Radio
Watch out
Michael Vestey
During my years at the BBC, I devel- oped numerous theories about the nature of the corporate beast. I decided that whenever an editor, head of department or controller moved on his or her replacement would be much worse. This usually proved to be the case though there were some notable exceptions to the rule. The better news or programme editors tended to be those who spotted that something was working well and left well alone, until such time as changes were necessary.
One day, hearing a colleague stamping around the office fiercely criticising an edi- tor, I suggested she desist because I thought we were lucky to have someone who didn't constantly interfere and alter things simply for the sake of it. When she goes, I said, whoever takes over will be, under the regime at the time, awful. I was right. In no time, good people were ditched, there were endless inquests into our coverage, scatterbrained ideas were proposed, the office atmosphere became poisoned. One of the problems had been that the people who worked in this depart- ment enjoyed it so much they didn't want to leave. This offended a hierarchy so soaked in management consultancy nos- trums that it was almost too much to bear. Shake 'em up, the cry went out. We can't have people loving what they do!
I thought of this when I heard the announcement that Nicholas Kenyon, the controller of Radio Three, was leaving his post two years earlier than his contract stipulated. The BBC spin was that Kenyon had been appointed controller BBC Proms and millennium programmes; he is already the director of the Proms, the 104th season of which is beginning this week. I don't know if he jumped at the chance to vacate the controller's chair or whether he was pushed but strong critics of his six years in charge of Radio Three began rejoicing. They think he has taken the network down- market to compete with Classic FM and in one or two respects he has, though Radio Three still sounds nothing like its commer- cial rival. ► Kenyon's critics should remember my theory: the replacement is nearly always worse. I suspect that Kenyon thought he had gone far enough to satisfy the Birtist anti-elitist zeal for popularising Radio Three. It was, in any case, a futile exercise. Short of going the whole way and imitating Classic FM in every respect, his attempts to make the network more 'accessible' have failed, as we all knew they would. Radio Three still has the same audience share that it had when he took over. Its audience is finite. The fact that 1.3 million people listen to it is a strength not a weakness. It does not have to attract ratings and adver- tising revenue like Classic FM. Radio Three is a cultural beacon; it is there to encourage listeners to raise their cultural awareness to its level, not the reverse.
Having said that, I do not find all his changes particularly controversial but then I am not a Radio Three purist. I dip into and out of most networks, with the excep- tions of Radio One and the independent pop networks. I do not object, for example, to his appointment of Petroc Trelawny to present On Air in the mornings. As a broadcaster I know another one when I hear him and Trelawny has an excellent voice, particularly for that time of the day. What seems to lie behind the outrage at his arrival is that he came from Classic FM. There was similar criticism about the hiring of Richard Baker. People seem to forget that he was a long-time BBC broad- caster, an expert on classical music, before moving to the independent station. The same is also true of Joan Bakewell. She was, after all, the much lusted after 'think- ing man's crumpet' of BBC arts pro- grammes. Bakewell, who cringes at this description, has always been a serious and first-rate broadcaster. Despite the never- to-be-forgotten frequent crossing of her fine legs and tossing of the mane of hair, on the old Late Night Line Up on BBC 2, it wasn't her fault she was saddled with that label, though I can think of worse sobriquets.
Of course, critics of Radio Three com- plain too about the breeziness of presenta- tion that has crept in over the past few years. But have they heard Radio Four recently? Think yourselves lucky, I say. So many programmes now sound as if they're presented by redcoats at a northern holiday camp trying to gee up rain-sodden holiday- makers with a burst of community singing. It is not so much the accents I object to, as I like many regional voices (though soon southern English received pronunciation will be extinct on Radio Four), it's the patronising tones they adopt. I'm going to take a closer look at some of these pro- grammes in future columns and Radio Three listeners might like to do the same. They will then realise how minor Kenyon's changes have been. Keep an eye out for his successor. When he or she is appointed we will know immediately what's in store for us.
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