John McAndrew, Director of Programmes at BBC News, struggled a little when Feedback on Radio 4 pointed out that the two News Board members in locus parenti of radio output - himself and Deborah Turness - had no direct experience of radio.
John, 54 (Backwell Comprehensive, Somerset and Liverpool John Moores University), defended all the cuts, reminding the audience several times that he had to be 'cognisant of the financial situation'. When defending the decision that all network radio overnight news summaries should come from the World Service, he seemed about to say that, for big UK stories, you could always switch on the telly. He also argued that, in taking away a dedicated news service from the Asian Network, he was giving audiences what they wanted - more music. This dangerous argument erodes the differentiation that sustains the BBC; Radio 1 without news is a commercial channel, but if you asked the audience, they'd nearly always say they'd rather have more pop than Newsbeat.
Feedback might like to note that since the departure of Liliane Landor there's nobody at BBC News' top table with a radio pedigree.
Can we go back to 1971 please, and reintroduce the radio-only licence? It would cost £29. I would pay double that. Triple.
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