The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[french frank]

Well I am - but then I would be wouldn’t I .........

How, objectively, do you assess your Saturday listening experience compared with your favourite man - the 'Squire', your lordship?

[cloughie]

This morning’s fayre - please can the tired sound effects thing be abandoned - and whilst the Bojangles thing is not totally bad - it is noisy and intrusive at 8.25 on a Saturday morning. I did like the very early Joni, however, clearly Joan Baez was a strong influence in style and repertoire at tht stage of her development! I was dodging between R3 and R Cornwall trying to hear the talking bits of RC but switching over to R3 to avoid the nasty pop stuff. Eventually I opted for silence and the puzzles in a previous ‘i’.

[Nick Armstrong]

How, objectively, do you assess your Saturday listening experience compared with your favourite man - the 'Squire', your lordship?

The fact that Martin Handley makes “Breakfast” palatable for me suggests that the tone of presentation is crucial for me. (Call me shallow...)

Martin Handley’s presence does seem to have some effect on the content though: when he filled in one Saturday a while back for the completely intolerable Elizabeth Alker, I downloaded the programme for occasional listening during the week (as with the Sunday programme) and thought I detected a distinctly less interesting level of content... presumably due to the EA production team he inherited. The team he has with him for Sundays delivers more substantial nourishment imvvho, along with the beneficial effect of MH himself.

(Can’t take The Squire either, incidentally)

[Cockney Sparrow]

The fact that Martin Handley makes “Breakfast” palatable for me suggests that the tone of presentation is crucial for me. (Call me shallow...)

Martin Handley’s presence does seem to have some effect on the content though: when he took over from the completely intolerable Elizabeth Alker a while back, I downloaded the programme for occasional listening during the week (as with the Sunday programme) and thought I detected a distinctly less interesting level of content... presumably due to the EA production team he inherited. The team he has with him for Sundays delivers more substantial nourishment imvvho, along with the beneficial effect of MH himself.

(Can’t take The Squire either, incidentally)

Martin Handley used to present Saturday and Sunday, but went down to Sunday only - I think that is correct. My speculation is that he didn't want to overnight in Greater Manchester (but what do I know - perhaps his presence in Salford wasn't/isn't necessary (except perhaps the BBC has to keep its Salford output stats up)).

What you are referring to I presume is MH presenting on a Saturday as well - which I also assumed was covering absence(s) by EA. I haven't noticed EA covering on Sundays, but I might have missed that. If MH arranges his holiday/absences to take place Monday to Saturday I can only give him my thanks!

[Nick Armstrong]

What you are referring to I presume is MH presenting on a Saturday as well - which I also assumed was covering absence(s) by EA.

That’s exactly what I meant, indeed, sorry for the ambiguity - my post now clarified

[antongould]

How, objectively, do you assess your Saturday listening experience compared with your favourite man - the 'Squire', your lordship?

The Squire is not my favourite but then I have a fair degree of time for all R3 presenters ..... as for Betty, as my friend and I disrespectfully call her ..... I like her youth and the freshness that brings and her enthusiasm for the music which IMVVHO had left the likes of Rob Cowan. She also seems highly professional and well prepared/rehearsed, but then, being from the pit heaps, exact, pronunciation is something else I can only aspire to. Also, I suspect I feel for the underdog and being young and probably more so young and a lassie can get you a hard time from the established R3 audience .....

[Nick Armstrong]

The Squire is not my favourite but then I have a fair degree of time for all R3 presenters ..... as for Betty, as my friend and I disrespectfully call her ..... I like her youth and the freshness that brings and her enthusiasm for the music which IMVVHO had left the likes of Rob Cowan. She also seems highly professional and well prepared/rehearsed, but then, being from the pit heaps, exact, pronunciation is something else I can only aspire to. Also, I suspect I feel for the underdog and being young and probably more so young and a lassie can get you a hard time from the established R3 audience .....

“Betty”

[cloughie]

The Squire is not my favourite but then I have a fair degree of time for all R3 presenters ..... as for Betty, as my friend and I disrespectfully call her ..... I like her youth and the freshness that brings and her enthusiasm for the music which IMVVHO had left the likes of Rob Cowan. She also seems highly professional and well prepared/rehearsed, but then, being from the pit heaps, exact, pronunciation is something else I can only aspire to. Also, I suspect I feel for the underdog and being young and probably more so young and a lassie can get you a hard time from the established R3 audience .....

