[Critique]

Quite a lot of criticism for BBC Local running an all England show last night when many regions had significant flooding and a major incident had been declared in Nottingham.

Responding to news events quickly has never been the BBC's forte, but it should have contingency plans to maintain local output during events such as this.

On the contrary, I’d say that quickly reacting to stories like this is exactly the kind of thing that BBC Local Radio used to do very well. However, it’s difficult for them to do now when local output finishes after mid-mornings and the format has changed from being predominantly speech to much more music-led, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of presenters each station has and a change in the format that those that remain are used to presenting.

Some years ago now I spent a bit of time in a BBC Local Radio newsroom, back when it was local output until 7pm, an all-England evening show and then shared regional shows from 10pm-1am.

There was severe weather one week, nowhere near as bad as what we’ve seen this week, but bad enough that it was a topic of conversation on the Breakfast show and they might have had a reporter out in the bad weather. At that point in the day though, it wasn’t that serious and plenty of other stories featured in the very newsy, speech-led Breakfast show.

Mid-mornings and afternoons were speech-led but nowhere near as newsy so the story didn’t feature again outside of news bulletins until drivetime, when the weather started to turn for the worse.

Accordingly, the station opted out of the all-England show at 7pm and I think the afternoon presenter came back and did three hours of special coverage. This particular station was where the regional 10pm show was broadcast from, so at 10pm in one studio they outputted the usual regional show. However, in the other studio they got the Breakfast show presenter back in to do another three hours of coverage for the local station! 5 Live took over at 1am as usual but then at 6am the local station team were back with more.

None of the presenters that banded together to produce that coverage are with the station anymore, and as local output finishes so early I imagine it’s extremely difficult to get the resource to put on ad hoc coverage like they would have done in the past. A real shame.

[all new phil]

I’m not sure I buy this story of people huddling round their radios waiting for updates on their local BBC station when there’s been bad weather. I know my experience isn’t everyone’s experience but it’s just not something that’s ever come up within my family or group of friends. Peoples first ports of call seem to be Facebook or YappApp.

[Brekkie]

First I've heard of the YappApp, but yes I think for the weather people check the weather and then it's travel news for road closures etc. I've no idea what the local radio arrangements are for travel news, but that's something where they should be able to deliver a local bulletin within regional or national output, even if it's pre-recorded shortly before broadcast.

There is a reason too that efforts by radio stations are usually around Breakfast and Drivetime, though you do get people on Facebook asking if a road will be closed in the morning because it gives rain at 3am.


I think a big issue though with the local radio changes is the question of who they're supposed to appeal too. They've clearly alienated their existing audience, but they don't seem to be particularly designed to bring in a new audience either.

[Andrew]

Travel news has gone down hill since they dropped having dedicated Inrix presenters who knew the area and knew traffic and travel inside out

Now you get a disinterested presenter reading out five sets of pre-planned roadworks off their screen with no added context, as quick as possible, so they can move onto the next item. There will be very little ‘live traffic conditions’ type of travel news.

And that’s in the local hours, in the regional hours it’s worse as the presenter then mispronounces the place names or Road names as an added bonus, that’s assuming the pre-rec travel manages to fire off correctly to all stations taking the regional show

[lookoutwales]

Meanwhile, Stereo Underground will come to an end on January 31st…

x.com 

…at least on Radio Solent, anyway.

x.com 

[Robert Williams]

Meanwhile, Stereo Underground will come to an end on January 31st…

x.com 

Bit baffled as to why the show was seemingly 'saved', by being moved to a weeknight on one station (albeit with repeats in the Channel Islands), along with the other stations that used to take it continuing to promote it as a programme you can hear on BBC Sounds, only for it to be axed just a few months later.

[lookoutwales]

Stereo Underground's going onto Mixcloud - and being offered for free to other radio stations.

radiotoday.co.uk 

BBC local radio specialist music show Stereo Underground to leave the BBC –…
Stereo Underground, BBC Radio Solent's weekly indie and alternative music s…
  Source: radiotoday.co.uk

[Steve in Pudsey]

From the description, this feels like a show that should be on 6 Music rather than local radio?

[Brekkie]

It feels like a "digital first" show which is what the local radio changes are supposed to be all about.

Seems though this show has been moved from the BBC by the rights holders rather than axed by the BBC - though arguably it had effectively been axed by stealth anyway.

[cityprod]

Last night, BBC Radio stations from Cornwall to Gloucestershire shared a special programme about Storm Isha, with Michael Chequer and Emily Wood hosting from the Plymouth studios from 9pm to 1am. Not bad, but it really should have been more local than it was. I really felt that in this situation, they should have abandoned shared output and let local stations do their own thing, but still, better than nothing.

By contrast, Pirate FM had local output from 7pm to 9pm, before they went to Pirate Chilled.