Not on Radio 3 - Bloomsday

[Lateralthinking1]

The one thing I enjoyed particularly about the old BBC messageboards was the Arts & Ideas board where we could dissect a play, talk about the qualities of the drama, of the performances, of the production.........even a poor production could stimulate analysis and discussion, fill gaps in our knowledge.

ff - I wonder if there is less of that now because of the content of today's programmes or whether we lost several people with interests in speech programmes in the move from the BBC message boards to FoR3. Something has happened!

[french frank]

ff - I wonder if there is less of that now because of the content of today's programmes or whether we lost several people with interests in speech programmes in the move from the BBC message boards to FoR3. Something has happened!

I can't identify any particularly enthusiastic member who didn't follow us to this forum. But whereas I used to post the new Do3 regularly, I don't now because I've lost interest. What seems like months on end of largely repeats, plus synopses that sound uninspiring - the result is that I don't even remember to check so when there is something interesting, I miss it

[aeolium]

What seems like months on end of largely repeats, plus synopses that sound uninspiring - the result is that I don't even remember to check so when there is something interesting, I miss it

That's my feeling, too - it seems quite rare that a new production is mounted these days. I wouldn't mind it if the repeats were of classic archive productions (like the Havel Largo Desolato recently) but it really seems pointless to repeat something that was broadcast a few months ago. I shall try to catch up with the Pownall Tennyson and Edison play on tomorrow (I wonder if it will feature the famous recording of The Charge of the Light Brigade which Edison was involved in).

[Russ]

Except that there's no mention at all about what is planned for 'the cultural network'. This explains why Radio 3's budget has been pared away - it won't need as much money when it's not producing high quality speech programmes. What do we get instead?

Radio drama, probably the most expensive form of speech radio, is approx 24k/hour. R3's approx 6p per listener hour for say 2m listeners averages at £120k/hour. So why does R3 think it can't produce high quality speech programmes?

[amateur51]

Radio drama, probably the most expensive form of speech radio, is approx 24k/hour. R3's approx 6p per listener hour for say 2m listeners averages at £120k/hour. So why does R3 think it can't produce high quality speech programmes?

Nifty figuring, Russ - many thanks!

Now that they know that we know ....

[french frank]

Radio drama, probably the most expensive form of speech radio, is approx 24k/hour. R3's approx 6p per listener hour for say 2m listeners averages at £120k/hour. So why does R3 think it can't produce high quality speech programmes?

Depends how the beancounters calculate their figures.

The Radio 3 audience for drama hovers at about 100,000 pw (or less). A Radio 4 afternoon drama (according to The Guardian story) gets a million - and R4's budget is two and a half times Radio 3's.

I would make a distinction between the R4 plans and what R3 could focus on: 'a narrative history of European detectives' would be generally appealing to an R4 audience, so it's right that it should be there; like 'plans to dramatise ten Martin Beck crime novels'. These aren't the kind of cultural/drama projects that you would expect from R3 simply because they will get a bigger audience/percentage of the audience on R4. 'People' (i.e. like me ) look to R3 for something more esoteric, which is not to make quality judgements between the two. But if R3-type drama doesn't go down well on R4, it would be dropped. On R3 there is no expectation of a big audience.


My own calculations - based on the only information that seems to be available - suggest that R3's budget has been decimated, whereas R4's has been largely protected.

[amateur51]

My own calculations - based on the only information that seems to be available - suggest that R3's budget has been decimated, whereas R4's has been largely protected.

Interesting insights, french frank.

Is that literally decimated, or figuratively?

[french frank]

Interesting insights, french frank.

Is that literally decimated, or figuratively?

Well, it's only a rough calculation, but closer to literally () than to figuratively if you make allowances for inflation.

[I.e. its purchasing power reduced by 10%, or, more loosely, by A Lot]

[Anna]

Can I post this, one of my favourites, a site dedicated to illustrating Ulysses with period illustrations

http://www.joyceimages.com/chapter/1/

[Serial_Apologist]

Can I post this, one of my favourites, a site dedicated to illustrating Ulysses with period illustrations
http://www.joyceimages.com/chapter/1/

Lovely. Thanks for these, Anna

[Anna]

Lovely. Thanks for these, Anna

I have dipped in and out for years, I love it that you, and others, may love it

[Lateralthinking1]

Can I post this, one of my favourites, a site dedicated to illustrating Ulysses with period illustrations
http://www.joyceimages.com/chapter/1/

A fascinating website Anna - many thanks.

[austin]

http://tinyurl.com/co3ud6m

A dedicated site now here (above)

[DublinJimbo]

I'm really looking forward to this, and admire Radio 4's initiative. I won't be able to listen that much during the actual day, but I see a note on the site that the whole thing will be available to download for seven days after the event. That sounds good, even if I do set up timed recording on my Mac.

[Bryn]

My 3 128kbps mp3 CDs of the RTE's 1982 29 hour 45 minutes production was on the doormat when I got home today. Somewhat knocks the BBC Radio 4 effort to be offered next Saturday in to a cocked hat, what?