Drama to be eradicated from Radio 3

[Serial_Apologist]

... and also one pronounces it as it is writ - b b c, bus, &c. One does not (I hope) pronounce 'xmas' as 'ex mas'.

I was brung up to regard 'xmas' as a taboo word like - to*l*t, s*rv**tt*, lo*nge



.

From what I have come to understand, my own parents' use of 'lavatory" and "serviette" as names for said objects must have betrayed middle class identification confusions, since my mother (especially) was always snooty about her sister's family's use of "toilet" and "napkin", saying the former was working class and she must have got it from their cleaner, and latter should only ever be used to refer to nappies! Incidentally, I can remember several great aunts who in their eighties in the 1950s still used the term "parlour" for sitting or living room, and thought "lounge" vulgar in its apparently American origins.

[french frank]

From what I have come to understand, my own parents' use of 'lavatory" and "serviette" as names for said objects must have betrayed middle class identification confusions, since my mother (especially) was always snooty about her sister's family's use of "toilet" and "napkin", saying the former was working class and she must have got it from their cleaner, and latter should only ever be used to refer to nappies! Incidentally, I can remember several great aunts who in their eighties in the 1950s still used the term "parlour" for sitting or living room, and thought "lounge" vulgar in its apparently American origins.

Well, serviettes are just made of paper. My napkins were my grandmother's, made of white damask and are now about 100 years old. They're still in perfect condition. I would have described us as lower to middle . I think we said lavatory but we weren't aware of social superiors so we didn't need to bother what we said.

[Ein Heldenleben]

From what I have come to understand, my own parents' use of 'lavatory" and "serviette" as names for said objects must have betrayed middle class identification confusions, since my mother (especially) was always snooty about her sister's family's use of "toilet" and "napkin", saying the former was working class and she must have got it from their cleaner, and latter should only ever be used to refer to nappies! Incidentally, I can remember several great aunts who in their eighties in the 1950s still used the term "parlour" for sitting or living room, and thought "lounge" vulgar in its apparently American origins.

Nancy Mitford who started all this U and non U nonsense (e.g . Looking Glass / Mirror , lavatory / toilet , drawing room / lounge ) did so , apparently , as a joke and was horrified when the English started taking it seriously . It’s all complete balls / cobblers.

[Pulcinella]

A good letter in today's Times:

End of radio drama

Sir, The decision to axe radio drama from BBC Radio 3 from April is short-sighted (letter and report, Jan 15). The majority of listeners might enjoy pure classical music from the station, but the hidden joy of Radio 3 is the added extras. We should be worried by the BBC spokesman who says it's about “sharpening the focus” of Radio 3 as a classical music network (Classic FM+?). Is this goodbye to jazz, roots, global music, essays and experimental unclassified music too? This would be a hammer blow to a great network.
James Rorison
Inverness

[oddoneout]

A good letter in today's Times:

Not sure what that BBC spokesman means by “sharpening the focus”, as current direction of travel is very much the opposite. The only way R3 is a "classical music network" is that most of the music it deigns to put out falls into that catch-all category. The majority of the daytime output is anything but focused being just a mish-mash of bits sandwiched between indigestible wittering and promo-beeb.
As the letterwriter says, (yet another) cause for worry.
WRT to thread topic I was not amused yesterday when turning off after PP to hear an ad beginning "Drama on 3"; I don't know what the rest of it was, but it seems in poor taste to advertise something that's going to be scrapped?

[LMcD]

A good letter in today's Times:

Rather than 'sharpening the focus', I'm starting to wonder whether young Jackson is actually in the process of creating different, and sometimes distinct, Radio 3 audiences. I wonder, for example, how many people tune in (i) only until 9.30 a.m. (ii) only until 1.00 p.m. and (iii) only after 7.30 p.m.?

[Ein Heldenleben]

A good letter in today's Times:

Good letter but this joint letter from some of best actors and theatricals might have more impact.

https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/bbc-defends-radio-3-drama-cuts-against-stars-protest-3792tcvl0

I’ve hardened my stance on this . Having seen how little other serious one off drama there is across BBC output it seems almost inexplicable. I don’t think this would have happened under former DG’s . I actually wonder if the current one was aware of it? I suspect there may be a BBC singers style compromise in the offing. The threat to axe them seemed to flush out money from outside sources. Which raises the question of why a multi billion pound organisation should need it.

