Hmmm, your example suggests you are desperately losing this argument slimjim.
It was intended to illustrate the fact that I'd already won it, but analogies don't work for everyone. The point is that the mere fact that a particular minority interest group doesn't have a two hour weekday Radio Two show doesn't make them the victims of prejudice.
I hope that's made my point a little bit easier for you to understand.
For goodness sake we don't want Chris Evans doing The One Show and taking over all the programmes... as he's linked with the Friday Jonathan Ross show too!!
No thank you... once a day is enough!!!
Not sure who you mean by "we", but others pay the licence fee as well I'm afraid.
For goodness sake we don't want Chris Evans doing The One Show and taking over all the programmes... as he's linked with the Friday Jonathan Ross show too!!
No thank you... once a day is enough!!!
Actually, ages ago when he was doing drivetime, it was rumoured he was going to be a stand-in presenter for a week on the One Show in Spring 2010 when Adrian Chiles was on holiday. Someone asked how he would manage this and present his drivetime show too the same week and CE said something along the lines of "wait and see".
I posted a few weeks ago that I was struggling with the breakfast show but that I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because it needs time to evolve.
This week I have really enjoyed the show and felt that it was a bit calmer, a bit less frantic, and CE seems to be a bit more relaxed. The banter between Jonny, Lyn and Moira sounds more spontaneous and bit more "bonded" than it did in the early days.
I think its starting to come together a bit more now. I could still forego the phonecall from the kids though.
The point is that the mere fact that a particular minority interest group doesn't have a two hour weekday Radio Two show doesn't make them the victims of prejudice.
Which particular group?
Easy listening music group, is not a minority.
Popular classical/opera/orchestral, is not a minority.
I think that, among the R2 listeners as a whole, and certainly among radio listeners and licence payers in general, those who would benefit from listening to a Light Programme style programme of pre-pop easy-listening are a minority.
I think that, among the R2 listeners as a whole, and certainly among radio listeners and licence payers in general, those who would benefit from listening to a Light Programme style programme of pre-pop easy-listening are a minority.
Radio 2's daytime output and music appeals to a minority of listeners. Rusty old Light Programmes appeal to a minority and alienate the daytime audiences. This is why Sunday daytimes have been liberated from the dreary old Light Programmes.
I think that, among the R2 listeners as a whole, and certainly among radio listeners and licence payers in general, those who would benefit from listening to a Light Programme style programme of pre-pop easy-listening are a minority.
Maybe current Radio 2 listeners purely because those of us that cant stand the drivel that is played most of the time during the day have been driven elsewhere.
Even so, even if it were a minority - it is a significant minority and the BBC remit is to cover all age groups and genres relevant to those age groups and all these groups must be served during the day.
You have failed to come up with any logical reason why pop fans should have all the cake all day and other genres get the odd crumb or two late at night. Unless you are saying might is right!
Maybe current Radio 2 listeners purely because those of us that cant stand the drivel that is played most of the time during the day have been driven elsewhere.
Even so, even if it were a minority - it is a significant minority and the BBC remit is to cover all age groups and genres relevant to those age groups and all these groups must be served during the day.
You have failed to come up with any logical reason why pop fans should have all the cake all day and other genres get the odd crumb or two late at night. Unless you are saying might is right!
Come off it, John. Dozens of people have explained and given reasonable, detailed reasons and arguments why Radio 2's daytime schedule features the generic pop music format.
Both you and John Wright have failed to accept this and insist that the popular daytime schedule is hacked to pieces. You want to hear more jazz, big and and easy listening whereas Wright insists Ken Bruce is axed and replaced with Michael Parkinson, and Steve Wright is axed and replaced with Alan Titchmarsh presenting a daily Light Programme.
Come off it, John. Dozens of people have explained and given reasonable, detailed reasons and arguments why Radio 2's daytime schedule features the generic pop music format.
Both you and John Wright have failed to accept this and insist that the popular daytime schedule is hacked to pieces. You want to hear more jazz, big and and easy listening whereas Wright insists Ken Bruce is axed and replaced with Michael Parkinson, and Steve Wright is axed and replaced with Alan Titchmarsh presenting a daily Light Programme.
