BBC staff in Local Radio will be taking an extra shot in their skinny lattes this morning - some because they picked up gongs at the (internal) Gillard Awards in Coventry last night, and many more because the threat of big cuts has been lifted by the Director-General.
Lord Hall has promised a sea change for programming - ending the instruction to target just over-50s, and allowing each station to develop "its own sound and personality".
"I know why we’ve had to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. But that’s not where the country is, so it’s not where we’re heading. That’s why I’m going to give our local editors more creative freedom to celebrate local life. To reflect local identity. And nurture local talent."
Not only has the DG ditched proposals to cut £10m from the stations in the years ahead, he's ending the shared weekday evening programme next summer, currently three hours of "Great music and conversation as Georgey [Spanswick] brings together the best of BBC Local Radio." He's pledged a prominent place for local radio on the forthcoming re-launch of the iPlayer Radio, and investment in technology to help stations do more on new media. Online, he says, you can now search for local news just by entering your postcode.
All good stuff. There's a list rolling around produced by the BBC of fifty presenters who got their start in local radio. It ought to include Lord Hall, who spent three months at Radio Birmingham (now Radio WM) as a news trainee in 1975.
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