Have to say I don’t think Sam is playing his (not very strong ) hand that well. He’s generating too much press and public flak,

[french frank]

Rather than 'sharpening the focus', I'm starting to wonder whether young Jackson is actually in the process of creating different, and sometimes distinct, Radio 3 audiences. I wonder, for example, how many people tune in (i) only until 9.30 a.m. (ii) only until 1.00 p.m. and (iii) only after 7.30 p.m.?

But he's 'narrowing the focus', isn't he? Concentrating on 'classical music' (of course including film music, musicals, gaming music &c &c) is exactly what CFM does. I suspect a now growing majority of the R3 audience is of the easy listening, no need to concentrate type of listener who tunes in and out as the trails come, or Walking the Dog again, or Bobby Vinton and who is progressively less capable of sustained listening. Does the content of Breakfast, Essential Classics and Classical Live, for instance, really create different audiences?

It is statistically possible to suggest, if not evidentially prove, that CFM's diminishing audience is explained by their losing listeners to R3 due to the convergence of their programming content and style. Radio 3 loses the audience which is no longer adequately served but makes up for the loss by gaining from CFM, so the R3 reach remains static(-ish).

[Ein Heldenleben]

But he's 'narrowing the focus', isn't he? Concentrating on 'classical music' (of course including film music, musicals, gaming music &c &c) is exactly what CFM does. I suspect a now growing majority of the R3 audience is of the easy listening, no need to concentrate type of listener who tunes in and out as the trails come, or Walking the Dog again, or Bobby Vinton and who is progressively less capable of sustained listening. Does the content of Breakfast, Essential Classics and Classical Live, for instance, really create different audiences?

It is statistically possible to suggest, if not evidentially prove, that CFM's diminishing audience is explained by their losing listeners to R3 due to the convergence of their programming content and style. Radio 3 loses the audience which is no longer adequately served but makes up for the loss by gaining from CFM, so the R3 reach remains static(-ish).

Isn’t Classic FM policed / regulated quite heavily by OFCOM in terms of range of content ? - I don’t think are permitted to play jazz or pop at all. In some ways they are a more purely classical Station than R3 .

[LMcD]

Isn’t Classic FM policed / regulated quite heavily by OFCOM in terms of range of content ? - I don’t think are permitted to play jazz or pop at all. In some ways they are a more purely classical Station than R3 .

They certainly seem to have a very restricted playlist.

[vinteuil]

Nancy Mitford who started all this U and non U nonsense (e.g . Looking Glass / Mirror , lavatory / toilet , drawing room / lounge ) did so , apparently , as a joke and was horrified when the English started taking it seriously ..

... it began with Alan Ross, a serious professor of linguistics, in an essay on sociolinguistics showing how class affects the use of language -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_and_non-U_English

Ross, Alan S. C., "Linguistic class-indicators in present-day English", Neuphilologische Mitteilungen (Helsinki), vol. 55(1)



.

[french frank]

I don’t think are permitted to play jazz or pop at all. In some ways they are a more purely classical Station than R3 .

They are and why not? But that was their original remit, no problem. Looking back 50 odd years, I'd say R3 is the only one of the BBC's radio stations which is no longer in essence what it set out to be. Detailed content may change over the years but R1 is still 'currently popular' music for younger audiences (age range tweaked slightly now and again}. R2 is a broad range (albeit narrower than it once was) of light popular music for an older age range. R4 is still speech programmes for the cosy middle-aged. If R3 was the station for the serious quality arts-loving audience, it no longer is.

Radio 3 was successor to the Third: ‘The Third Programme offered classical music, serious drama, literature and discussion' (BBC website) and so did R3, but it pitched its main speech programmes over to R4, is now casting its serious drama into oblivion. Where is the 'literature'? What are the 'discussion' programmes? Even the - increased - 'live' broadcast hours which are focused on classical music give little but hour after dreary hour of short, truncated bits and light aka 'classical' music'. IOW - Classic FM on Valium. I looked at the In Tune mixtape - 7 pieces in 30 minutes so each about the length of the average pop track. Why not one 30-min work, for Pete's sake?

The reason there isn't more of an outcry is that audiences are becoming increasingly intellectually lazy, accept what they're given. come to be satisfied by it - and then clamour for more of the same. Enter Radio 3 Chill.

