SERVICE REVIEW OF RADIOS 3 AND 4

SUBMISSION FROM BBC AUDIENCE COUNCIL FOR SCOTLAND

RADIO 3

Classical music repertoire

Radio 3’s Service Licence states that the network “should produce regular special events on significant themes across a wide range of music and arts topics. The great composers should regularly be represented on Radio 3, but there should also be a range of less familiar music in order to introduce listeners to new works."

There was discussion at the focus group on the range of repertoire available on the Radio 3. Two main points emerged.

Broadening awareness Listeners place a high value on the network’s ability to broaden their awareness of the extent of the classical music repertoire.

“ of its functions is to be like a public library of music.”

This applied to other genres, such as jazz and world music, as well. Radio 3’s role in relation to the mainstream repertoire is not to support it, but to challenge it.

“You’re always learning... but it’s never condescending, and you’re never preached at.”

“There is lots of assumed knowledge [of music], but there are other places for people who don’t have that, like Classic FM”

“It’s not targeted at a particular age... it’s targeted at people who want to be stimulated or challenged” (West of Scotland, early 20s)

For some loyal listeners, the range of repertoire was thought to have narrowed in the last ten years or so: coverage of new music was said to be less extensive now.

Connecting between genres The role of extending listeners’ awareness applied between genres as well as within them. Listeners appreciated the network’s ability to break down the ‘departments’ of music, making connections between genres. This is largely achieved by ‘serendipity’, so unpredictability and surprise in the schedule, and the repertoire – mixing the mainstream and the less-well-known – is important.

“Late Junction is a great example of serendipity at work– it can take you anywhere”.

The Council believes Radio 3 does enable listeners to broaden their awareness of music within and between genres. Listeners have varying degrees of awareness, and

1 Radio 3 rightly seeks to satisfy listeners at a range of levels, from those beginning to develop an interest in classical music, through to devotees and professionals. To work for everyone, the network needs to strike a careful balance.

The breakfast and drive-time programmes find room for the unexpected. Imaginative scheduling such as the recent 1910 Proms is another way of introducing less common repertoire.

“The 1910 prom was an excellent example of Radio 3 doing what it should be doing”.

The Council believes Radio 3 must retain its commitment to commissioning and playing new work. This is an important part of musical patronage in Scotland and across the UK. However the challenge offered by some contemporary music can repel as many listeners as it attracts, and R3 needs to approach this type of music with care. To attract more listeners to new music, there might be scope for providing more context and guidance on how to understand and appreciate contemporary work.

Why is reach lower in Scotland?

The Council and the focus group contributors noted a number of possible factors.

Different cultural mix? Scotland differs from the rest of the UK in the pattern of its cultural interests and in the range and mix of musical tastes. Attendance at classical music events may be lower per head of population than in many other areas of the UK. Research by the Scottish Arts Council in 2008 (TNS) showed 6% of the Scottish population attending orchestral music events in 2008, lower than those reported in comparable data for all areas of England and Wales except the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside. However it is not clear how helpful such measures are: many factors influence attendance at concerts, including the volume and consistency of provision of concerts themselves, and the availability of public transport. The survey also reflects the distinctive pattern of musical taste in Scotland, with higher percentages shown for Scottish traditional and folk music events (9%) and other genres. The point is that there is great interest in music in Scotland – the question is whether Radio 3 could do more to expand the audience for the genres in which it specialises.

Scottish content underplayed? The focus group felt that performance in Scotland was properly reflected, noting relays from festivals, orchestral concerts and a special week of concerts in March 2010 from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Some members of the focus group believed there was too narrow a range of Scottish music reflected on Radio 3, limited to

“a small number of well-known names such as Carver to MacMillan”.

For some, coverage of the contemporary music scene in particular in Scotland was too narrow, and did not reflect the true range and diversity of the current scene.

