B.B.C. BROADCASTS
SIR,—The letter from a correspondent in your issue dated Septem- ber 6th on the inefficacy. of Overseas broadcasts applies equally to " Home " programmes, and appears to indicate a complete lack of understanding of what the public wants, and a lamentable absence of psychological appreciation. The publication of the B.B.C. " beauty chorus " of announcers in the Radio Times a short time ago, is indi- cative of the fatuous self-complacency of the B.B.C. directorate. I wonder if Sir John Reith would have permitted this? Can I quote a few examples? The average business and professional man, I imagine, sits down for breakfast between 7.45 and 8.3o a.m. Instead of some light music (Strauss, Offenbach, Waldteufel, &c.), he gets a few minutes stale news (which he reads in his morning paper—or read the day before), then has to listen to the totally unnecessary resume of the day's programme and then talks, talks, talks). The same thing happens at midday.
Again, who wants to listen to the unintelligible small child who has been bombed? At most inappropriate times we get more talks—e.g., on Sunday, September 15th, we got a lecture-demonstration on abstruse classical music just at a time when everyone was sitting down to a midday meal! We get good music on very rare occasions. Two last questions—must the compere of the many Tevues, music tall shows always shout out his good news? Further, are the Forces always to have chu&ted at them these fourth-rate musical shows?—
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