The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[french frank]

You think I was too kind, then?

There's all the difference in the world between switching on for your regular morning listening and settling down with notepad, pen and stopwatch to undertake a research project ...

[BBMmk2]

THIS NEW R3 STYLE OF PROGRAMMING IS ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!!!

I tuned in on the way back from work this morning. I couldn't agree with Anna! I turned offf! I much rather have silence than this "Enid Blyton" dribble!!!!

[Norfolk Born]

THIS NEW R3 STYLE OF PROGRAMMING IS ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!!!

I tuned in on the way back from work this morning. I couldn't agree with Anna! I turned offf! I much rather have silence than this "Enid Blyton" dribble!!!!

That'll be another 'thumbs-down' then.....

[BBMmk2]

I should have said, I couldnt agree more with Anna!!^^

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Petroc Trelawney is Ali G and i claim my £5

King Kennytone was right!

£3

[MickyD]

For me, the only good thing about the new format is that it has caused me to use the time more profitably by catching up with far more rewarding programmes that I have missed, such as the excellent Early Music Show.

It's the phone in that finally drove me to it; reminds me of that old Stanley Baxter sketch when he was the Archbishop of Canterbury and to be more up to date, people could call him whenever they wanted - you heard the phone ring whilst he was at a church service and he opened a door on his mitre to reveal a phone which he duly answered whilst carrying out his duties!

[Bax-of-Delights]

Ages of conductors? Tweet in!

Petroc: do you really, really believe in all this garbage you are spewing out or are you doing it just to pay the mortgage?

And later there's Uncle Rob wittering on about the connection betweeen Music and Football to Du Sautoy. "What's the connection, do you think?"
"Er, I don't think there is" comes the answer.
(Rustle of paper as RC looks up the next "question" from the pre-set list...)

[Carmen]

As someone who has always tried to live up to my operatic namesake's take on life, I am very, very pleased to see the passion of these agonised responses to the new Breakfast. The problem is that we've been moaning on for years about the Breakfast changes (hence the title of this thread), but then eventually the gripes subside and everyone eventually ends up accepting it. However, this is Day 2 of my non-listening and I'm still loving playing my own music and avoiding polluting my mind with the Breakfast drivel. Should have done this years ago.

[Gasteiner]

I haven't read through much of this thread but I hope it's the right place on this Board to register my disliking of the new morning programmes on R3 from 12 September 2011.

I didn't much care for the previous format of "breakfast" (up to 11 Sept 11), but I could just about get my way through it. Its latest manifestation has taken a sharp lurch into the mire. It is quite appalling and definitely, after two days of listening to it, I won't be listening to it ever again. Who on earth wants to hear about stories of how some unknown listener first got to like some piece of music? I couldn't give a hoot about stuff like that, and I find it all the rest of the chat immensely tedious too.

Rob Cowan's "essential classics" is very disappointing too. What a boring idea it is to have some guest waffling on and on about the who-knows-what. And then we've got to put up again with all this half-baked programme guide where you don't know what's coming up except a rough idea. Again, it's largely bits of this and that, and far too much waffle.

So, that's it for me. Goodbye listening to live R3. What I'll do in future is listen to my CDs, and pick up whatever interests me "listen again". With the latter, at least that way I'll be able to get a semi-decent bit rate, instead of the poor 160 kbps (and it's only MP2 format at that) that we seem to be stuck with these days increasingly on live R3 transmissions during the day.

[Frances_iom]

I haven't read through much of this thread but I hope it's the right place on this Board to register my disliking of the new morning programmes on R3 from 12 September 2011.

I caught a few minutes of Petroc and his ages of pop musicians etc before I switched off in despair at how far R3 has fallen - it has descended into the mire of radio 2.5 but will have yet further to slide once the likes of KD get going - a real mud bath.
As for Rob all I can say is that senile decay is a gentle progress - the sufferer gets some glimpses of what is happening but the slide continues remorselessly on - I'm afraid that is the only rational explanation I can reach after trying a short section of the 'chat' .

[Nick Armstrong]

I've tried to find somewhere to express myself directly to Mr Wright 'interactively' - but have you noticed, Radio 3 seems to be the only station with no blog, no feedback boards, no anything. I thought there was a Wright blog? Am I being thick?

Or has he pulled up the drawbridge of Chateau Mediocre to avoid all the slings and arrows? A coward as well as dumb and dumber?

[Frances_iom]

..
Or has he pulled up the drawbridge of Chateau Mediocre to avoid all the slings and arrows? ..

remember he doesn't acknowledge criticism - he's probably holed up in some 5* restaurant

[Anna]

I've tried to find somewhere to express myself directly to Mr Wright 'interactively' - but have you noticed, Radio 3 seems to be the only station with no blog?

There is a R3 Blog, RW posted on it about the new schedules. Several people here commented and asked questions. There was no response from him and that particular Blog was closed after about 3-4 weeks. It's easy to contact the programmes but I have no idea about going higher, maybe french frank could provide some ideas?

[Nick Armstrong]

that particular Blog was closed after about 3-4 weeks.

Yes - that's what I mean: drawbridge up! Lily-livered!

[french frank]

There is a R3 Blog, RW posted on it about the new schedules. Several people here commented and asked questions. There was no response from him and that particular Blog was closed after about 3-4 weeks. It's easy to contact the programmes but I have no idea about going higher, maybe french frank could provide some ideas?

R3 provides various 'interactive offers'. Having closed the messageboards, management was obliged to demonstrate to the Trust that it was providing alternatives before the mention of the messageboards contained in R3's service licence would be deleted. This, of course, was a simple job as they provide an R3 blog, Facebook and Twitter. The Proms concert pages also provide for listeners to post their opinions. QED

All four interactive offers share the same features:

R3 sets an agenda
Listeners can respond
Listeners seldom/never get a response to their comments from R3
It is difficult to hold discussions with other listeners

If you wish to 'go higher', one way is to follow (in this instance) the BBC's Editorial Complaints procedures. You can find the details for complaining to the BBC Executive here. As it says, if you are dissatisfied with the response, you can then take it to the Trust.

[I have written directly to the Trust on behalf of FoR3 because the complaint was specifically about the inadequacy of the Trust's review of R3]

One thing to bear in mind - if you do write - is that it is not helpful if people are giving mutually exclusive views***, for example specifying which presenters are 'good' and which 'bad'. Someone else will cancel out that view by saying the opposite. By all means relieve your feelings by making disparaging comments here, but they won't get you very far with the BBC high-ups!


***The BBC will probably produce a Christmas joke book of listener complaints for internal circulation, but may publish it at £8.99 if they think it's a good way of making fun of critics