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One member of the focus group examined two months of output:

“It quickly became clear that British music in general is being well, and quite consistently, represented, with an excellent mixture of earlier and later centuries and less familiar as well as well-known repertoire. If there is a gap, it would be the period after Handel (of course an honorary Englishman!) and before Elgar. While it is true that this was a relatively fallow period for indigenous composers, a little digging may well produce some surprisingly competent writing. The other aspect which struck me was the relative under-representation of Scottish (and I suspect Welsh and Irish, too) repertoire. While the Scottish art music repertoire is much less extensive than the English, there is material from most periods with many positive qualities. The gap between Carver and MacMillan can provide more than a single work from a single composer (the inevitable MacCunn “Land of the Mountain...”). This is not an overtly nationalistic point – it is, I think, a question of how “British-ness” is represented through our culture. Perhaps the metropolitan centre is relying on its outposts in the other nations to put repertoire forward, but the outposts are anxious to avoid seeming parochial? However it is, there is much fine music which is not being represented.”

And the point was made about genres other than classical music:

“There’s lots of folk and trad on the world music programmes but it’s almost all English, rarely Scottish.”

Council noted the range of Scottish music (and culture) represented in and around Radio 3’s special week of programmes from Scotland (February/March 2010). Classical work was represented by James MacMillan, Sally Beamish, Alexander MacKenzie and Cecil Coles, but traditional song, bagpipes and jazz also featured in programming across the week.

Council welcomes initiatives such as this, but emphasises that the richness and breadth of Scottish music-making in all genres should be reflected on an ongoing basis on the network, and not only on one-off occasions.

In addition (although there is no data on this question) it would be surprising if the week of events did not have a significant positive impact on the profile of Radio 3 in Scotland. There was favourable press coverage. Council believes this sort of event is likely to grow the audience for classical music, and also for Radio 3, in Scotland, and should be held more regularly.

Representation of national culture as such is not, of course, the driver for audiences to Radio 3.

”The purpose of Radio 3 is to allow you to locate yourself in relation to global culture – not to focus on your own.”

Nevertheless the Council believes it is important that Scottish music making and heritage be given its proper place in the music tradition in the UK, and this is what is in question.

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Council believed that, in spite of the excellent recent work done by Radio 3, there is still scope in the future for the network to improve its coverage of Scottish music and culture and set it in its European and global context.

Tone? It was suggested that the network’s presentation style might be perceived as “English” – even though many of its prominent voices are drawn from across the UK including Scotland. The Council believes it would be useful for the station assess its tone of voice periodically.

Comments from listeners in younger age groups stressed the importance of pace.

“It’s a bit serene sounding – it could be more buzzy and exciting. It sometimes is – like the fantastic interview with Sondheim on Composer of the Week which was really pacy and sparky. Depends on the time of day, but it usually works better for me when it’s not too laid back. It can be too soporific.”

Increasing reach in Scotland

Council believes there is scope for Radio 3 to connect with its “natural constituency” in Scotland to a greater extent than it currently does.

Glasgow, where the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is based in the City Halls complex, is a vibrant musical centre with a distinguished music history, a lively contemporary musical life, and is said to be the city with more music students than any other in the UK outside London. This does suggest that the West of Scotland should be more fertile ground for Radio 3. A number of suggestions were made.

Scottish cultural content The Service Licence states that the network “should contribute to [reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities]. It should broadcast concerts and events from venues across the UK. Through its interactive aspects, such as message boards, Radio 3 should facilitate the creation of communities of interest.”

There is high quality coverage of aspects of Scottish culture on Radio 3. Examples include a documentary on the Renaissance poet and theologian George Buchanan; a series by sculptor Alexander Stoddart on the inspiration behind his own work; an edition of The Early Music Show on the Court of Mary, Queen of Scots; a Composer of the Week on the music of the Court of King James VI and 1; a series of programmes on Scottish music and culture in February/March 2010; and a feature on the Glasgow Boys group of painters presented by A. L. Kennedy.

The quality and range of this speech output is commended by the Council. The focus group noted that the network has a role as “one of the last great resources for serious discussion of culture”. Council believes that, for quality of spoken discourse in the free-to-air public sphere in the UK, Radio 3 probably defines the top end of the range. Maintaining this standard is therefore crucial for cultural standards in the

4 UK, and in Scotland. There should be a place on the BBC somewhere for challenging and stretching coverage, discussion and analysis of cultural and intellectual matters - including from a Scottish perspective – and this should not be compromised.