[Serial_Apologist]

They are and why not? But that was their original remit, no problem. Looking back 50 odd years, I'd say R3 is the only one of the BBC's radio stations which is no longer in essence what it set out to be. Detailed content may change over the years but R1 is still 'currently popular' music for younger audiences (age range tweaked slightly now and again}. R2 is a broad range (albeit narrower than it once was) of light popular music for an older age range. R4 is still speech programmes for the cosy middle-aged. If R3 was the station for the serious quality arts-loving audience, it no longer is.

Radio 3 was successor to the Third: ‘The Third Programme offered classical music, serious drama, literature and discussion' (BBC website) and so did R3, but it pitched its main speech programmes over to R4, is now casting its serious drama into oblivion. Where is the 'literature'? What are the 'discussion' programmes? Even the - increased - 'live' broadcast hours which are focused on classical music give little but hour after dreary hour of short, truncated bits and light aka 'classical' music'. IOW - Classic FM on Valium. I looked at the In Tune mixtape - 7 pieces in 30 minutes so each about the length of the average pop track. Why not one 30-min work, for Pete's sake?

The reason there isn't more of an outcry is that audiences are becoming increasingly intellectually lazy, accept what they're given. come to be satisfied by it - and then clamour for more of the same. Enter Radio 3 Chill.

And this, it should be added, is because they're being groomed into not being informed through being fed substitutes discouraging informed thinking on matters provoking opportunities to question, and questioning to think about how things might be different beyond the aesthetic/intellectual. it has nothing (in my view) to do with innate laziness or compliance tendencies in "human nature".

[LMcD]

They are and why not? But that was their original remit, no problem. Looking back 50 odd years, I'd say R3 is the only one of the BBC's radio stations which is no longer in essence what it set out to be. Detailed content may change over the years but R1 is still 'currently popular' music for younger audiences (age range tweaked slightly now and again}. R2 is a broad range (albeit narrower than it once was) of light popular music for an older age range. R4 is still speech programmes for the cosy middle-aged. If R3 was the station for the serious quality arts-loving audience, it no longer is.

Radio 3 was successor to the Third: ‘The Third Programme offered classical music, serious drama, literature and discussion' (BBC website) and so did R3, but it pitched its main speech programmes over to R4, is now casting its serious drama into oblivion. Where is the 'literature'? What are the 'discussion' programmes? Even the - increased - 'live' broadcast hours which are focused on classical music give little but hour after dreary hour of short, truncated bits and light aka 'classical' music'. IOW - Classic FM on Valium. I looked at the In Tune mixtape - 7 pieces in 30 minutes so each about the length of the average pop track. Why not one 30-min work, for Pete's sake?

The reason there isn't more of an outcry is that audiences are becoming increasingly intellectually lazy, accept what they're given. come to be satisfied by it - and then clamour for more of the same. Enter Radio 3 Chill.

There's precious little of that on Radio 2, I would say.

[oddoneout]

They are and why not? But that was their original remit, no problem. Looking back 50 odd years, I'd say R3 is the only one of the BBC's radio stations which is no longer in essence what it set out to be. Detailed content may change over the years but R1 is still 'currently popular' music for younger audiences (age range tweaked slightly now and again}. R2 is a broad range (albeit narrower than it once was) of light popular music for an older age range. R4 is still speech programmes for the cosy middle-aged. If R3 was the station for the serious quality arts-loving audience, it no longer is.

Radio 3 was successor to the Third: ‘The Third Programme offered classical music, serious drama, literature and discussion' (BBC website) and so did R3, but it pitched its main speech programmes over to R4, is now casting its serious drama into oblivion. Where is the 'literature'? What are the 'discussion' programmes? Even the - increased - 'live' broadcast hours which are focused on classical music give little but hour after dreary hour of short, truncated bits and light aka 'classical' music'. IOW - Classic FM on Valium. I looked at the In Tune mixtape - 7 pieces in 30 minutes so each about the length of the average pop track. Why not one 30-min work, for Pete's sake?

The reason there isn't more of an outcry is that audiences are becoming increasingly intellectually lazy, accept what they're given. come to be satisfied by it - and then clamour for more of the same. Enter Radio 3 Chill.

Not surprising if those who want something more than what is currently being touted as R3 are leaving. I for one don't feel there is any point now in complaining about what has happened and continues to happen as I don't believe management is interested in what the "old"(in both senses) audience wants or thinks. I have taken my listening elsewhere, having discovered that there are online options I can access, (although not with the same sound quality as the radio) unlike my experience with Sounds.