Parliamentary Inquiry: CFM lets rip

[french frank]

Just had an email from the CMS committee, pleased to inform us our submission has been published. No idea whether that's of any significance or whether (as I suppose) all submissions are automatically published. Anyway, it has been. They didn't say where. Try Amazon

[french frank]

To whom it may concern, this is Classic FM's submission.

[Serial_Apologist]

To whom it may concern, this is Classic FM's submission.

Thanks for posting this, ff - I'll have a read of it tomorrow.

[Wallace]

However, there is clear evidence that programming changes to BBC Radio 3 cumulatively constitute a significant alteration to the station’s on-air output which is undermining listener choice and value for money for the licence fee payer.

This view is not only held by Classic FM and its parent company, Global Radio. It has been commented upon widely in the press and both quantitative and qualitative independent research supports this assertion. Indeed, the view that BBC Radio 3’s output now apes that of Classic FM for much of the day has reached a crescendo.

A seminal moment? I do hope so. There is not a word in the CFM submission with which I disagree. One would hope that it would have some clout too.

[DracoM]

And if R3 take their social media as seriously as they say they do eg this site they'd know the rising tide of distress at first hand already.

[Nick Armstrong]

A seminal moment? I do hope so. There is not a word in the CFM submission with which I disagree. One would hope that it would have some clout too.

Agreed.

[DublinJimbo]

While agreeing absolutely with CFM's assessment of the direction taken by R3, I abhor the constant references to marketplace competitiveness as the basis of their argument.

Why has public broadcasting become such an unpopular concept in the UK? How come so many other European countries cope quite happily with both publicly-funded and commercial broadcasting without all this agro? Why is NPR so successful in the US, the home of commercialism? Surely any civilised country is duty bound to support and promote the arts and perpetuate its cultural heritage? R3's shift, supported by (and at the behest of) the BBC Trust is nothing short of a national embarrassment for the UK.

[Tevot]

While agreeing absolutely with CFM's assessment of the direction taken by R3, I abhor the constant references to marketplace competitiveness as the basis of their argument.

Why has public broadcasting become such an unpopular concept in the UK? How come so many other European countries cope quite happily with both publicly-funded and commercial broadcasting without all this agro? Why is NPR so successful in the US, the home of commercialism? Surely any civilised country is duty bound to support and promote the arts and perpetuate its cultural heritage? R3's shift, supported by (and at the behest of) the BBC Trust is nothing short of a national embarrassment for the UK.

In full agreement with you there Jimbo

[french frank]

A seminal moment? I do hope so. There is not a word in the CFM submission with which I disagree. One would hope that it would have some clout too.

Classic FM have been exceedingly patient for the past few years - I think they must have left it to their representative bodies to speak for them - RadioCentre and Global Radio: which they already have, but it had no effect whatsoever on the BBC or Radio 3. We have provided the Trust with cast iron evidence and they just looked away.

We even tried the argument that the BBC Charter does not allow 'significant changes' to any BBC service without consultation (e.g. with CFM) and that the changes HAD been significant. The Trust were therefore in breach of their responsibilities in allowing it to happen. They just replied that they 'did not agree' that they had not fulfilled their responsibilities. At no point have they ever answered the point by point criticisms which we have sent them: over the rigour of their original review of Radio 3, over the ways that the Charter and Agreement had been breached, nor over the manner in which our complaints had been dismissed. And we've now been waiting two and a half months for our complaint about breaches in the Editorial Guidelines by Radio 3, chapter and verse quoted, to be dealt with.

This must be the moment they take notice! It's no use their mounting impressive events like Music on the Brink following weeks with Russell Grant and Tim Vine and think they can pull the wool over people's eyes for ever.

[Frances_iom]

Why has public broadcasting become such an unpopular concept in the UK? ..

partly the rise of American domination in the media + the UK having an almost entirely right wing (some very right wing) dominated press with owners having a commercial interest in destroying the BBC (think Faux news) - the culture and worship of greed started in the Thatcher + Reagan years with the later Blairite political control over the BBC seen when it got out of line and started questioning the war for oil in Iraq; thus to keep the BBC sweet the management was allowed the 'too big to fail' payoffs seen elsewhere in the Thatcher's darling child of Financial services which also had the same philiosophy of 'we are masters of the universe and the plebs can go hang'.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I've just woken up to this. I can hardly believe it.

[amateur51]

I've just woken up to this. I can hardly believe it.

Likewise EA.

And Brava french frank!

The FoR3 submission reads as a very detailed historically-informed, listener-led critique of Wright's R3 and adds much to the thrust of CFM's submission.I think it's a powerful twosome and I hope that members of the Parliamentary committee will seize the opportunity to run with these submissions.

Will it be televised? Shall we be able to watch RW having to give answers to direct and penetrating questions from someone other than Roger Bolton?

[Don Petter]

Fascinating document!

Why are the 'Programming Changes' given in hieroglyphics, and three items later on in Greek?

[french frank]

The link to our submission is here. NB although it was informed in many respects by the answers we had here to the questions posed, it represents an overview of Friends of Radio 3 opinion, not this forum.

Global Radio mainly attacks Radio 1 and Radio 2, leaving it to CFM to deal with Radio 3. Interesting that they (Global) also jibbed at the idea of vague 'Public Purposes' and proposed 'duties' - not unlike our suggestion of 'commitments'.

[eighthobstruction]

A seminal moment? I do hope so. There is not a word in the CFM submission with which I disagree. One would hope that it would have some clout too.

....an idiot proof submission ....surely....