However, the Radio 3 content of particular relevance and interest in Scotland reaches comparatively small audiences, and Council feels more might be done to ensure that it reaches a greater number of those who are potentially interested. Could there be cross-trailing of such programming on Radio Scotland in strands of a similar genre such as The Radio Cafe arts strand? Or perhaps a section on the BBC Scotland website could track and co-ordinate all BBC content relating to Scottish culture? Or a Radio 3 digital opt carrying Scottish cultural programming from a range of BBC sources?

This echoes a point made by the Council in its submission to the BBC One, Two and Four service review: that the BBC produces much excellent content on Scottish culture (like BBC Four’s Scottish season and Radio 3’s Scottish week) but that much of it is broadcast on services which reach only a few percent of the population – and so it is likely that the public value is not being maximised.

The Proms brand The Proms – perhaps the world’s largest and most eclectic music festival - is one of the BBC’s most powerful brands, and has obvious synergies with the Radio 3 brand. However this potential is not fully exploited in Scotland. ‘Proms in the Park’ is a one- off event based on the Last Night of the Proms format – staged very effectively this year in Dundee: however it is not the same thing as an extension of the core Proms brand.

Council believes consideration should be given to how the BBC’s resources in the West of Scotland - the BBC Performing Groups, Radio 3 commissioning activity, the BBC’s external partners and others - could contribute to a format of music events which tapped into the excitement, informality and sense of discovery which the Proms represent – and which reflect the core values of Radio 3 itself. Could concerts and live programmes (of the kind which featured in Radio 3’s Scottish week) be aligned to the Proms brand in some way?

Connecting with audiences The SSO runs an energetic programme of outreach across communities, and especially with younger age groups. This is clearly of considerable value – but does it create new listeners for Radio 3? Could the outreach work be more focussed on the network’s ‘replenisher’ groups? It could be targeted to help nurture and strengthen connections between Radio 3 and its “natural constituency” in Scotland.

“A lot of the music is London-based. Glasgow is a big hub, and should be reflected more. There should be more activity here, not just concerts but competitions, workshops and so on”

5 “They do have concerts from festivals, like Celtic Connections, but its later – why not do them when it’s on? The delay between the recording and the broadcasts is too long to keep a sense of vibrancy.”

“It should get more involved locally.”

“There are ways of getting involved which it doesn’t exploit like the Associated Board repertoire, local events like the Mod.”

The themes of greater diversity, and closer contact with music communities, come together in the world of amateur music-making, from choirs to jazz and youth orchestras. This level of music-making is reflected to an extent on Radio Scotland, and in contemporary music on Radio 1, and there may be further opportunities for Radio 3 here. The focus group noted that this sort of music-making – exemplified in Choirworks - is embedded in everyday culture, with which listeners readily connect. Could Radio 3 make more of this? Jazz enthusiasts in Scotland are highly aware of Radio Scotland’s The Jazz House, a programme which seems to nurture local contacts to a greater extent.

Should there be more exploration of the sorts of topics which interest amateur music makers – an important part of the ‘gene pool’ for future generations of music enthusiasts. It was also suggested that greater coverage of festivals and music events in Scotland would help develop a sense that the network is serving the Scottish music community.

Easy listening or authoritative?

As well as providing an opportunity to hear and explore the repertoire, Radio 3 should offer context, helping audiences to appreciate why the music is worth listening to. For the core audience, this is achieved par excellence in parts of the schedule like CD Review, The Early Music Show and Composer of the Week. Should this approach be more evident across the output?

For some long-term listeners, daytime programming is seen as “a bit bland”. Some believe there are really “two Radio 3s” – the “easy listening” and the authoritative. Council agrees that the network should not move too far in the direction of the approach adopted by Classic FM. Classic FM is a very valuable addition to public service broadcasting in the UK but makes no claim to be stretching or challenging.

