The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[Thropplenoggin]

I've said this before: R3's website is difficult to understand and navigate. It needs redesigning.

The problems began with the transition to HTML5. It allows for lots of gimmicky embedding and sharing but feels clunky and wholly unintuitive to me, especially the schedule.

[Sir Velo]

I've said this before: R3's website is difficult to understand and navigate. It needs redesigning.

Quite. The same thought struck me again this morning: on the Breakfast page there is a link to "Previous Episodes" and a separate one to "More Episodes". I mean, WTF? Can anyone explain what the difference is? Apparently, "Previous Episodes" are those from previous weeks, whereas "More Episodes" are those from the current week; or is it the other way round? Either way, I give up.

One for SC: yesterday, I caught a bar of the third movement from Brahms 4 (yes, folks, that's all she wrote). Checked the website to see who the performers were: not a sign of it. According to the timings, VW's "Seventeen Come Sunday" played for 13 minutes.

[french frank]

According to the timings, VW's "Seventeen Come Sunday" played for 13 minutes.

Not necessarily, since they only say what time a piece is timed to begin, not end. I've timed the actual music a few times and spookily there seemed to be just about 30 minutes exactly (out of 2 and a half hours) given over to, um, 'non music' from the presenter, sundry phoners-in, upcoming presenters, trails &c.

I don't think Radio 3's Head of Digital who's in charge of website, blog, Facebook, Twitter &c is very aware of the particular demands of classical music/the arts. There's an impressive technical term for all the websites for all the services being set up in a similar fashion to make it 'easier' to navigate one and all - but I've forgotten what it is (I think it has an 's' on the end of it.)

[muzzer]

And what do we think about Sara M-P leaving Breakfast and being replaced by Clemency B-H?

[muzzer]

That wasn't the reason for my question, believe it or not.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

And what do we think about Sara M-P leaving Breakfast and being replaced by Clemency B-H?

Both double-barreled presenters are articulate, intelligent Musicians (CB-H presented a remarkably good Television programme on Stradivarius, demonstrating along the way that she's no mean Violinist). The trouble is the "fingernails-down-blackboard" chumminess that R3 seems to insist on from their presenters. My own "thoughts about" this are that it won't encourage me to get up any earlier than I do at present, nor feel the need to abandon my Bach Cantata CDs once I do.

[Sir Velo]

That wasn't the reason for my question, believe it or not.

Eh?

[underthecountertenor]

What I don't understand, however, is why it is that PT seems able to keep the chumminess well under control and, for the most part, just present the music (and a rather better playlist at that). The contrast between him today and SMP earlier in the week was remarkable. Between virtually every piece yesterday, SMP said something about it being Hallowe'en, including telling us at one point that we could listen to In Tune whilst we were getting ready to go out trick or treating (apart from anything else betraying a woeful misapprehension of the Radio 3 demographic). On Monday she was asking people to email/text/tweet the music they'd like to hear whilst stuck indoors because of the weather. And I'm sure at one point she gave us one of her regular exhortations to 'dance round the room'. PT manages to eschew such excesses, and hasn't been sacked yet. As you say, SMP is intelligent and articulate, but she and her producers seem to have over-interpreted the Breakfast style diktats.

[muzzer]

Sir Velo - a post with pics of said presenters appeared was after my first post, but has now gone.

FWIW I agree about the chumminess. Friendliness built up over time is fine, it's the key to being a great presenter. But there is clearly a house style these days on R3 which grates. I rate both SM-P and CB-H very highly indeed, and will miss Sara in the morning.

[muzzer]

It's possible of course that SM-P just embraces the house diktats more enthusiastically than PT, or that R3 intentionally asks them to be contrasting. Is hard to tell.

[Sir Velo]

Between virtually every piece yesterday, SMP said something about it being Hallowe'en, including telling us at one point that we could listen to In Tune whilst we were getting ready to go out trick or treating (apart from anything else betraying a woeful misapprehension of the Radio 3 demographic). On Monday she was asking people to email/text/tweet the music they'd like to hear whilst stuck indoors because of the weather.

I'm afraid I have a bit of an allergic reaction to SMP's microphone technique. IMO she comes across as a cross between a rather too bouncy primary school teacher and Play School presenter. Moreover, she gabbles the names of the performers and the music when surely the first task of the presenter is to enunciate clearly this information above any of the irrelevant chitchat. It's almost as if she thinks that no one who still listens to Breakfast has the slightest interest in details of the recording or the performers involved. Still good luck to her on The Choir which is a perfect fit AFAIC.

[underthecountertenor]

:

IMO she comes across as a cross between a rather too bouncy primary school teacher and Play School presenter. :

Exactly how I feel about her on Breakfast!

[french frank]

Sir Velo - a post with pics of said presenters appeared was after my first post, but has now gone.

I see you made the brief acquaintance of one 'bb', muzzer - he's not usually allowed out on his own. Welcome to the forum!

[muzzer]

Thanks. I think. So, the infamous R3 forum........I have to say that in this age of On Demand and playlists and ubiquitous stuff generally that, aside of the age old issues about public broadcasting I cba to rehearse, it's not too hard to produce one's own playlists without diving into the morass of A N Other doing it for you. And have no need for External Stimulus. So, that said, if you accept the need for Radio 3 in principle, you have to accept the need for it to gain a new expanded audience. Yes, I know that's the essential intractable this board grapples with [or not] on a daily basis. The breakfast show - however named - is a large part of that. I'd like to think there isn't a person who couldn't fail, on exposure to [insert name of favorite piece] not to have a life-changing or enriching experience. But for some unfathomable reason it appears harder than it should to be. Just keep the Northerners out, eh. ......

[french frank]

So, that said, if you accept the need for Radio 3 in principle, you have to accept the need for it to gain a new expanded audience. Yes, I know that's the essential intractable this board grapples with [or not] on a daily basis.

We do feel bound to point out that after almost 15 years of seeking this 'new expanded audience', R3 has just about the same number of listeners as before - but many (though by no means all) are somewhat cheesed off now.

The breakfast show - however named - is a large part of that.

Last quarter it had its lowest listening figures ever (i.e. since it became 'Breakfast').

One thing I agree with - it is much harder to reach a 'new audience' than it was. Is R3 going about it the right way?