NT
It's incredibly negligent - and then they returned to air the following night! The silly thing is that Sunny and Shay have been around for a few years (and on BBC WM too) - they're not new at this at all - so this does feel much more serious than a simple error.
Not surprised this happened on Radio London. I sometimes hear bits of the weeknight late show; it has two inexperienced presenters who are so badly out of their depth, I feel sorry for them. And all this on what could be a flagship station if someone cared.
This blog post is interesting: https://www.davidlloydradio.com/post/is-bbc-local-radio-out-of-control
Meanwhile on Radio London, a crank caller is left on air after saying the N-word which he then says numerous times.
https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/11/bbc-radio-london-looking-into-malicious-callers-use-of-n-word/
You have to wonder what was going on that they missed it and didn't react, he was putting on an accent but it was quiet clear. Even the caller seemed surprised that he'd been left on air.
The audio is here, I shouldn't need to point out that it (and the tweet below) are NSFW:
https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/11/bbc-radio-london-looking-into-malicious-callers-use-of-n-word/
You have to wonder what was going on that they missed it and didn't react, he was putting on an accent but it was quiet clear. Even the caller seemed surprised that he'd been left on air.
The audio is here, I shouldn't need to point out that it (and the tweet below) are NSFW:
It's incredibly negligent - and then they returned to air the following night! The silly thing is that Sunny and Shay have been around for a few years (and on BBC WM too) - they're not new at this at all - so this does feel much more serious than a simple error.
Not surprised this happened on Radio London. I sometimes hear bits of the weeknight late show; it has two inexperienced presenters who are so badly out of their depth, I feel sorry for them. And all this on what could be a flagship station if someone cared.
This blog post is interesting: https://www.davidlloydradio.com/post/is-bbc-local-radio-out-of-control
LL
Not surprised this happened on Radio London. I sometimes hear bits of the weeknight late show; it has two inexperienced presenters who are so badly out of their depth, I feel sorry for them. And all this on what could be a flagship station if someone cared.
This blog post is interesting: https://www.davidlloydradio.com/post/is-bbc-local-radio-out-of-control
Almost 50 years of neglect on Radio London. The only time in their history when the local BBC station for London got some love and publicity was when it relaunched as GLR in 1988. It of course also got some publicity on BBC1 as it morphed from GLR into BBC London Live, which was launched by David Robey who was the Managing Editor until recently. Only in the BBC can someone in charge have failing ratings for so long and stay in their job. It wouldn't happen in the commercial sector.
London Lite
Founding member
Not surprised this happened on Radio London. I sometimes hear bits of the weeknight late show; it has two inexperienced presenters who are so badly out of their depth, I feel sorry for them. And all this on what could be a flagship station if someone cared.
This blog post is interesting: https://www.davidlloydradio.com/post/is-bbc-local-radio-out-of-control
Almost 50 years of neglect on Radio London. The only time in their history when the local BBC station for London got some love and publicity was when it relaunched as GLR in 1988. It of course also got some publicity on BBC1 as it morphed from GLR into BBC London Live, which was launched by David Robey who was the Managing Editor until recently. Only in the BBC can someone in charge have failing ratings for so long and stay in their job. It wouldn't happen in the commercial sector.
JA
This certainly seems to be a challenging time for BBC Local Radio at the moment, with their intention to shift the demographic to skew younger and all that brings.
The issue I've experienced when tuning in out of curiosity is that the imaging/playlist just constantly jars with the presenters. You have the pacey, upbeat and dynamic imaging with like likes of Dua Lipa, Celeste and other current artists alongside presenters who seem to me to be stuck in the same style as they always have been - very pedestrian in their tone and sometimes bizarre topics of conversation for a group of stations apparently actively trying to attract a younger audience.
I listed for quite a while at the weekend and the hot topic was the 57th anniversary of the assassination of JFK and asking listeners to call in with their memories of the day - immediately precluding anyone under about 65/70 years old from taking part!
I'm sure there must be good examples of the transition happening effectively elsewhere, but certainly round these parts there's still a long way to go.
The issue I've experienced when tuning in out of curiosity is that the imaging/playlist just constantly jars with the presenters. You have the pacey, upbeat and dynamic imaging with like likes of Dua Lipa, Celeste and other current artists alongside presenters who seem to me to be stuck in the same style as they always have been - very pedestrian in their tone and sometimes bizarre topics of conversation for a group of stations apparently actively trying to attract a younger audience.