Council believes that Radio 3’s “drop-in” programming shouldn’t go too far towards a popular playlist and short excerpts – these deviate from the core purpose. The information offered around the excerpts in the “drop-in” programming was not felt at the focus group meeting to put the music in a sufficiently meaningful context. For core listeners, the style of programming led by authoritative expert presenters is most successful. Some feel there is too much that is not sufficiently authoritative.

“They have the musicians themselves on and you hear about their personalities, their interests, that’s why I love the In Tune interviews”

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The network should not, however, seek to educate at every turn and the balance here is a matter of editorial judgement for the network. Putting classical music in context is essential for the network and is what distinguishes it from what is available commercially. Council believes that most Radio 3 output should therefore achieve this to a measureable extent. Initiatives such as The Nation’s Favourite Aria, the use of cross-over presenters such as Radio 1’s Andy Kershaw, and imaginative Prom programming such as the Dr Who Prom, and the social media piloting which took place around the 2010 Proms, are to be encouraged.

Jazz The jazz content was praised for its quality, and particularly for the authority of its presentation, however it was commented that it didn’t feel rooted in the jazz community in Scotland in the way that Radio Scotland’s jazz output was said to be.

Generally, there were complaints that many of the jazz programmes are at the edge of the schedule and are “moved around” too much. The Council suggests that a zone could be created, on the Radio Scotland model, to offer a dedicated space for jazz output.

Listening in the future

An increasing amount of listening now takes place through online and podcasting. Council believes that like much of the rest of the media, Radio 3 will increasingly need to move in this direction. On one view, the network should move towards being a Spotify/ ‘juke box’ of classical music rather than a linear service.

“For me, distribution is a problem ... I listen to Radio 3 through podcasts, but you don’t always get the full broadcast, it’s too clipped. They should make better podcast opportunities for those who don’t want to listen off-air.” (West of Scotland, early 20s)

Against this, one of the strengths of a broadcast network is the sense of a shared experience, and this was absent from the podcast model of delivery. Council believes that moving strategically towards a more online/social media model of delivery will be necessary to help R3 deliver its public purposes; however it should seek to achieve this, at least for the foreseeable future, without weakening the strength or presence of the broadcast schedule.

BBC Performing groups

The Service Licence states that Radio 3 “should engage both established and emerging talent and provide opportunities for performance by the BBC [performing groups ... and] should also maintain broadcasting relationships with other UK orchestras, opera companies and festivals.”

Differing views were expressed on strategy for the BBC Performing groups – in Scotland represented by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (SSO).

7 Some believed passionately that the SSO is vital for music culture in Glasgow, and Scotland; that its outreach work was irreplaceable; and that its track record on contemporary music was an essential part of the Scottish music scene.

An alternative view was that the SSO stood in the way of greater enrichment and diversity in music culture across Scotland. Was it the BBC’s job to sustain a significant proportion of the UK’s orchestral sector, or could the licence fee funding be better used as a seedbed for a more varied range of music? The Scottish classical music scene has become dominated by ‘orchestral culture’ and needed to move on. The model of using the BBC orchestra budget to commission performances from other music groups was mentioned as being successful in Scandinavia.

The Council believes the two options are not mutually exclusive.

In the Council’s view, musical life in Glasgow, and throughout Scotland, would be immeasurably poorer without the SSO. In addition to its core touring and outreach roles, it plays an important role at what might be termed the “explorative” end of the mainstream repertoire – in recent years providing critically acclaimed seasons of Scandinavian and Eastern European music. It has consistently drawn conducting talent of world-class calibre, and is a regular provider of some of the Edinburgh International Festival’s most distinguished orchestral concerts.

It is also an important element in the BBC’s critical mass in the cultural sector in Scotland. Using Radio 3, Radio Scotland and the SSO in a strategic way in conjunction with partners such as the RSAMD, Scottish Opera and other Scottish orchestras, performing groups and festivals, the BBC might act as an important catalyst for the development of the classical music audience in Scotland. Council believes it would be helpful for a strategic group to be formed to decide how the BBC can best use its leverage in Scotland to this end – which would both use, and ultimately benefit, Radio 3. This could then feed into the BBC’s UK strategy in Putting Quality First, as well as feeding into BBC Scotland’s specific strategy for audiences in Scotland.