I’d have no problem with EA if the choice of music was better. At least she speaks clearly unlike some presenters whose voice volume drops at the end of sentences.

[french frank]

The Squire is not my favourite but then I have a fair degree of time for all R3 presenters ..... as for Betty, as my friend and I disrespectfully call her ..... I like her youth and the freshness that brings and her enthusiasm for the music which IMVVHO had left the likes of Rob Cowan. She also seems highly professional and well prepared/rehearsed, but then, being from the pit heaps, exact, pronunciation is something else I can only aspire to. Also, I suspect I feel for the underdog and being young and probably more so young and a lassie can get you a hard time from the established R3 audience .....

The philosophical question to muse upon is why a presenter should be chosen to suit a different kind of listener from your "established R3 audience". Yes, blokes here can give 'lassies', young and less young, a hard time; but the conclusion might well be simply - not that 'lassies, young and less young, are automatically hammered (think Catherine Bott, Susan Sharp, Louise Fryer, Catriona Young, even the now veteran Penny Gore) -are unable to present in self-effacing, informed ways that the "established R3 audience" approves of, but they are either never given the high profile programmes, passed over for newbies imported for the popularity on other stations; so they leave anyway.

Radio 3 has clearly taken a leaf from the pop stations, where the presenter is central to the programme, and is seen by the bosses as the audience builder.

[Frances_iom]

...
Radio 3 has clearly taken a leaf from the pop stations, where the presenter is central to the programme, and is seen by the bosses as the audience builder.

If numbers are all that matter it's much cheaper to go for the mass market voice who will present a non-challenging selection of bits + pieces that haven't required any knowledgeable support team to suggest - hence no doubt the thousands of larks that rise + wakes for dead infantas - CFm prospered on such a very limited playlist so it's obviously what the public want and will even accept a considerable amount of naff adverts along the way (another CFm feature adopted by the Beeb) but explains why I listen to so little R3 these days

[antongould]

The philosophical question to muse upon is why a presenter should be chosen to suit a different kind of listener from your "established R3 audience". ........

I presume that she was chosen in the hope she would attract new listeners to the station while holding on to the Establishment ...... of course we don’t know if she has .........

[Ein Heldenleben]

I presume that she was chosen in the hope she would attract new listeners to the station while holding on to the Establishment ...... of course we don’t know if she has .........

I honestly don’t think it’s that scientific. The problem is that what people say about the reasons for being attracted to a programme are not necessarily the reasons they watch / listen. With so many competing outlets and streaming services pinning down the exact impact of presenter is very difficult. I would be amazed if a presenter change imported a significant number of listeners from radio 5 or 6 to R3 . The services are so different. Has any one read Martin Tanners thoughts re R3 presentation in the April 20 Spectator?

[french frank]

I presume that she was chosen in the hope she would attract new listeners to the station while holding on to the Establishment ...... of course we don’t know if she has .........

And of course it depends how many new (= additional) listeners management would be satisfied with, and whether they have driven down the average age of the station audience. We do know the 'Establishment' shows signs of dissatisfaction, and some have ceased to listen. We also know that nothing very dramatic has happened to the Breakfast figures over all, so if Saturdays are doing significantly better it might suggest the other days are doing slightly worse.

And we may claim that new listeners are not getting the depth of education in classical music that many of us appreciated. On the other hand, the new listeners may not want that anyway.

All in all, R3 may have sold its soul for a mess of pottage; but tread softly, for we tread upon their dreams

[french frank]

Has any one read Martin Tanners thoughts re R3 presentation in the April 20 Spectator?

I declined to be so unkind as to signal it.

PS I was looking at the 11th April, headlined "Why do Radio 3 presenters … &c &c and so forth"

[antongould]

I declined to be so unkind as to signal it.

PS I was looking at the 11th April, headlined "Why do Radio 3 presenters … &c &c and so forth"

Is there a link or are we failing to climb the Paywall ........ ??????