Radio – Hinterland

BBC local radio: Shropshire Council leader urges rethink over cuts

Ivan Annibal — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 07:04:24 +0000

Over the last decade or so of writing Hinterland we have drawn attention several times to the seminal role of local radio in underpinning the sustainability of rural settlements. This article returns us to that theme, it tells us:

A council leader has urged the BBC’s director general to rethink planned cuts to local radio output.

Lezley Pickton, of Shropshire Council, said the local service was a “lifeline” in the large rural county.

The Conservative leader wrote to Tim Davie: “Please save BBC Radio Shropshire for the sake of the county’s most vulnerable and isolated people.”

The BBC said it was making some changes to plans aimed at modernising local services in England after feedback.

The proposals, announced in October, would prioritise digital content and “grow the value we deliver to local audiences everywhere”, it said.

Under the plans, the 39 local radio stations in the country will share more shows.

Ms Pickton said sharing some output with stations such as in Stoke and Hereford and Worcester would “dramatically reduce” Shropshire-based programming.

In a letter, which the local authority published online, Ms Pickton said: “You’re a busy man so I’ll get straight to the point: the people of Shropshire need you to reverse the proposals to effectively merge BBC Radio Shropshire with other local West Midlands radio.”

The county had a “disproportionately older” population and was an area where about 25% of people were “digitally excluded”, the councillor said.

The Archers will address the Coronavirus pandemic

Ivan Annibal — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 06:58:24 +0000

Some people like the Archers. I personally have favoured social distancing from this programme for decades. Still just to prove its as up to date as anywhere else with a farm shop it looks like Borsetshire is about to experience the pandemic. This story tells us:

Jeremy Howe — editor of The Archers — has revealed: ‘For nearly 70 years Ambridge has been a haven for our audience, and so it continues to be.’ ‘Whilst Coronavirus might be coming to Borsetshire, listeners can still expect The Archers to be an escape, and the residents to be bickering and as playful and witty as ever.

We want this new approach to The Archers to still be a picture of the way we live now in rural England that it has always been. ‘However, these are unprecedented times and the team has worked tirelessly to make sure we can continue to visit Ambridge.’

Local radio cuts: BBC told to review plans, BBC News

Ivan Annibal — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:06:24 +0000

I moved to Lincolnshire from a lovely but “in between” place with no distinct identity of its own. Working in Local Government I soon realised the availability of a local radio linked to a rural place with a distinct identity was a huge communication boon: from knowing in the show whether our kids school was closed to having a mainstream link to promote our successes as a council and connect with our population. I was therefore really pleased to read that BBC Trust Chairman, Lord Patten, has apparently ordered the corporation to re-examine if its plans to cut £15 million and 280 jobs from 40 English radio stations will have a disproportionate impact on the BBC’s output and reputation. This follows a range of research published by the BBC Trust which looked at various aspects of the radio sector a Reviewof BBC Local Radio in 2011

According to Lord Patten Lord Patten: “Local and regional services in England provide something unique for audiences that can otherwise be neglected by the mainstream media. The BBC cannot afford to get these changes wrong.” From consumer debates to light relief – and You & yours to The Archers – the format of radio programmes communicates news, information, debates and issues affecting rural England to the wider public. It is important that this rural context is not overlooked by the corporation.

An Ambridge too far? An everyday tale of rebranding for The Archers.

Ivan Annibal — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:17:25 +0000

I have never liked the Archers – along with fishing and golf it is something I would like to like but just doesnt work for me. So the spin in this article is nothing personal as far as the show is concerned.

The article itself explains: “Five million Archers addicts will find out at 10 o’clock this morning (Wednesday) whether the dumpty-dumpty-dumpty-dum signature tune of the world’s longest running drama can survive in the wild.

“The BBC’s most popular radio soap opera is spilling outside the safe sanctuary of Radio 4 with a spin-off series which will bring to centre-stage some of the peripheral personalities from the main programme. Even some non-speaking characters will find their voice.”

The serious question underpinning this latest venture is whether the Archers has a positive or negative impact on perceptions of rural England.

I know that entertainment can never substitute real life but bearing in mind this caveat do you think rural England benefits or gets “dumbed down” by the Archers and do you think the story lines have any impact on public policy?