BBC Radio 2 to unveil older presenters/more public service elements in daytime
MikeBr
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Noticed this in the Guardian yesterday reporting on Tuesday's Radio Festival:
"Bob Shennan said Radio 2, which has come under pressure from the BBC Trust to increase its appeal among older listeners, would be unveiling a number of presenters who were "a little older" in the next 12 months."
Wonder who he has lined up?
He went on to say that he wanted to have more women presenters on the station and that there would be more public service elements in the daytime schedule:
Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/19/radio-festival-chris-evans-chris-moyles
"Bob Shennan said Radio 2, which has come under pressure from the BBC Trust to increase its appeal among older listeners, would be unveiling a number of presenters who were "a little older" in the next 12 months."
Wonder who he has lined up?
He went on to say that he wanted to have more women presenters on the station and that there would be more public service elements in the daytime schedule:
Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/19/radio-festival-chris-evans-chris-moyles
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Comments
How about a daytime show for Bob Harris?
As for more females for the network, I guess Liza Tarbuck will be one of them.
Nobody has to be removed, though. Some shows could be pruned back (breakfast and the Steve Wright show).
This is all a good thing in principle, but not if it's being championed by the Heart apologists who would never actually listen to it. The sort of people who support PSB these days mostly do so for such cynical reasons that its actual delivery seems tainted by association.
Dear God, NO!
Surely there's more than ONE woman in the whole of the UK?
No thank you Scott.
Glad it's not just me thinking that!
That is the real change that needs to be made at Radio 2.
Hopefully with the BBC under financial pressure, a new look will be taken at Radios 1 and 2, with 2 adjusted to cater for an audience that is not obsessed with pop & rock and celeb presenters attracting huge fees.
A radio 2 show for Paul Barnes would be a welcome addition.
Time for Radio 2 Light.
Reading the story it does not actually say that older presenters will be on during the daytime. Shennan talks about more features like the Book Club on Mayo's show but nowhere can I find a reference to a change in music policy during the daytime.
As for the idea of Radio 2 Light in view of the 16% cut in funding that the BBC has been saddled with I just don't see it happening.
I think it more likely if Paul Barnes were to be given a network show it would be on Radio 3.
As for PSB elements in the daytime, it's already being done with campaigns like First Click.
OK, Radio 2's under financial pressure so ... let's have Radio 2 light. Would that be the same station or a different station.
As for Paul Barnes.... come on - give it up.
He is just plugging his mate again Mapperley.
Really? I hadn't considered that.... ahh... yes... maybe he is.
Hi Phil,
I must confess, I've not studied the Radio 2 playlist for a long while, although I did keep an eye on the Radio 2 Message Board until it was closed down, so I don't think much has changed in the daytime output since the Trust published its report.
It may well be, that with all the cuts that a root and branch re-examination of the radio networks will have to take place.
John W made a very good case for a light programme during the day as part of the mix of music. This would include, broadly the spectrum Barnes plays on his eastern region show, plus a bit more. So you could have a mixture of jazz, big band, Sinatra's, Ella, popular records from the 40s & 50s, including Rock'n'Roll, Skiffle, country, light music and dance bands.
An hour so so a day, during the day would fit the remit of the service licence and wouldn't need a celeb presenter - just someone who knows about the music.
They have informative shows as well (i.e. Jeremy Vine) and more specialised music shows later in the day. I also give the thumbs up to the first click campaign.
This is another example of trying to fix something that isn't broke, if you ask me.
Trying to force people to listen to non-mainstream music or documentaries without making them accessible will not work - no-one will listen. That's not public service broadcasting.
See attempts at half hour news programmes on BBC Three and documentary strands on 1Xtra for great examples.
Now you can always suggest that this disenfranchised chunk of the BBC's audience can listen to commercial radio instead, but I don't want to. That's not why I pay my licence fee.
R2 Xtra is needed, for the 60+ demographic so that R2 can remain unspoiled.
I'm not suggesting that the BBC can afford R 2 Extra now.
So some other compromise, meaning a bit of giving on the part of the audience already served by R2 for some time during every day.
Where is the problem?
Everybody would tune in to the programmes they wanted and switch off when they didn't like a show. At the moment Radio 2 is switched off all the time during the day here. I am disenfranchised as are many other.
Why would an hour a day in the morning or afternoon spoil Radio 2? There is no reason why it should.
There is no reason why Desmond Carrington shouldn't be on during the day or Russell Davies. Both are high quality shows, both are musical shows. The fact that the speech content is of a much greater intellectual level than that experienced on some of the daytime shows on air currently, would be a bonus.