To which I will say, come off it Scott!
There is no obligation for Radio 2 to play the narrow musical genres it chooses during the day, which only serve the mainly younger half of its audience remit. That is a fact.
Why then do you deem it fair that all other genres and the remainder of the audience is disenfranchised EVERY SINGLE DAYTIME on Radio 2?
I can tune anywhere on FM and here generic pop on nearly all the stations.
My journey back from Basildon today was spent listening to LBC.
Why?
Because there was no music that that I could enjoy.
Woman's Hour was on Radio 4 and I didn't fancy Classic FM.
When I got out of range I put on my Ipod.
I am paying the same licence fee as you but getting a very second class citizen service.
I work in Basildon. We could have met up for a drink and discussed this debate face to face!
Radio 2 rightfully caters for pop music lovers by day and specialist music by night.
Why should a successful, popular daytime schedule be hacked to pieces?
I'm quite often in Basildon, Scott - my mum lives there. I'd be quite happy to discuss Radio 2 over a drink sometime.
Again you are saying it 'rightfully' caters for pop fans during the day. There is no rightful about it. It isn't defined in the service licence - in fact the very opposite is true. It says mainstream shows should cover all age ranges / genres.
No one is suggesting hacking a successful daytime formular to pieces. John Wright has suggested 2 hours a day of something different. How can that be possibly wrong?
I think that, among the R2 listeners as a whole, and certainly among radio listeners and licence payers in general, those who would benefit from listening to a Light Programme style programme of pre-pop easy-listening are a minority.
Of the current daytime listeners, yes, but that is because the current schedule is not attracting the large number of people who would enjoy easy listening music; they have been alienated by the R2 controller and his schedule.
Put an easy listening 2-hour show on instead of S Wright and R2 would gain listeners!
(SW shares listeners with KB,JV so they would not be lost from R2's total).
I am paying the same licence fee as you but getting a very second class citizen service.
Really? You've said that you listen to Radio 4 most mornings, plus a bit of R3 and some stuff on R2. All these are BBC stations so it sounds like you're getting your money's worth to me. Plus any BBC tv that you watch of course.
Really? You've said that you listen to Radio 4 most mornings, plus a bit of R3 and some stuff on R2. All these are BBC stations so it sounds like you're getting your money's worth to me. Plus any BBC tv that you watch of course.
The point is Andy, that BBC Radio offers no music that I can listen to during the day. The Service Licence says it should provide such a service. Anybody who gets musical enjoyment out of Radio has also all the other BBC Services they can enjoy in addition. I do not have that benefit.
BBC Radio offers no music that I can listen to during the day. The Service Licence says it should provide such a service. I do not have that benefit.
Which suggests that your taste in music is much narrower than you have previously claimed.
Are you seriously suggesting that you CANNOT listen to a SINGLE track featured on R1, R2, R3, 6 Music, Local Radio, the Asian Network or the World Service during the daytime?
Which suggests that your taste in music is much narrower than you have previously claimed.
Are you seriously suggesting that you CANNOT listen to a SINGLE track featured on R1, R2, R3, 6 Music, Local Radio, the Asian Network or the World Service during the daytime?
Because that's what you've said. NO music.
No Mapperley, you are misconstruing what I actually meant. There may be the occasional track that that I would enjoy - but if I am working in my office I do not want to be annoyed by generic pop music in the hope that I might hear one traditional jazz track (highly unlikely anyway).
If on the other hand there was a show that played a mix of light orchestral, some classical pieces, American songbook dance bands, big bands, small group swing, traditional jazz, early blues, skiffle, folk, early R&B and Rock and Roll I would tune in. Now, if that is a narrow choice of music I fail to see how.
For example I'm currently listening to a programme about Jimmy Van Heuson on Iplayer on yes - Radio 2.
How did I find that?
By looking for the Rock & Roll show on Iplayer.
I had no idea this show was on.
Why didn't Radio 2 spend some of the advertising time it wasted plugging Evans with promoting this interesting programme.
