According to "Ariel", an ambitious BBC project has finally reached the end of a journey that spans 90 years.

From Monday 15th July, BBC staff will be able to digitally search all the back issues of the Radio Times through a website not yet made available to the public.

This is the result of over three years' work on the BBC Genome project, which sought to create and publish a digital record of the BBC's complete broadcast history.

Staff will able to provide feedback on how well the website works and what might need improvement.

The information will be used to fine-tune the Beta site before making it available to the general public as soon as practically possible.

On Monday I received a notice from the RT subscriptions section (in Sittingbourne) that the price is going up to £90.20 per annum - due, they say, to the increased cost of paper and new Royal Mail postage costs. The increase is due to kick in on 30/8/2013.

I fear therefore that, with the EPG that is available nowadays via FreeView/FreeSat and other digital platforms, this will signal the slow death of the beloved 'Parish newsletter' (as Wogan used to refer to it).

Two sensible suggestions as alternatives......

TV Guide....free comprehensive on line service across Freeview/Freesat etc, also available as a brilliant smartphone app ....

The Sunday Times Culture magazine TV section. Not as much detail as RT obviously--but a good comprehensive daily scroll out of a weeks free to air and a few more channels, daily highlights, TV review and two/three pages weekly film schedule.

Of course--if you must have the RT editorials and casts including the sofa and holiday cottage ads--then these alternatives will not suffice.

The program may have been updated recently - but sadly the Channel names haven't! [It still has BBC HD instead of BBC2HD, and there's no Drama!]