Radio Times - my annual act of vandalism

[Guest]

It's some years since I bought The Radio Times regularly, but I usually make an exception for the Christmas edition. Last night I performed my usual act of wasteful vandalism: by carefully detaching the television sections from the staples, a few pages at a time, I am left with a manageable radio magazine - neatly stapled and going from page 240 to page272. It still has the early pages corresponding to those pages, but none of the gushing articles over TV programmes or the TV listings. It also has a nice front cover (page 9) with an Olympic athlete on the front.

I wish there was an easier way to do this - or, ideally, that someone would publish a RADIO Times. I certainly do not want a cumbersome monster of nearly 300 pages alongside my armchair for the coming weeks. Am I the only person with this annual ritual?

And - final complaint - why can't the King's Service, which is surely the BBC's biggest contribution to Christmas, be laid out in a readable fashion, as it has been in the past?

[salymap]

It's some years since I bought The Radio Times regularly, but I usually make an exception for the Christmas edition. Last night I performed my usual act of wasteful vandalism: by carefully detaching the television sections from the staples, a few pages at a time, I am left with a manageable radio magazine - neatly stapled and going from page 240 to page272. It still has the early pages corresponding to those pages, but none of the gushing articles over TV programmes or the TV listings. It also has a nice front cover (page 9) with an Olympic athlete on the front.

I wish there was an easier way to do this - or, ideally, that someone would publish a RADIO Times. I certainly do not want a cumbersome monster of nearly 300 pages alongside my armchair for the coming weeks. Am I the only person with this annual ritual?

And - final complaint - why can't the King's Service, which is surely the BBC's biggest contribution to Christmas, be laid out in a readable fashion, as it has been in the past?

I buy itallyear round but with the ordinary weekly issue use a largw bulldog clip to enable me to get to the day's TV, in the hope that there is something I want, and to the current radio page. I ignore nearly all the articles as they are usually about something I can't bothered to watch and would welcome a a radio only slim paper at less that £1.40

[anotherbob]

I have a subscription to RT. I agree that is is now bloated but since I see no reason to deny myself such TV programmes as I consider worth a look my "customised" edition would comprise just the listings of "Free to Air" TV and radio.
The "editorial" content is mainly at "Hello" magazine level, and I have access to IMDB for film reviews, but I have to confess that I always read the "Readers Letters" section; it reassures me that I am completely out of touch with modern popular culture. I find the advertisements at the back depressing inasmuch as the advertisers (correctly) target me in a demographic which might consider a stair lift.

[JFLL]

The "editorial" content is mainly at "Hello" magazine level, and I have access to IMDB for film reviews, but I have to confess that I always read the "Readers Letters" section; it reassures me that I am completely out of touch with modern popular culture. I find the advertisements at the back depressing inasmuch as the advertisers (correctly) target me in a demographic which might consider a stair lift.

It’s odd, isn’t it, that the advertisers see RT readers as stair-lift material, but that the editor apparently aims it at juveniles? Possibly a similar discrepancy as that between most of the R3 audience (mature and critical, I like to think) and the recent manifestation of, say, Breakfast.

I do the same as you with a big paper clip, Saly! And it’s had to get bigger over the years.

[salymap]

It’s odd, isn’t it, that the advertisers see RT readers as stair-lift material, but that the editor apparently aims it at juveniles? Possibly a similar discrepancy as that between most of the R3 audience (mature and critical, I like to think) and the recent manifestation of, say, Breakfast.

I do the same as you with a big paper clip, Saly! And it’s had to get bigger over the years.

And all those grinning young women of at the most 30 years old and fit as a flea advertising stair lifts and walk-in bath/shower rooms which they won't need for at least 50 years.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have a subscription to RT. I agree that is is now bloated but since I see no reason to deny myself such TV programmes as I consider worth a look my "customised" edition would comprise just the listings of "Free to Air" TV and radio.
The "editorial" content is mainly at "Hello" magazine level, and I have access to IMDB for film reviews, but I have to confess that I always read the "Readers Letters" section; it reassures me that I am completely out of touch with modern popular culture. I find the advertisements at the back depressing inasmuch as the advertisers (correctly) target me in a demographic which might consider a stair lift.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I just wish they'd sack Alison Graham, whose only virtue is that she writes her utter drivel in very good English.

[JFLL]

Back issues of the Radio Times have now been digitised by the BBC – see http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20625884. They say that it ‘will initially be restricted to the corporation's staff, but the project team said if all goes well it could be accessible to the public online by the end of 2013. It will then feed into another scheme called Project Barcelona, which plans to offer BBC archive content via an online shop. The BBC Trust has still to decide whether to allow it to go ahead. Other broadcasters may be concerned about the disruptive effect that providing so much content online would have on the market.’

Mention of an 'online shop' makes it sound as though they will charge for access. I must say I don’t understand the last bit about the possible ‘disruptive effect’ on the market. (Perhaps they're really worried about all those pictures of Jimmy Savile with a cigar in the 70s.)

[Old Grumpy]

Seeing as it is Radio Times wouldn't it be good if the radio listings took more prominence - maybe at the front, so they can be easily accessed? The Radio Times still provides the most comprehensive radio listings of any newspaper or magazine. It's useful to have the TV too, but not essential - there are many other sources.

OG

[Resurrection Man]

Well, I wish they would duplicate the radio pages. That way I might get a chance to see what was on R3 today after Mrs RM had ripped out yesterday's Radio 4 page.

[Old Grumpy]

Well, I wish they would duplicate the radio pages. That way I might get a chance to see what was on R3 today after Mrs RM had ripped out yesterday's Radio 4 page.

His and Hers copies I think!!