Observer/Guardian radio critic Miranda Sawyer asks today "What is happening with Radio 4? A glance at the current schedule shows a station treading water. We’ve had the same programmes at the same times for years now, and though each is individually strong, such stasis means that there is no ooh-what’s-this? refreshment, no reach for a new audience, no excitement for a changing future...... I love Radio 4 but find myself flicking to other stations and podcasts very frequently. It often seems to be broadcasting from another age."
Let me guess. It's the first serious clash between Lord Hall and the former politician he brought in to secure the Charter, James Purnell.
Radio 4 is packed with more heritage brands than a Fortnum and Mason grocery hamper. From the Oxford Thick Cut Marmalade of Farming Today, through the Del Monte Yellow Cling Peaches in Syrup of You and Yours, via the Ambrosia Tinned Rice Pudding of The Afternoon Play, onto the Cracker Barrel Kraft Cheese of Analysis, the basic products haven't change much since the 70s. And Lord Hall remembers the trouble that was caused by previous controllers who simply moved the products to different shelves, never mind trying to sell the Vesta Curries, Wraps and Quinoa of Rollercoaster, Anderson Country and The Afternoon Shift.
Lord Hall's watchword is re-invention, but his instinct is heritage, with a probably-Queen Anne-listed home in Henley on Thames. (Henley probably still has a grocery shop with all that stuff.) James Purnell is Bethnal Green; his biggest problem is with the smell and disturbance from nearby fried chicken shops. He thinks he's on a roll with BBC Sounds, and has driven the candidates for the Controllership of Radio 4 to provide their ideas for a radical revamp of the schedule. Lord Hall's probably trying to choose the least disruptive...
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