19-02-2024, 12:08 AM
(18-02-2024, 11:18 PM)cityprod Wrote: The problem with this idea, as good and sensible as it is, is that its a short term solution to a long term problem. That problem, is the fact that over the years we have become conditioned to think local = bad, national = good. Whether that be television or radio, "local" seems to be a dirty word. We don't need national programmes on local radio. We need to recondition the people to not automatical think that local is bad.
Indeed, I don't necessarily disagree with this view. There's a trend towards consolidation and nationalisation in a lot of media (regionalisation at best), and it's not a particularly great trend. I suspect some (most?) of it is coming from the general trend of turning to social media and streaming giants for entertainment and news. There's a fascinating article on Press Gazette (pressgazette.co.uk ) regarding the loss of advertising. The upcoming loss of third-party cookies will also make some difference.
In some cases, independent local media is popping-up (for example, The Mill in my area), and there's some great community radio stations (and some very dire ones too) but this will never have the sheer scale and reach of a BBC or commercial broadcast and / or web option. It's a small drop in the ocean. And I'd wager that most people aren't interested in hearing about / reading about their local area all day long, which adds to the trend of local outlets being difficult to sustain (local TV is a whole different story of course). Whether this is because, as you say 'Local = bad' I'm not sure. I'm a staunch defender of local media but I know I won't listen to Bolton FM or YO1 Radio all day. They're good, but they're no Radio 2 or Heart or - before the cuts - Radio Manchester, and the local news is OK, but not fantastic. Some community stations have no local news at all. I certainly don't want to pay for a newsletter that only comes out once-per-week and has stories from all over Greater Manchester. Yes, I'm interested, but not that interested and anything in my local area, I've likely found out about before it comes out.
In the BBC's case, unless they get extra cash from somewhere, the days of Local BBC Radio as we knew it are gone. If we have national programmes now, I'd rather see Five Live be the 'sustaining' feed than what's currently being output. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against any 'national' or regional host on local radio - I'm not a person who will give bad remarks about anyone, and I try to find the good in people - but I do think that the shows and format don't know what they want to be. At least Five Live could produce something truly national, if that's how they want to go with it. The bonus of keeping Five Live 'UK' on DAB, Five Live 'Local' on the FM / DAB outlets in England and switching-off MW is a side-effect.
The BBC should be providing local public service news, sport, entertainment and information. How they do that is the next question.