I listed for quite a while at the weekend and the hot topic was the 57th anniversary of the assassination of JFK and asking listeners to call in with their memories of the day - immediately precluding anyone under about 65/70 years old from taking part!
I'm sure there must be good examples of the transition happening effectively elsewhere, but certainly round these parts there's still a long way to go.
RI
It should be BBC Birmingham & The Black Country. The station doesn’t cover Coventry and surely the name of the ‘Second City’ should be represented?
I've always disliked the name "BBC WM". Literally nothing but initials and no actual words, which feels "un-BBC" to me. Commercial stations with initials-only names, fine. If it were my decision to make, I would force them to stick the word Radio in the middle of that.
It should be BBC Birmingham & The Black Country. The station doesn’t cover Coventry and surely the name of the ‘Second City’ should be represented?
JA
I always think of a video Ashens made where he was reviewing some pocket scanner radios that looked like iPods, and he was scanning through the stations, and when he got to BBC Radio Norfolk he said something like "bloody hell, it's an old man ranting about the state of the toilets at the BBC", and that's summed up the state of BBC local radio for me ever since.
RW
It should be BBC Birmingham & The Black Country. The station doesn’t cover Coventry and surely the name of the ‘Second City’ should be represented?
Since that original post was made in January the word 'Radio' has been added back in. I'm not all that keen on the WM name myself, but I think name changes should really be avoided if at all possible, particularly when the existing name is very well-established as it has been here, having been in use for nearly 40 years.
Robert Williams
Founding member
I've always disliked the name "BBC WM". Literally nothing but initials and no actual words, which feels "un-BBC" to me. Commercial stations with initials-only names, fine. If it were my decision to make, I would force them to stick the word Radio in the middle of that.
It should be BBC Birmingham & The Black Country. The station doesn’t cover Coventry and surely the name of the ‘Second City’ should be represented?
Since that original post was made in January the word 'Radio' has been added back in. I'm not all that keen on the WM name myself, but I think name changes should really be avoided if at all possible, particularly when the existing name is very well-established as it has been here, having been in use for nearly 40 years.
NT
Almost 50 years of neglect on Radio London. The only time in their history when the local BBC station for London got some love and publicity was when it relaunched as GLR in 1988. It of course also got some publicity on BBC1 as it morphed from GLR into BBC London Live, which was launched by David Robey who was the Managing Editor until recently. Only in the BBC can someone in charge have failing ratings for so long and stay in their job. It wouldn't happen in the commercial sector.
True - I find it fascinating how it's been messed up over the years, largely under one individual. As we've mused on here countless times, it's a big ask to find a niche for the station, for many reasons; but you just hope the Sunny and Shay incident will force the BBC to do something.
Almost 50 years of neglect on Radio London. The only time in their history when the local BBC station for London got some love and publicity was when it relaunched as GLR in 1988. It of course also got some publicity on BBC1 as it morphed from GLR into BBC London Live, which was launched by David Robey who was the Managing Editor until recently. Only in the BBC can someone in charge have failing ratings for so long and stay in their job. It wouldn't happen in the commercial sector.
True - I find it fascinating how it's been messed up over the years, largely under one individual. As we've mused on here countless times, it's a big ask to find a niche for the station, for many reasons; but you just hope the Sunny and Shay incident will force the BBC to do something.
NT
Yes! Love the JFK example. I was in Cornwall a couple of months back and had a quick listen to their late phone-in (which I think comes from Bristol?) and it was the same old Partridge-esque stuff. The sad thing is that you dip into Radio Scotland or Wales and their evening programmes sound pretty good, with music suiting the on-air personalities - but this was just rubbish.
The jingles sound fine, but I even wonder if playing contemporary chart stuff like Dua Lipa is going to alienate a lot of the age range they're actually going for (40s?), never mind people in their 60s. Difficult call to make if you're a station that plays music but isn't a music station, I guess, but the mismatch is glaring.
This certainly seems to be a challenging time for BBC Local Radio at the moment, with their intention to shift the demographic to skew younger and all that brings.
The issue I've experienced when tuning in out of curiosity is that the imaging/playlist just constantly jars with the presenters. You have the pacey, upbeat and dynamic imaging with like likes of Dua Lipa, Celeste and other current artists alongside presenters who seem to me to be stuck in the same style as they always have been - very pedestrian in their tone and sometimes bizarre topics of conversation for a group of stations apparently actively trying to attract a younger audience.
I listed for quite a while at the weekend and the hot topic was the 57th anniversary of the assassination of JFK and asking listeners to call in with their memories of the day - immediately precluding anyone under about 65/70 years old from taking part!