Conclusions on Radio 3

 The balance struck by the station between providing a stimulating and challenging repertoire, and offering ‘points of entry’ for new listeners, is about right. Emphasis should be on continuing the current policy of reaching out to new audiences by inventive programming and presentation, while maintaining the network’s distinctive music policy.

 There is scope for the network to connect with its “natural constituency” in Scotland to a greater extent than it currently does. Radio 3 may not be reaching all of its potential audience in Scotland.

 The BBC's investment in classical music in Scotland (especially Glasgow) is considerable: could this be re-assessed and be better aligned, to really heighten the profile of Radio 3 in Scotland, especially in the SSO’s West of Scotland base?

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 Thought could be given on how to raise awareness, and increase the reach of Radio 3’s quality speech content on Scottish topics.

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RADIO 4

Key strengths

Radio 4 listeners are strongly appreciative of the high quality of output on the network. This applies across genres, from the quality and consistency of provision in news and current affairs to the network’s long tradition of radio comedy. There is awareness of the provision of high quality content specifically relating to Scotland. For keen listeners, consistency of tone was mentioned as a particular factor. But overall, it is the intelligence of Radio 4 programming which is said to be its appeal –

“Radio 4 is good because it makes you react – makes you think”.

Key problems

Two major challenges emerged from the Council’s work.

First, although the network is very highly valued, the very existence of such a firm and loyal audience base can militate against attracting new listeners. So change on Radio 4 must be evolutionary.

Second, although audiences in Scotland value the station’s quality as highly as elsewhere in the UK, and although there is high-quality content relating to Scotland, there are questions about the volume and consistency of this provision, specific issues about coverage of Scotland in NCA and factual output, and a general sense that the station does not have a genuine pan-UK perspective, but has a world-view rooted in the South of England.

News and current affairs

For many listeners, NCA output dominates their thinking about the station. There was appreciation of the high quality and professionalism of Radio 4’s journalism. However, there was scope for improvement in some respects.

For some, coverage was too “led” by the news agenda – agriculture, for instance, coming up only when there was a “big story” – apart from “excellent” regular coverage on and . The question was about the place of farming in the wider news agenda: there should be a wider strategy to broaden public understanding of difficult issues, concurrent with providing explanation in conjunction with news stories.

The quality of “explanation” by specialist correspondents was not felt to be uniformly good. Some areas were mentioned as being well explained - such as science and medicine – but others were perceived as less good.

Many listeners find the style of interviewing on Radio 4, especially on the Today programme, too adversarial for their tastes. This is seen as outdated, and not

10 effective in providing deeper understanding of an issue. “The BBC should be more mature, and set standards for other parts of the media”. The practice of “setting up a gladiatorial fight between two interviewees and then getting an ‘objective’ commentator to analyse it” was seen as “patronising”.

Some listeners felt the appearance of expert interviewees from Scotland on Today and other strands was “sporadic”. The roster of contributors was too narrow.

“You can always predict who’s going to come on.”

Others felt Scottish voices were, on the whole, well represented.

However, “lack of proper coverage of Scotland” in news and current affairs (and magazine programmes too) was identified by most listeners.

Radio 4’s service licence states that the network “should make a very important contribution to this [sustaining citizenship] purpose amongst its audience, through in- depth, accurate, impartial and independent news and current affairs output which should seek to enable listeners to participate more actively, critically and constructively in the democratic life of the UK. Extensive context should be provided, and leading figures from all areas of British life should be challenged over their policies and actions."

Does Radio 4 achieve this with regard to Scotland? It was commented at the focus group that there was “often a naivety about Scottish issues”. One listener commented that Scottish place-names were “most often mispronounced”.

“There is a tendency to regard Scotland as somewhere ‘else’, somewhere ‘other’.”

Although labelling has improved, “there is a sense that it is being done begrudgingly”. Many of the stories from Scotland are “of the fluffy, wildlife type”. The Council notes that BBC radio coverage of Scottish affairs is split between Radio 4 and Radio Scotland: however Scottish political coverage has reduced on Radio Scotland, and was inadequate on Radio 4, so had fallen between two stools: both should be strengthened.