Do you know anything about Jimmy Van Heuson, I wonder?
Of the current daytime listeners, yes, but that is because the current schedule is not attracting the large number of people who would enjoy easy listening music; they have been alienated by the R2 controller and his schedule.
The daytime schedule is presenter led music and speech not specialist music. That's been the case for years.
You take in my view a narrow view of many people's musical taste. There are people who enjoy what you describe as easy listening music as well as the range of music played on Radio 2 during the daytime shows, which includes some music which could be called easy listening, which like all labelling of music can be difficult to define.
Put an easy listening 2-hour show on instead of S Wright and R2 would gain listeners!
(SW shares listeners with KB,JV so they would not be lost from R2's total).
Put a 2 hour progressive rock show on instead of Steve Wright and Radio 2 would gain listeners, the same is true for all sorts of genres.
If on the other hand there was a show that played a mix of light orchestral, some classical pieces, American songbook dance bands, big bands, small group swing, traditional jazz, early blues, skiffle, folk, early R&B and Rock and Roll I would tune in. Now, if that is a narrow choice of music I fail to see how.
Your first four genres clash too much with the last seven in my view.
Your last seven would to me fit into my suggestion on another thread of 6 Music scrapping its playlist and going free-form, and in particular playing artists who are recording in these genres and doing live gigs now.
Light orchestral, songbook and big bands could go into a Radio 7 music and speech network.
Classical pieces are covered by Radio 3 and Classic FM.
The BBC also offers local radio: "The target audience should be listeners aged 50 and over who are not well served elsewhere." The range of music they play during the daytime to complement the speech output could be changed to the styles John W argues are excluded from the playlist. At the moment from what I am told it's a less wide range than Radio 2 offers and more like Heart FM's.
I rarely listen but that was the conclusion I got from reading a discussion on a local sports messageboard in which a BBC local radio presenter took part, IIRC he was the one who made the comparison.
Of the current daytime listeners, yes, but that is because the current schedule is not attracting the large number of people who would enjoy easy listening music; they have been alienated by the R2 controller and his schedule.
Put an easy listening 2-hour show on instead of S Wright and R2 would gain listeners!
(SW shares listeners with KB,JV so they would not be lost from R2's total).
John W
No, it would loose listeners.
R2 used to do this back in the 80's. David Jacobs dusted off his 78's for an hour each day, that combined with the other "light music" it played almost saw R2 closed down it had so few listeners.
I do accept that pop music is everywhere & you feel YOUR kind of music isn't being played, but YOUR kind of music doesn't attract enough listeners to make it worth doing.
The facts from history are there, even though you may not like it.
YOUR kind of music is niche now & as such gets a late night or once a week slot.
R2 is fairly distinctive anyway. It may be pop music, but it plays a hell of a lot of tracks that are not heard elsewhere on the radio. Commercial stations just play the same few hundred tracks all year round.
R2 has listeners tuning in all day, can you imagine the reaction at a building site or factory if R2 suddenly started playing what you suggest for a few hours....mass turn off it would be.
R2 used to do this back in the 80's. David Jacobs dusted off his 78's for an hour each day, that combined with the other "light music" it played almost saw R2 closed down it had so few listeners.
John W is correct - it would attract listeners who have nowhere to go. It would no doubt cause some other listeners to re-tune elsewhere. But that, as David Liddiment said, is to be expected. Radio 2 is not about numbers but about distinction. It is not very distinctive during the day at the moment.
I do accept that pop music is everywhere & you feel YOUR kind of music isn't being played, but YOUR kind of music doesn't attract enough listeners to make it worth doing.
What is your yardstick for measuring 'worth doing'?
The service licence said it must be doing this.
The facts from history are there, even though you may not like it.
YOUR kind of music is niche now & as such gets a late night or once a week slot.
The facts of history are if you airbrush any genre of music out of the mainstream by only playing it in ghetto slots it will lose popularity. Since Radio 2 is meant to broaden the appreciation of all popular music it should be promoting all good music, not just generic pop / rock. Hence a daytime Light show would achieve this and offer more variety.