I'm sure there must be good examples of the transition happening effectively elsewhere, but certainly round these parts there's still a long way to go.
The issue I've experienced when tuning in out of curiosity is that the imaging/playlist just constantly jars with the presenters. You have the pacey, upbeat and dynamic imaging with like likes of Dua Lipa, Celeste and other current artists alongside presenters who seem to me to be stuck in the same style as they always have been - very pedestrian in their tone and sometimes bizarre topics of conversation for a group of stations apparently actively trying to attract a younger audience.
I listed for quite a while at the weekend and the hot topic was the 57th anniversary of the assassination of JFK and asking listeners to call in with their memories of the day - immediately precluding anyone under about 65/70 years old from taking part!
I'm sure there must be good examples of the transition happening effectively elsewhere, but certainly round these parts there's still a long way to go.
Yes! Love the JFK example. I was in Cornwall a couple of months back and had a quick listen to their late phone-in (which I think comes from Bristol?) and it was the same old Partridge-esque stuff. The sad thing is that you dip into Radio Scotland or Wales and their evening programmes sound pretty good, with music suiting the on-air personalities - but this was just rubbish.
The jingles sound fine, but I even wonder if playing contemporary chart stuff like Dua Lipa is going to alienate a lot of the age range they're actually going for (40s?), never mind people in their 60s. Difficult call to make if you're a station that plays music but isn't a music station, I guess, but the mismatch is glaring.
MA
It should be BBC Birmingham & The Black Country. The station doesn’t cover Coventry and surely the name of the ‘Second City’ should be represented?
Since that original post was made in January the word 'Radio' has been added back in. I'm not all that keen on the WM name myself, but I think name changes should really be avoided if at all possible, particularly when the existing name is very well-established as it has been here, having been in use for nearly 40 years.
Yes, although the name was set before BBC CWR existed, and BBC Radio Birmingham/WM was Coventry's 'de-facto' BBC local radio station.
I can remember visiting Coventry in the 80s, trying to listen to the city's Mercia Sound on my FM Walkman. It was difficult, because WM on 95.6 was stamping all over Mercia on 95.9 it was so powerful (The IBA eventually moved them to 97.0 in 1987)
I've always disliked the name "BBC WM". Literally nothing but initials and no actual words, which feels "un-BBC" to me. Commercial stations with initials-only names, fine. If it were my decision to make, I would force them to stick the word Radio in the middle of that.
It should be BBC Birmingham & The Black Country. The station doesn’t cover Coventry and surely the name of the ‘Second City’ should be represented?
Since that original post was made in January the word 'Radio' has been added back in. I'm not all that keen on the WM name myself, but I think name changes should really be avoided if at all possible, particularly when the existing name is very well-established as it has been here, having been in use for nearly 40 years.
Yes, although the name was set before BBC CWR existed, and BBC Radio Birmingham/WM was Coventry's 'de-facto' BBC local radio station.
I can remember visiting Coventry in the 80s, trying to listen to the city's Mercia Sound on my FM Walkman. It was difficult, because WM on 95.6 was stamping all over Mercia on 95.9 it was so powerful (The IBA eventually moved them to 97.0 in 1987)
JB
How are the jingles handled for evening shows that broadcast to 6 or 7 stations? For instance Paul Miller is broadcasting now on across the South. The phone number jingle on Radio Solent is played and it sings BBC Radio Solent meanwhile at the same time over on Radio Kent the phone number jingle is played and Radio Kent is sung over it.
Last edited by JasonB on 26 November 2020 12:51pm
IS
Split jingles. The studio the programmes coming from fires off jingles at all the stations it's going out in.
It's not a new technology, commercial stations that network have done it for many years, but I think the BBC Local stations only gained the ability to when the national evening programme started. Before then the regional programmes had less specific jingles' BBC in the Midlands' for example.
How are the jingles handled for evening shows that broadcast to 6 or 7 stations? For instance Paul Miller is broadcasting now on across the South. The phone number jingle on Radio Solent is played and it sings BBC Radio Solent meanwhile at the same time over on Radio Kent the phone number jingle played and Radio Kent is sung over it.
Split jingles. The studio the programmes coming from fires off jingles at all the stations it's going out in.
It's not a new technology, commercial stations that network have done it for many years, but I think the BBC Local stations only gained the ability to when the national evening programme started. Before then the regional programmes had less specific jingles' BBC in the Midlands' for example.