The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[antongould]

I really don't know ff - they don't seem to be pleading for "players" and I think you and others have hypothesised about a screening process that would keep suffolkcoastal and Roger Sessions off? My meandering point on the age is that if one was to read the majority of postings hereabouts you would think the traditional audience on masse avoids Breakfast my guess, and hands up it's purely that, is that they don't.

As to all this fragmentation and analysis of the audience that is not for me but for media analysts like yourself. I am all for the total R3 audience in all its shades long may it continue - views on how it can, hopefully, go on forever will always vary.

[antongould]

Morning ff, your last sentence sums it up for me. I still miss the Third and the old R3. I am, of course, too old to count to the BBC.

But to me you count more than, almost, anyone.

[salymap]

But to me you count more than, almost, anyone.

Oh Anton

[french frank]

I think you and others have hypothesised about a screening process that would keep suffolkcoastal and Roger Sessions off?

I haven't theorised on that, but we do know (as if it wasn't obvious and necessary) that people are carefully checked and chosen because RW has said so. But I would take that to mean that a) the piece of music shouldn't be too long (because that would upset the balance of the programme) and b) there should be an interesting story attached. It's the last point that makes me suspicious that they don't have a lot to choose from - judging from people's reports of what gets on.

My meandering point on the age is that if one was to read the majority of postings hereabouts you would think the traditional audience on masse avoids Breakfast my guess, and hands up it's purely that, is that they don't.

My guess would be they don't - they listen and grumble

It's interesting that there are two basic reactions indicating discontent: grumble or stop listening. I think that's a matter of temperament. I give a programme a few goes and if I don't like it, I don't listen because I don't like being irritated. So my beef is not about the individual 'imperfections' of wrong facts, trivial comments &c. &c but the wider point that my chosen listening for many years has been removed and replaced by dross , leaving me uncatered for.

The period from 7am to midday is the time when more listening is done that at any other part of R3's schedule. It's no good telling me to listen in the afternoons when I have other things to do, or in the evenings when I like to have a quiet evening reading, or to listen on the iPlayer which is all right for a chosen programme but not routine listening. I was one of the mass of 'morning listeners'.

[aeolium]

It's interesting that there are two basic reactions indicating discontent: grumble or stop listening.

What about the third, ff: stop listening AND grumble?

[french frank]

What about the third, ff: stop listening AND grumble?

If you stop listening it's a different sort of grumbling!

[Osborn]

Osborn
What would be the problem for the people who lead normal lifestyle of your description if early morning programme were in TTN style but with a few more shorter pieces?

None whatsoever & speaking for myself I'd be happy with that.

[doversoul1]

None whatsoever & speaking for myself I'd be happy with that.

If TTN style programme in the morning is no problems to anybody including those who have ‘normal lifestyle’, who is the current magazine programme for? And what is the point of it?

[Frances_iom]

If TTN style programme in the morning is no problems to anybody including those who have ‘normal lifestyle’, who is the current magazine programme for? And what is the point of it?

it's not intended for the older R3 listener (and let's be honest the posters here are such) but for the R2 listeners who are about to be ejected by changes to bring that station more into the yoof market - nearly all changes during daytime R3 have been a widening to include popular easy listening, a gross increase in vox-pop items and the gradual reduction of any attempt to encourage serious listening with the adoption of prepackaged bleeding chucks and presenters who like gushing 15yr old schoolgirls tell the audience how great it was and that this changed their life etc etc.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Frances I'm 47 so I'm not sure where the 'older listener' boundary falls, though I've been listening to R3 for 35 years. Anyway if the morning schedule on R3 had been like what it is now when I was in my teens, I think it would have been promptly switched off and far from encouraging me in my classical music exploration, would probably have driven me in to the arms of another genre of music.

[antongould]

Frances I'm 47 so I'm not sure where the 'older listener' boundary falls, though I've been listening to R3 for 35 years. Anyway if the morning schedule on R3 had been like what it is now when I was in my teens, I think it would have been promptly switched off and far from encouraging me in my classical music exploration, would probably have driven me in to the arms of another genre of music.

What do you think would be more likely to make your average 2012 twelve year old switch off the current Breakfast or whatever it was in 1977?

[Panjandrum]

What do you think would be more likely to make your average 2012 twelve year old switch off the current Breakfast or whatever it was in 1977?

The 2012 breakfast offers nothing for today's young listener. Do you think Your Call with its septugenarian bores is going to get the kids listening?

[antongould]

My kids albeit a very small sample find it interesting.............

[Suffolkcoastal]

My primary concern was as a teenager, the music, the same as it is now. I used to like informative programmes on the music and some basic information. Hearing about what Herbert did when his cat was lost or whatever is and never has been of the slightest interest to me and I expect never will be. Plus I never had any problems listening through complete works when I was younger, even at 10 or 11 in the morning when I wasn't at school, I was always borrowing lps from the library.

[doversoul1]

What do you think would be more likely to make your average 2012 twelve year old switch off the current Breakfast or whatever it was in 1977?

I am only guessing what you mean by average twelve-year olds but Radio3 has nothing to do with them. There are twelve-year olds who want to hear classical music and to find out more about it. They may not understand every word they hear but that’s how they learn. R3 should not abandon these twelve-year olds, as there are no other radio stations that cater for them. Average twelve-year olds have plenty of stations to choose from.

[ed] You could say that what Radio3 is doing is rather like trying to make Blue Peter attractive to more than averagely intelligent 56-year olds. Where could children go then?