The Council does not consider that the messages of the Nations Impartiality Review have been fully absorbed by Radio 4, especially with regard to enrichment of UK stories with perspectives, case-studies and voices from around the UK, including Scotland.

“On too much of Radio 4 there is too narrow a representation of the rest of the UK, especially Scotland”.

“I think Scotland does get mentioned a bit more these days – but it often tokenistic.”

Does R4 news serve the whole of the UK?

11 The Council feel that the Radio 4 news agenda is more London-centric than it needs to be. The station should address, and should sound as if it is addressing the whole of the UK. Apart from the need to report events in ways that make sense to listeners in Scotland, there is an equally important role for Radio 4 to inform listeners outside of Scotland about news and developments in that part of the UK-- as highlighted in the King Report and the Trust’s Impartiality Review work. Council acknowledges that there has been some progress, but believes that Radio 4’s support for citizenship should apply with equal accuracy and relevance for listeners in all parts of the UK.

Audience Councils’ monitoring exercise - 2010 The Council (with the Audience Councils for Wales and Northern Ireland) monitored Radio 4 factual output earlier this year as part of its Impartiality Review follow-up work and reported to the BBC Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee.

The Councils found a variable picture: some strands or series did better than others. Women’s Hour “did not look at issues from the point of view of the other nations of the UK” and a lack of labelling and contextualisation – which can cause confusion in listeners’ minds - was noted.

Some series, such as Farming Today and Front Row, offered a wider range of perspectives. Others such as and did not provide a particular regional dimension, but achieved pan-UK relevance in discussions and reports.

Not every programme, discussion or report need reflect perspectives from Scotland, Wales and/or Northern Ireland. However cases were found where perspectives from the devolved nations might enhance programmes, but the opportunity to include them was not taken.

Examples of good practice were found: A History of the World included an expert interviewee from the National Museum of Ireland; Saving Species reported on environmental issues from the Isle of May and from Shetland; the 3 April edition of Beyond Westminster provided an outstanding example of the network offering a valuable, non-London perspective.

International coverage There was high praise for the network’s international news coverage. Not being led by the need for pictures, listeners valued the fact that radio reporting was free to concentrate on the key issues and analysis. The Today programme’s Afghan Diary was quoted as an example of the network at its best.

Radio 4’s world-view

Radio stations work best when they develop a strong emotional bond with their listeners. It may be problematic for any speech station to achieve this across the wide variety of cultural variation found in the UK. By focussing on a South of England worldview, Radio may be pragmatically playing to its strengths. One member of the

12 focus group believed that there was no point pretending the network’s perspective was not Anglocentric: it represented a certain reality about cultural attitudes, and so for Radio 4 to regard Scotland as somewhere “other” was only honest.

However for most, the “skew to older, ABC1 South of England listeners” was seen as a problem. The issue is that although the network is supposed to cover the whole UK, in practice it may only reflect an Anglocentric view of the UK.

“Does Radio 4 really ‘get’ devolution?”

Some commented that the Radio 4 worldview was actually narrower than that and often seemed to reflect a London-centric view. Too much of the comedy, for instance, was said to be rooted in the cultural stereotypes of Southern England.

“It’s a London Underground view of the world – and it should not be that”.

Council believes it is important to acknowledge that Radio 4 commissions high- quality output about Scottish affairs, and reflecting Scottish talent – ranging from Old Harry’s Game to a significant proportion of the output and features and documentaries.

Radio 4 and Radio Scotland BBC Radio’s provision of high-quality speech for audiences in Scotland is shared, in the main, between Radio 4 and Radio Scotland. Many people listen to both stations however it seems there is no common strategy between the two to cover “all the bases” as far as the Scottish audience is concerned.

For some, Radio Scotland does not offer sufficient depth, while Radio 4 – though offering quality – does not offer sufficient range.

“I want my life reflected on Radio 4 because Radio Scotland is not the Home Service for Scotland any more”.

