For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
By Highland Park
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1647068
Rob P wrote:So the RAJAR is out, for the politically correct and gender-balanced Drivetime

Reach is down 6.6% on the quarter and down 6.9% on the year – leaving the show with 6.0m listeners. Hours are also down, falling 6.7% on the quarter and 5.7% on the year.


Bedding in a treat

Rob P

I’ve been trying to find a link for that but failed miserably. Any chance of posting it?

Ian
#1647167
I don't really do Radio 2 so can't understand why people are getting so het up about it, although I understand Sara Cox is now doing breakfast so I might have a listen to that at some point.

I'm Radio 4 (mornings and The Archers) and 6Music on weekend mornings just really to hear the soothing tones of Mary Ann Hobbs.
By PaulB
#1647176
defcribed wrote:I don't really do Radio 2 so can't understand why people are getting so het up about it, although I understand Sara Cox is now doing breakfast so I might have a listen to that at some point.


I think that Sara Cox was standing in for CE earlier in the week.... CE was scheduled this morning.
#1647189
defcribed wrote:I don't really do Radio 2 so can't understand why people are getting so het up about it,



It was a good show and a useful alternative in the evening to 90 minutes of the increasingly random speculation, guesswork, soothsaying and punditry about Brexit that is Radio 4 from 17:00 to 18:30

The show was originally a light-hearted mix of features (homework puzzlers, cookery, confessions and the like) intermixed with typical R2 playlist music. Mayo is a laid back and competent presenter and had gathered around him a small team, of Bobby the traffic lady, Matt the sports guy and Nigel the chef. Occasional guests would drop in to punt their latest show, film, book and it was all very easy listening for two hours, followed by specialist music at 19:00 Blues, Country, Jazz and Folk on consecutive nights, but possibly not in that order.

Then Carnie, the R2 shirt, who turns out to be wholly incompetent decides to make a name for himself by lowering the age profile of R2 and tinkering with the gender mix. This he does by appointing a woman in her mid 50s with a good knowledge of bands, gigs and festivals, and turfing out two men and one woman

The poor woman was a complete fish out of water. No empathy with Mayo or listeners, attempting joke interjections which just sounded horrendously rude, rattling on about the bands she's met, their latest album, festivals and gigs she has visited and frequent updates on the progress of her children. Words like 'hacks' and 'emoji' were inserted into the features so as to appear down with the kids, but were frankly just embarrassing. Oh.. and 'live gigs' in the studio from bands she wanted to promote, something her husband does for a living. For this she was rewarded with around £6,700 per week ( a little under £500 per hour).

It was the most uncomfortable listening you could imagine, replacing a previously very slick programme.

Any letter questioning this, however phrased, whatever information was requested, however many times it was followed up was rewarded with an identical boilerplate response

Your correspondence has therefore been forwarded to us for a reply, in line with our procedures outlined above.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding Radio 2’s new early evening show hosted by Jo Whiley and Simon Mayo; we are sorry to learn you are disappointed by the format.

We made an editorial decision to pair up two of our most popular and much loved presenters in an exciting partnership. We were delighted that Jo and Simon responded positively to this idea, having known each other for over 25 years. We’re aware that Radio 2 has a very special relationship with its audience and acknowledge regular listeners like you are unhappy with the changes.

Every new show needs time to settle down and so we hope you will continue to listen and give it a chance. Your feedback is very much appreciated and we will take it into careful consideration.

Thanks again for contacting us.

Kind Regards

BBC Complaints Team


People have received up to eight of these identical responses having sent letter and follow-up letters to a variety of people within the BBC who might bear some responsibility.

It was a good show, it's now a Carp show, and even up to last week this identical fob-off was being sent out when the BBC was fully aware Mayo was going to walk.

The woman has been rewarded for her failure with her own two hour show 19:00 to 21:00 four days a week that recognises her abilities (despite the fact nobody there was prepared to recognise her blatantly obvious shortcomings). This forcing the specialist music programmes evcen later into the evening.

Jo Whiley will launch a brand new show in January from 7-9pm, Monday - Thursday, placing her in the heart of the evening schedule, featuring the very best new music and amazing live sessions.


In fact all the stuff she/they tried to drag into a show where nobody was particularly bothered about the music since it was just a background to other things, mostly driving, other commuting or preparing meals.

I'm personally aggrieved because the show was my background whilst preparing Mrs P's meal, and also because of the high-handed way the publicly funded corporation has casually batted away feedback from its funders / customers.

Speaking of which, Feedback this afternoon on BBC R4 should make interesting listening as they have been threatening to have a second bite at this.

Rob P
#1647199
Oh Rob.

In the modern world, consider er, airspace....grabs. Consultation simply means they're supposed to ask the question. Feedback means they might read it.

Nowhere does it say they'll take a blind bit of notice.
User avatar
By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1647238
Surely if they wanted to improve the gender balance they could replace Jeremy Vine with Vanessa ...... JV just gets me shouting at the radio.

I used to be 80% radio 2, and 20% local radio ..... reading this thread made me realise I've probably been on local radio now continuously for 2 or 3 months.
User avatar
By Rob P
#1648090
The Radio Times has published a cover story this week , tagged on the cover (picture of Mayo and Whiley with a tear down the middle of course) "What is going on at Radio 2?"

The four page article is headed "Radio 2 - a station in meltdown?"

One telling subhead is: "It was made clear to Mayo, that "no Jo meant no show""

Beautifully written by Mark Lawson and featuring this wonderful line about Lewis Carnie, the guy who apparently drove the shoe-horning of Whiley and has been doing all the (limited) PR fronting for the revised show. When the latest RAJAR came out showing big falls in the station's audience - in the order of 6 or 7% ...

"Carnie issued a statement expressing pleasure that "Radio 2 is still Britain's most popular radio station", a gloss that one insider likened to the Black Knight in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, exuding positivity even as each limb is hacked off"

Made I larf.

Rob P
By Highland Park
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1659073
On a slightly related topic, Chris Evans has just stated on The One Show that his new breakfast show on Virgin Radio, starting in January will be unusual in that although on a commercial station, it will be advert free (Sky has been signed up as a partner for the show).

I know he’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but I get the impression he’s a smart operator and given he’s taking most of his team with him (Moira Stuart is going to Classic FM), I suspect he could make quite a dent in Radio 2’s listening figures.

After the Drivetime debacle, quite frankly it serves Lewis Carnie et al right.

Ian
User avatar
By Rob P
#1659300
Leodisflyer wrote:Where do people get these radios that receive anything other than Radio 4?


I am hugely sad, but since buying the V8 I rarely have the radio on. I just listen to the motor and smile a lot.

Rob P
User avatar
By flybymike
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1659301
Leodisflyer wrote:Where do people get these radios that receive anything other than Radio 4?

I’ve noticed that my radios do seem to have faults when I pick my cars up from the garage. The speakers emit strange noises that are fixed when I tune the radio.

Funny, the same thing happens with my ADF receiver when the aeroplane comes back from the annual.
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