R2 is fairly distinctive anyway. It may be pop music, but it plays a hell of a lot of tracks that are not heard elsewhere on the radio. Commercial stations just play the same few hundred tracks all year round.
How is that distinctive if all it is offering is the same genres as commercial radio and BBC local radio?
has listeners tuning in all day, can you imagine the reaction at a building site or factory if R2 suddenly started playing what you suggest for a few hours....mass turn off it would be.
Maybe - maybe not. Those that do not like it can tune elsewhere for an hour or two.
The fact is that Radio 2 deliberately chooses to cater for that audience at the expense of a very large number of other listeners. This is contrary to the requirment of the Service Licence and to natural justice.
I've stayed out of this argument to see what would happen but the truth is that this thread can run forever.
Unlike John Petters and a few others I spent the bulk of my career in newspapers,radio and tv.
I can tell you from experience that in newspapers we looked forward to this type of correspondence to bulk out the letters section. Sometimes we would 'invent' letters to keep the flames fanned.
In answer to the question 'Do letters to newspapers,radio and tv achieve anything?' the answer is no.
Mary Whitehouse tried it to no avail.
If we spool back to That Was The Week That Was ( early 1960's tv) there were major obstacles to overcome not least the Church of England.
It was the same when they axed the Light Programme.
(Why anyone would refer to a station that closed down 43 years ago I will never know)
Does Bob Shennan read this forum:D
NO.
One thing is for sure..whatever happens at Radio 2 the clock will not move backwards.
I don't have anything like as much experience as Old Pilot but I have done stuff on local radio so I do have some idea of subject matter.
The proposal of the two Johns simply in my view wouldn't work. Just as us Brits don't like it when Supermarkets change the store layout so it is with Radio. Wherever you placed this Light Programme revisited show in the schedule, it would cause problems. Some fans of those types of music would be unhappy because they wouldn't be able to listen to it due to them having to be doing other things at the time it was on. They would demand a similar show but earlier in the day. If you think I am kidding remember the fuss when Radio 4 moved the Archers from 140 to 205PM.
These days people's attention spans are a lot shorter than they used to be. A potential new listener will on the basis of I would say no more than 10 minutes decide what type of music the station is broadcasting and if they don't like it they will switch elsewhere. One of the problems a great many BBC local stations faced was that they were trying to be all things to all people and listeners didn't know who the various progarmmes were being aimed at.
Even with in the proposed format you would get complaints from Trad Jazz fans that too much time was being spent on light orchestral pieces and so on.
What Radio 2 is known for in the week is Popular Music from the 60s to the present day from Midnight through to 7PM. These are personality presented. It then goes to various specialist shows. People know this and can dip in and out of that schedule to taste. And of course the weekend stuff is as varied as you will get anywhere.
There are rumours that the BBC is looking at its Digital Services including 6 Music. BBC 7 is happy to broadcast Radio Comedies from the 50s. If there is a hope of shows the two Johns want to hear during weekday daytime it's more likely to come there than on Radio2. Remember Mr. Liddiment's concerns were more to do with the station's speech content than the Music. That is why in my view Bob Shennan hired Simon Mayo for Drivetime.
Apart from the 'ghastly old hag' Sarah Kennedy and the 'dreadful old bore' Ken Bruce, of course.
Sarah Kennedy and Ken Bruce should have been axed decades ago.
I disagree with John Wright's suggestions that Ken Bruce should be replaced with Michael Parkinson, and Steve Wright being replaced with Alan Titchmarsh presenting a daily Light Programme.
I'm quite often in Basildon, Scott - my mum lives there. I'd be quite happy to discuss Radio 2 over a drink sometime.
Again you are saying it 'rightfully' caters for pop fans during the day. There is no rightful about it. It isn't defined in the service licence - in fact the very opposite is true. It says mainstream shows should cover all age ranges / genres.
No one is suggesting hacking a successful daytime formular to pieces. John Wright has suggested 2 hours a day of something different. How can that be possibly wrong?
It would be a pleasure meeting you, John
I have no issue with easy listening and the odd-jazz track included with the daytime playlists. However, I strongly disagree with John Wright's suggestions.