The Council also notes in this context that there appears to be a disparity in resourcing of programmes on Radio Scotland and Radio 4. Although there is highly distinguished work on both networks, it is clear that there is a general correlation between budgets, range and quality. The Council would be interested in exploring this area in more detail. Is the overall BBC quality speech offering for Scotland subject to a clear strategy?

What, in particular, are Radio 4’s responsibilities? The service licence is clear that the network should reflect the whole of the UK. It states that Radio 4 programmes should “nurture UK talent", that “domestic coverage should reflect the diversity of the UK"; that "its journalism should reflect the diversity of the UK”; that its documentaries and features should “explore ethnic, cultural and religious groups within the UK, enabling the wider community to understand their customs, convictions and concerns".

13 From the audience perspective, the issue is whether the range and volume of Scottish coverage meets the expectations of the network’s audience in Scotland, and is proportionate. Some strands offer proportionate coverage of Scotland, others less so.

Overall, there is a deficit. Council believes that Radio 4 should have a clear strategic plan for delivering an appropriate, proportionate amount of Scottish content, so that the good coverage offered by some strands is offered evenly right across the network’s output.

Commissioning structure and the independent sector in Scotland Concerns about commissioning from the independent sector in Scotland were raised. It was said that Radio 4 did not have strong links with the wider Scottish creative community.

“There is creative, cutting-edge content available in Scotland which is not making it onto Radio 4.”

The Council notes that in its recent work on Independent Radio Supply, the Trust concluded that BBC radio commissioning processes should be much more transparent, and should reach out more widely across the whole of the UK.

Council notes that BBC radio has not adopted the principles of the television network supply review. Radio 4 should strengthen the links between its commissioners and Scotland’s creative community, and this would have beneficial effects on its support for, and reflection of, creative activity in Scotland.

Magazine programmes

The focus group attendees valued Radio 4’s magazine programmes but felt that some of them could afford to adopt a more contemporary approach. The magazine programme Saturday Live was a “jewel in the crown” and was very attractive to new audiences. However, for Woman’s Hour, it was “time to move on”.

Drama, readings and arts

Drama and readings from Scotland are a key element in the Radio 4 schedule. Looking across the whole range of BBC provision of Scottish drama, Council notes that Radio 4 drama and readings is perhaps the most consistently successful area. Work from a wide range of new and established Scottish writers is broadcast. Readings from Scotland were particularly commended as reflecting current writing from Scotland. Examples quoted were readings from a recent re-assessment of the work and influence of Walter Scott, and the latest novel from James Robertson which were broadcast in August 2010. The was seen as a crucial element in supporting interest and discussion about writing.

There is regular poetry provision, such as , however it was said at the focus group that there was a tendency to “do a season and then forget for a few

14 years”. Poetry was peculiarly well suited to speech radio, and there was scope, it was suggested, for it to be more “mainstreamed” across the output. Council commended the documentary broadcast in September 2010 celebrating the life and work of the poet Edwin Morgan.

Front Row produced sharply divided reaction from the focus group, from appreciation to criticism that it was too topical and shallow and not sufficiently challenging. Council acknowledges that the network shares the same difficulties as Radio 3 in serving its loyal audience and seeking the attract new listeners, and that in these circumstances it can be difficult to strike a tone and level of address which appeals to all sections of the audience.

Comedy

The focus group felt that too much comedy on Radio 4 was now too based on what was described as the “stand-up” style, and was not “properly scripted”. This was a “cheap and awful” way of doing it. However, there was support for some recent comedy with praise for , Revolting People and Old Harry’s Game – so good quality radio comedy could still be made. There have been innovative commissions from Scotland.

Some of the comedy was seen as revealing the network’s South of England worldview. It was said that the performers were not always able to imitate Northern English accents with credibility. It was “all too Vicar of Dibley”. Council acknowledges Radio 4’s archive of comedy classics (a backbone of Radio 7); the long-term nature of comedy development; the wide variations in regional and personal taste when it comes to humour; and the network’s evident commitment to long term development of radio comedy.

Replenishing

Should the network pursue the “younger listener”? Some feel this would lead to a compromise and would disappoint existing listeners without attracting many new ones. However, developing the network to appeal to a wider demographic did not necessarily mean “dumbing it down”.

