There wasn't even a Radio Scotland.

''Bill Forsyth, the film director, said he stayed in Glasgow because of Radio Clyde. Billy Connolly said the arrival of Radio Clyde was great for the Glasgow audiences.

''Clyde got the music right and the right personalities for the presenters. Tiger Tim (Stevens) is still on because he brings in a big audience at night time. He is part of the family.''

Being part of the family is exactly what has helped Clyde retain its eminence when other big city commercial stations launched in the 1970s have faded. It is Radio Clyde that is hosting Glasgow's new year celebrations in George Square and that had the clout to attract such big name acts as Snow Patrol to headline.

It is Radio Clyde that, through its annual Cash for Kids appeal, raised (pounds) 1m last year alone for charity, a fine achievement for one station when it is remembered that the rest of commercial radio in the UK raised (pounds) 7m in total.

In its first year the appeal raised (pounds) 32,000 but will certainly beat that record this year as one listener, the entrepreneur Tom Hunter has donated (pounds) 1m this year himself.

''Cash for Kids is very important to us,'' said Cooney. ''Clyde builds relationships. It's the trust between the station and the audience. Seventy-six thousand youngsters have been helped by Clyde through Cash For Kids.

''Tom Hunter has been a huge supporter and has been helping us since he ran Sports Division.''

Then there is Clyde Action, the community wing of Radio Clyde: ''We are involved every day of the year whether it's taking old folks to parties, helping the homeless or campaigning on environmental issues. Clyde is a kind of public property.

''Working with Strathclyde Police, we got 30,000 youngsters in primary six and seven into the SECC for Scotland Against Drugs.''

Events such as Live and Loud, Scotland's biggest pop party, are also a key part of winning younger listeners on the Jesuitical principle that if you get them from the age of seven then you have them for life. This year's event, held at Hampden Park, attracted 30,000 young fans and featured such favourites as Girls Aloud, Busted and McFly.

It is all part of Clyde's mission to embed itself in the local community as Cooney points out: ''For many youngsters it is their first experience of live pop music.''

Then there the Radio Clyde Awards recognising such categories as favourite teacher, unsung hero and best place to work.

Despite the strong competition Cooney is emphatically not in the business of managing decline as Radio One seemed to be in the 1990s. ''We are looking to grow our market share. We are seeing a year-on-year increase in audience. There is a growth for Radio Clyde. The aim is more listeners who listen for longer. We have to maintain loyalty and we are hitting our goals in terms of attracting and retaining young people.''

''We let our DJs inject personality into the station with presenters such as Suzie McGuire on the lunchtime show and George Bowie at breakfast time. We have a huge sports and news team.''

When Clyde launched in the 1970s bands had to shift a quarter of a million singles in a week to get a number one. Now it is possible to do that with 30,000 sales. With the singles charts declining, how does that affect hit radio? It is a conundrum that Cooney is addressing: ''The offering must be wider. People want to hear the top songs but albums are becoming more important.''

Digital is both an opportunity and a threat. Clyde has launched 3C, Cool Continuous Country, on digital audio broadcasting to cater for the large country music fanbase in the west of Scotland. It broadcast the breakfast show live from the The Country Music Awards in Nashville. ''We must offer something different. 3C has been successful and is now generating advertising for us.''

Similarly, Clyde is competing with itself: ''Clyde 2 has an 11% market share and that's just on the AM frequency so imagine if it was digital. Clyde 2 will challenge Clyde 1 just as Radio 2 challenged Radio 1.''

As Cooney contemplates the growing challenge to Clyde's hegemony he is under no illusions about what he has to do: ''We have to produce something every day that people talk about. We are the biggest commercial station in Scotland.

''We are local but with a national impact so we've got to make sure there is an appointment to listen. Clyde has always been pioneering and we must continue to be so.

''We have never been part of the establishment and we must continue to push the boundaries.

''We are a local station with national clout but we have to remember that we are still a local station.''