John, it has already been pointed out previously that kind f programmes both you and John Wright listen to attract higher audiences on evening slots.
Why move these programmes to daytime slots thus losing listeners? It would alienate both parties - the daytime and night time audiences.
Comments
It was intended to illustrate the fact that I'd already won it, but analogies don't work for everyone. The point is that the mere fact that a particular minority interest group doesn't have a two hour weekday Radio Two show doesn't make them the victims of prejudice.
I hope that's made my point a little bit easier for you to understand.
Not sure who you mean by "we", but others pay the licence fee as well I'm afraid.
Actually, ages ago when he was doing drivetime, it was rumoured he was going to be a stand-in presenter for a week on the One Show in Spring 2010 when Adrian Chiles was on holiday. Someone asked how he would manage this and present his drivetime show too the same week and CE said something along the lines of "wait and see".
I posted a few weeks ago that I was struggling with the breakfast show but that I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because it needs time to evolve.
This week I have really enjoyed the show and felt that it was a bit calmer, a bit less frantic, and CE seems to be a bit more relaxed. The banter between Jonny, Lyn and Moira sounds more spontaneous and bit more "bonded" than it did in the early days.
I think its starting to come together a bit more now. I could still forego the phonecall from the kids though.
Which particular group?
Easy listening music group, is not a minority.
Popular classical/opera/orchestral, is not a minority.
Jazz/fusion, maybe.
Country & Western, maybe.
Prog rock, maybe.
Hip hop with expletive deletives, maybe.
Organ music, maybe.
That's the crux of the matter, isn't it?
I think that, among the R2 listeners as a whole, and certainly among radio listeners and licence payers in general, those who would benefit from listening to a Light Programme style programme of pre-pop easy-listening are a minority.
Radio 2's daytime output and music appeals to a minority of listeners. Rusty old Light Programmes appeal to a minority and alienate the daytime audiences. This is why Sunday daytimes have been liberated from the dreary old Light Programmes.
Maybe current Radio 2 listeners purely because those of us that cant stand the drivel that is played most of the time during the day have been driven elsewhere.
Even so, even if it were a minority - it is a significant minority and the BBC remit is to cover all age groups and genres relevant to those age groups and all these groups must be served during the day.
You have failed to come up with any logical reason why pop fans should have all the cake all day and other genres get the odd crumb or two late at night. Unless you are saying might is right!
Come off it, John. Dozens of people have explained and given reasonable, detailed reasons and arguments why Radio 2's daytime schedule features the generic pop music format.
Both you and John Wright have failed to accept this and insist that the popular daytime schedule is hacked to pieces. You want to hear more jazz, big and and easy listening whereas Wright insists Ken Bruce is axed and replaced with Michael Parkinson, and Steve Wright is axed and replaced with Alan Titchmarsh presenting a daily Light Programme.
To which I will say, come off it Scott!
There is no obligation for Radio 2 to play the narrow musical genres it chooses during the day, which only serve the mainly younger half of its audience remit. That is a fact.
Why then do you deem it fair that all other genres and the remainder of the audience is disenfranchised EVERY SINGLE DAYTIME on Radio 2?
I can tune anywhere on FM and here generic pop on nearly all the stations.
My journey back from Basildon today was spent listening to LBC.
Why?
Because there was no music that that I could enjoy.
Woman's Hour was on Radio 4 and I didn't fancy Classic FM.
When I got out of range I put on my Ipod.
I am paying the same licence fee as you but getting a very second class citizen service.
I work in Basildon. We could have met up for a drink and discussed this debate face to face!
Radio 2 rightfully caters for pop music lovers by day and specialist music by night.
Why should a successful, popular daytime schedule be hacked to pieces?
Apart from the 'ghastly old hag' Sarah Kennedy and the 'dreadful old bore' Ken Bruce, of course.
I'm quite often in Basildon, Scott - my mum lives there. I'd be quite happy to discuss Radio 2 over a drink sometime.
