BBC Trust

A high percentage of those present were regular listeners to Radio 4, and were positive on the whole about the station’s output. The key criticism of the station was the perception that it had a deeply London-centric perspective, which participants felt extended across much of its output – from the disproportionate emphasis on Westminster politics in the Today programme, to the guests on programmes such as Front Row, or Loose Ends.

The preponderance of the station’s audiences being located in the south-east of England was no surprise to the participants, with a number expressing the view that the station largely ignored Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the northern regions of England. As one participant, expressing the views of a number of those present, put it, “There is just no information about Wales on Radio 4 – not in the news or in any of its other content”. Another participant felt that the audience furore of a few years ago surrounding the introduction of a continuity presenter with a Caribbean accent to the station had been dealt with positively by Radio 4 and this was applauded. She suggested that it was not necessarily healthy for the station to be too focused on a particular audience or a specific geographical location. One participant summed up the views of a number of others when she said “it’s a station for the south-east of England”.

Drama and continuing drama series were popular amongst many of the participants with the Archers mentioned by a number.

The participants had low awareness of both Radio 4 Extra and 5 Live Extra and were not aware of the nature of both stations’ output. It was widely felt that increased awareness could lead to higher audiences.

There was awareness amongst those present of both the station’s news and sport output, and an appreciation that the station was physically based in Salford. As one participant put it, “If I want to keep up with breaking news, then it has to be Radio 5 Live”.

Some of the women present felt that the station suffered from a somewhat ‘blokey’ feel – possibly because of the extent to which the station covered football. It was also felt that a vicious circle was in operation in this regard in the context of phone-in programmes – that phone-ins tended to be male-dominated, which then acted as a disincentive for women to phone-in thus reinforcing the ‘blokey’ perception. There was agreement amongst participants that it was important for the station to counter this perception.

Those present felt that Radio 5 Live appeared, in relation to sports, to always put England first – and that this was particularly prevalent in relation to international sports. The other nations of the UK seemed not to attract the same level of attention from the station.

 Radio 2 was a popular station amongst many of the participants with the station’s recent short story competition being commended by many of those present. As one participant put it “The short story competition really helped to show that stories belong to us all – not just to Radio 4 – and the number of entries was just amazing”.

A high proportion of the women present were critical of the station’s domination by male presenters.

Radio Cymru and Radio Wales were also listened to by a proportion of those present with some expressing reservations regarding Radio Cymru’s recent changes to its schedule and presenter line-up. It was also felt by some that the station was “too Gwynedd-orientated” and one said that she had now abandoned Radio Cymru’s “magazine-like” breakfast news programme, in favour of Good Morning Wales – “what they’ve got now on Radio Cymru is neither fish nor fowl!”

Radio Wales’ Good Morning Wales was praised by a number of those present as having the right tone, and covering the most useful range of topics during each morning’s programme.

Some participants expressed frustration at reception difficulties. One said she experienced great difficulty finding Radio Wales when driving around Wales and that this was often a reason for her to switch-off her radio or choose an alternative station.

A number said that they felt “the BBC is the place to come for news” and an appreciation too of the various blogs which were part of the news offering, which participants felt added to their understanding of particular issues (and Vaughan Roderick’s blog on Welsh politics particularly mentioned, and felt to provide more in-depth coverage than some of BBC Wales’ TV political coverage). There was criticism however of what they perceived as the “massive under-representation of women” both as participants to news items, but also more generally on the BBC’s TV output. This was felt to be particularly the case in relation to the BBC’s football coverage, though it was praised for the female presenters used during its rugby coverage with Eleri Siôn and Dot Davies’s contributions praised. Participants also made reference to the issue of the preponderance of young attractive women on the BBC’s output. Participants expressed the view that this was at odds with the female population as an entirety, and that the Corporation and its audiences would be better served by having a wider variety of female presenters. The view was also expressed that having too many young female presenters exacerbated a wider social problem, where youth and beauty appeared to be more highly appreciated than the intellectual ability of women. Several of those present expressed an interest in participating in the BBC’s ‘expert women’ project, to increase the number of female experts called upon to contribute to BBC programming.

A number said that they now consumed the BBC’s TV output entirely through catch-up services, with the BBC iPlayer popular with many.

Several participants also expressed their appreciation of the BBC Welsh and English language on-line education and play resources, with one young participant saying that the BBC’s Newsround website was regularly used during his school’s PSE lessons.

There was an appreciation of the value provided by the Licence Fee and of all the services provided by the BBC, though a perception amongst some that the BBC was sometimes “too self-congratulatory” in its approach.