BBC Trust

Many of those present were heavy listeners of Radio 4 and it was felt to be a ‘companion’ and a number of participants listened in the car as well as at home. Specific Radio 4 programmes mentioned included Today, PM, Archers, the Shipping Forecast and Any Questions/Any Answers. One participant described herself as a night owl and listened to both Radio 4 and the World Service during the night. In this context she expressed concern that Radio 4 “sanitises news and some stories are run on the World Service that don’t appear on domestic news. I’m concerned that Radio 4 treats us like children”. She also expressed her concern that the BBC had given so little attention to the massacre of hundreds of people in Nigeria compared to the attention given to 15 deaths in France a few days previously – “It appears that 200 lives in Nigeria are worth less than 15 people in Paris”.

None of those present listened to Radio 4 Extra, though only one of the participants said that he used a DAB radio to listen.

One of the participants listened regularly to Radio 5 Live in order to access commentary of football matches that were not covered on television, saying “listening to live football on Radio 5 Live is better than watching the game on TV. You can hear the commentator get excited and it is almost as good as being at the stadium”.

There was little awareness of the existence of 5 Live Extra and none of the participants had listened to the service.

Around half the participants were big fans of Radio Wales, with a number of the station’s presenters praised for their presenting skills but a number said that they didn’t listen to BBC Radio Wales at all – though there was a recognition that this could be due to long-standing habits. It was also suggested that poor reception could be a contributing factor in this regard since the strength of the FM signal for Radio Wales in north Wales was variable.

A number of the participants said that while they listened to the radio via a radio set, it was also the case that a number also listened via their TV set – “because the signal is better”.

Most of the participants watched the BBC news on TV but some participants criticised BBC News for sending Network reporters to various parts of the UK, when locally based BBC journalists “could do a better job of reporting on those local issues”. The perception was also expressed that the BBC was “obsessed with American politics” and the view articulated that BBC News would improve if it opened a greater number of offices in different countries. The use of World Service journalists based in different countries on the domestic news services was welcomed and applauded.

A number of the participants felt that while the BBC shouldn’t be competing with local newspapers, there was a need for more coverage of local news and issues, with concern expressed that more remote areas were “out of sight, out of mind” in terms of news coverage.

There were mixed views regarding the BBC’s coverage of politics, with the view expressed that there was lack of Network coverage of the National Assembly for Wales. The TV programme Question Time, and Radio 4 programme, Any Questions were both applauded for making politics accessible to audiences and the focus of the programme on getting “real people asking real questions” considered good. Question Time was also praised for including non-politicians on the panel.

The matter of the number and age of women presenters employed by the BBC was raised as a matter of concern with the BBC criticised of the lack of “women on TV unless they’re glamorous.” It was felt that the BBC should focus more on what women had to say on a variety of topics, rather than their appearance.

Views were divided on the BBC’s Top Gear programme, with some participants of the view that it was exciting and saying that they loved it. Others criticised it and described the presenters as “scruffy overgrown kids”. There was consensus that Jeremy Clarkson often “sailed very close to the wind”, and a recognition that the programme “brought in a lot of cash for the BBC”.

Views were also mixed on TV programme Countryfile, with a number of participants praising the programme for its weather report, coverage of wildlife and nature, while others criticised it for “not reflecting real life” in the countryside.

There was discussion of the output of BBC Four with much of the channel’s output praised, with some participants being big fans of the channel’s foreign crime dramas, though others said that it would be good to see more classical music in the channel’s output.

A discussion on whether older people would benefit from a magazine programme specifically for them (“children and teenagers have got Blue Peter”) elicited divergent views with some expressing the opinion that it would be good to have a dedicated information programme for older people while others said it would be better for older people to be portrayed more widely in general programming.

The session closed with a discussion of the forthcoming discussion regarding the BBC’s Royal Charter, due for renewal at the end of 2016, and there was a consensus that it was vital that the BBC should retain its independence, should control its wages and talent costs and should remain impartial in relation to its news output.