Again you are saying it 'rightfully' caters for pop fans during the day. There is no rightful about it. It isn't defined in the service licence - in fact the very opposite is true. It says mainstream shows should cover all age ranges / genres.
No one is suggesting hacking a successful daytime formular to pieces. John Wright has suggested 2 hours a day of something different. How can that be possibly wrong?
Of the current daytime listeners, yes, but that is because the current schedule is not attracting the large number of people who would enjoy easy listening music; they have been alienated by the R2 controller and his schedule.
Put an easy listening 2-hour show on instead of S Wright and R2 would gain listeners!
(SW shares listeners with KB,JV so they would not be lost from R2's total).
John W
Really? You've said that you listen to Radio 4 most mornings, plus a bit of R3 and some stuff on R2. All these are BBC stations so it sounds like you're getting your money's worth to me. Plus any BBC tv that you watch of course.
The point is Andy, that BBC Radio offers no music that I can listen to during the day. The Service Licence says it should provide such a service. Anybody who gets musical enjoyment out of Radio has also all the other BBC Services they can enjoy in addition. I do not have that benefit.
Which suggests that your taste in music is much narrower than you have previously claimed.
Are you seriously suggesting that you CANNOT listen to a SINGLE track featured on R1, R2, R3, 6 Music, Local Radio, the Asian Network or the World Service during the daytime?
Because that's what you've said. NO music.
No Mapperley, you are misconstruing what I actually meant. There may be the occasional track that that I would enjoy - but if I am working in my office I do not want to be annoyed by generic pop music in the hope that I might hear one traditional jazz track (highly unlikely anyway).
If on the other hand there was a show that played a mix of light orchestral, some classical pieces, American songbook dance bands, big bands, small group swing, traditional jazz, early blues, skiffle, folk, early R&B and Rock and Roll I would tune in. Now, if that is a narrow choice of music I fail to see how.
For example I'm currently listening to a programme about Jimmy Van Heuson on Iplayer on yes - Radio 2.
How did I find that?
By looking for the Rock & Roll show on Iplayer.
I had no idea this show was on.
Why didn't Radio 2 spend some of the advertising time it wasted plugging Evans with promoting this interesting programme.
Do you know anything about Jimmy Van Heuson, I wonder?
The daytime schedule is presenter led music and speech not specialist music. That's been the case for years.
You take in my view a narrow view of many people's musical taste. There are people who enjoy what you describe as easy listening music as well as the range of music played on Radio 2 during the daytime shows, which includes some music which could be called easy listening, which like all labelling of music can be difficult to define.
Put a 2 hour progressive rock show on instead of Steve Wright and Radio 2 would gain listeners, the same is true for all sorts of genres.
Your first four genres clash too much with the last seven in my view.
Your last seven would to me fit into my suggestion on another thread of 6 Music scrapping its playlist and going free-form, and in particular playing artists who are recording in these genres and doing live gigs now.
Light orchestral, songbook and big bands could go into a Radio 7 music and speech network.
Classical pieces are covered by Radio 3 and Classic FM.
The BBC also offers local radio: "The target audience should be listeners aged 50 and over who are not well served elsewhere." The range of music they play during the daytime to complement the speech output could be changed to the styles John W argues are excluded from the playlist. At the moment from what I am told it's a less wide range than Radio 2 offers and more like Heart FM's.
I rarely listen but that was the conclusion I got from reading a discussion on a local sports messageboard in which a BBC local radio presenter took part, IIRC he was the one who made the comparison.
No, it would loose listeners.
R2 used to do this back in the 80's. David Jacobs dusted off his 78's for an hour each day, that combined with the other "light music" it played almost saw R2 closed down it had so few listeners.
I do accept that pop music is everywhere & you feel YOUR kind of music isn't being played, but YOUR kind of music doesn't attract enough listeners to make it worth doing.
The facts from history are there, even though you may not like it.
YOUR kind of music is niche now & as such gets a late night or once a week slot.
R2 is fairly distinctive anyway. It may be pop music, but it plays a hell of a lot of tracks that are not heard elsewhere on the radio. Commercial stations just play the same few hundred tracks all year round.