New means should be found to ensure that younger listeners were aware of the wealth of content that was available, and could access it in ways that suited them. This would involve a range of responses from cross-trails to podcasts and other social media developments, including perhaps the use on Radio 4 of presenters and journalists recognised by younger people from their work on other media.

Incremental change was not seen as problematic. Many loyal listeners felt that some of the programme formats, such as Today programme, were a bit stultified and needed to evolve. Also, the various strands seemed to operate in silos, and there could be more serendipity in the scheduling.

15 To survive, Radio 4 will need to evolve. The pace of evolution should be incremental. However it is the direction of evolution that is crucial – there is scope for the station to be more fully reflective of the reality of the contemporary UK.

Radio 4, Radio Scotland and the BBC public purposes

Listeners stressed their appreciation of the quality of the network. However – assessing it against the BBC public purposes – Council believes it does not fully reflect the UK and its nations, and the creativity purpose was not fully delivered for Scotland. Poor coverage of Scotland served Scottish licence payers badly, but also did not support civil society across the UK as listeners remained ignorant of Scottish issues and affairs. Going forward, the key issue was to attract new listeners without losing the loyalty of the existing audience base.

There was felt to be no ‘complementarity’ between Radio Scotland and Radio 4, and that in some genres provision across the networks (mostly politics, current affairs and the arts) was not adequate. The existence of Radio Scotland does not excuse Radio 4 from the responsibility to report the whole of the UK to the whole of the UK. Radio Scotland’s service of intelligent speech though generally of high quality, is not as comprehensive or consistent as that on Radio 4 and so does not fully compensate for the gaps in Radio 4 coverage. .

Council notes that Brian Taylor’s Big Debate now successfully delivers for Radio Scotland what Any Questions does on Radio 4 for audiences outside of Scotland – providing a good example of successful ‘complementarity’. This approach could be taken with other formats and genres. The suite of specialist features on Radio 4 takes insufficient notice of Scotland, yet the specialist feature output on Radio Scotland does not fully compensate. It is of lesser volume, with fewer dedicated strands, shorter and less frequent runs, and it appears to be less well resourced. There should be greater collaboration between R4 and Radio Scotland to ensure that the public purposes are delivered more fully for audiences in Scotland.

Council suggests that it might be fruitful to consider the Radio 4 and Radio Scotland service licences (and perhaps also the Radio 2 and 3 ones) as a group, to ensure that the full range of quality speech and cultural content is being provided for audiences in Scotland, and that, between the services, the public purposes are being adequately delivered. There is a great deal of excellent Scottish material across the BBC radio networks, but there are also significant gaps, and what does exist can be hard to find. If this content was easier to find, it would be likely to have greater impact on the audiences in Scotland seeking ‘intelligent speech’.

Conclusions on Radio 4

 Radio 4 listeners are strongly supportive of the network – but are aware of some significant shortcomings, particularly in aspects of journalism and coverage of the whole of the UK

16  The range and volume of coverage of Scotland does not fully meet the expectations of the network’s audience in Scotland, and does not support citizenship across the whole of the UK. Radio 4 should seek to address the whole of the UK, without compromising the distinctive character which listeners value so much.

 Similarly, although the network is strongly supportive of creativity, it could do more to reflect and stimulate creativity across the whole of the UK.

 Increasing commissioning activity in Scotland would be a simple and effective way of achieving this.

 The existence of BBC national stations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland does not mean that Radio 4 has no obligation to approach its brief from a pan- UK perspective.

 Should Radio 4 and Radio Scotland co-ordinate their strategies to ensure there is a comprehensive, coherent strategy for BBC quality speech radio in Scotland?

General conclusion

 The Trust will soon have completed reviews of all the BBC speech radio stations. The Council’s work on these has demonstrated to it the strength and quality of BBC speech content on Scottish topics. Members of the Council question whether this content — so important for delivering the citizenship, education and representation public purposes in Scotland — is reaching its potential audience. Is there a way of making more of this high quality content, scattered across the BBC’s radio networks?

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