R2 has listeners tuning in all day, can you imagine the reaction at a building site or factory if R2 suddenly started playing what you suggest for a few hours....mass turn off it would be.
John W is correct - it would attract listeners who have nowhere to go. It would no doubt cause some other listeners to re-tune elsewhere. But that, as David Liddiment said, is to be expected. Radio 2 is not about numbers but about distinction. It is not very distinctive during the day at the moment.
What is your yardstick for measuring 'worth doing'?
The service licence said it must be doing this.
The facts of history are if you airbrush any genre of music out of the mainstream by only playing it in ghetto slots it will lose popularity. Since Radio 2 is meant to broaden the appreciation of all popular music it should be promoting all good music, not just generic pop / rock. Hence a daytime Light show would achieve this and offer more variety.
How is that distinctive if all it is offering is the same genres as commercial radio and BBC local radio?
Maybe - maybe not. Those that do not like it can tune elsewhere for an hour or two.
The fact is that Radio 2 deliberately chooses to cater for that audience at the expense of a very large number of other listeners. This is contrary to the requirment of the Service Licence and to natural justice.
Unlike John Petters and a few others I spent the bulk of my career in newspapers,radio and tv.
I can tell you from experience that in newspapers we looked forward to this type of correspondence to bulk out the letters section. Sometimes we would 'invent' letters to keep the flames fanned.
In answer to the question 'Do letters to newspapers,radio and tv achieve anything?' the answer is no.
Mary Whitehouse tried it to no avail.
If we spool back to That Was The Week That Was ( early 1960's tv) there were major obstacles to overcome not least the Church of England.
It was the same when they axed the Light Programme.
(Why anyone would refer to a station that closed down 43 years ago I will never know)
Does Bob Shennan read this forum:D
NO.
One thing is for sure..whatever happens at Radio 2 the clock will not move backwards.
Just as DLT and others found at Radio 1.
The proposal of the two Johns simply in my view wouldn't work. Just as us Brits don't like it when Supermarkets change the store layout so it is with Radio. Wherever you placed this Light Programme revisited show in the schedule, it would cause problems. Some fans of those types of music would be unhappy because they wouldn't be able to listen to it due to them having to be doing other things at the time it was on. They would demand a similar show but earlier in the day. If you think I am kidding remember the fuss when Radio 4 moved the Archers from 140 to 205PM.
These days people's attention spans are a lot shorter than they used to be. A potential new listener will on the basis of I would say no more than 10 minutes decide what type of music the station is broadcasting and if they don't like it they will switch elsewhere. One of the problems a great many BBC local stations faced was that they were trying to be all things to all people and listeners didn't know who the various progarmmes were being aimed at.
Even with in the proposed format you would get complaints from Trad Jazz fans that too much time was being spent on light orchestral pieces and so on.
What Radio 2 is known for in the week is Popular Music from the 60s to the present day from Midnight through to 7PM. These are personality presented. It then goes to various specialist shows. People know this and can dip in and out of that schedule to taste. And of course the weekend stuff is as varied as you will get anywhere.
There are rumours that the BBC is looking at its Digital Services including 6 Music. BBC 7 is happy to broadcast Radio Comedies from the 50s. If there is a hope of shows the two Johns want to hear during weekday daytime it's more likely to come there than on Radio2. Remember Mr. Liddiment's concerns were more to do with the station's speech content than the Music. That is why in my view Bob Shennan hired Simon Mayo for Drivetime.
Sarah Kennedy and Ken Bruce should have been axed decades ago.
I disagree with John Wright's suggestions that Ken Bruce should be replaced with Michael Parkinson, and Steve Wright being replaced with Alan Titchmarsh presenting a daily Light Programme.
What decade/era is he living in?
It would be a pleasure meeting you, John
I have no issue with easy listening and the odd-jazz track included with the daytime playlists. However, I strongly disagree with John Wright's suggestions.
John, it has already been pointed out previously that kind f programmes both you and John Wright listen to attract higher audiences on evening slots.
Why move these programmes to daytime slots thus losing listeners? It would alienate both parties - the daytime and night time audiences.