RADIO 4 BY SANDRA AGGREY

ABOUT RADIO 4 It is owned by the BBC It first aired in 1967 on September 30 th It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967 It is a British domestic radio station that broadcasts a wide range of verbal shows including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It broadcasts throughout the UK and can also be received in the north of France and Northern Europe. It is the second most popular British domestic radio station after Radio 2

WHO’S IN CHARGE?? Mark Damazer is the current controller of Radio 4 having taken over from Helen Boaden (now head of BBC News). OUT IN Gwyneth Williams is to take over in October of this year. ul/15/gwyneth-williams-bbc-radio-4- controller Williams said: "Radio 4 represents the BBC at its best: it is loved and trusted and stands above all for quality. It is a privilege and honour to be asked to lead the network through the next stage of its evolution.”

TARGET AUDIENCE “ The service should appeal to listeners seeking intelligent programmes in many genres which inform, educate and entertain. ”

ON THE RISE BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live recorded their biggest ever audiences during the General Election period, with the Today programme also attracting a record number of listeners, according to figures published today by RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd). During the measurement period (29 March-27 June), Radio 4 reached a record 10.4 million people every week (from 10 million last year and last quarter) with the Today programme bringing in 6.98m weekly listeners (6.44m last quarter and 6.51m last year) – both records since new research methodology was introduced in January FROM RAJAR 2010 QUATER 2

POTENTIAL LISTENERS? According to this article, Radio 4 doesn’t want to be seen as neglecting the younger generation as well as a station just listened to by the OAPs. To take away the stigma attached to young people tuning into Radio 4, Radio 4 staged road shows at three universities last year in order to reach out to the abandoned generation. Mark Damazer stated in the article: "The centre of gravity for Radio 4 will always be older, but it's not a club. Anybody can join in, whatever the age." youth

HOW MUCH?! Costing £71.4 million (2005/6), radio 4 is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and is considered by many to be the corporation's flagship.

WHY? Spend on BBC Four reflects the continuation of the channel’s investment programme in original output, including drama and comedy.

PROGRAMMES Radio 4 is distinguished by its long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years. Many Radio 4 programmes are pre-recorded. Programmes transmitted live include daily programmes such as Today, magazine programme Woman’s Hour, consumer affairs programme, You and Yours, and (often) the music, film, books, arts and culture programme Front Row. News bulletins, including the hourly summaries and longer programmes such as the Six O'Clock News and Midnight News, and news programmes such as Today, The World at One and PM come from the BBC News Centre.

PROGRAMMES Most programmes are available for a week after broadcast as streaming audio from Radio 4's listen again page and via BBC iPlayer. A selection of programmes is also available as podcasts or downloadable audio files. Many comedy and drama programmes from the Radio 4 archives are rebroadcast on BBC Radio 7.

TODAY Today (sometimes referred to as "the Today programme" to avoid ambiguity) is BBC Radio 4’s long-running early morning news and current affairs programme. The programme has 6.6 million listeners. It is broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am from Monday to Friday, and from 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks. It consists of regular news bulletins, serious but often confrontational political interviews and in-depth reports and an often criticised religious slot. It is considered to be the most influential news programme in Britain. Insight, analysis and expert debate as key policy makers are challenged on the latest news stories /BBC-Radio-4s-Today-programme-named- the-most-admired-show.html

HISTORY Today was launched on the BBC’s Home Service on 28 October 1957 as a programme of 'topical talks' to give listeners a morning alternative to light music. It was initially broadcast as two 20-minute editions slotted in around the existing news bulletins and religious and musical items. In 1963 it became part of the BBC's Current Affairs department, and it started to become more news-oriented. The show reached a peak in terms of influence in the 1980s, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a noted listener. Ministers thus became keen to go on the programme and be heard by their leader, but the tough, confrontational interviewing style they encountered led to accusations that the BBC was biased.

01/BBC-Radio-4s-Today-programme-named-the-most- admired-show.html

RECENT EPISODES OF THE TODAY PROGRAMME

Statements of Programme Policy Radio 4 Programme Policy 2008/2009

CRITICISMS OF RADIO 4 There have been criticisms voiced by newspapers in recent years over a perceived “left-wing” bias at Radio 4 across a range of issues such as the EU and the Iraq War, as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine "Today“ as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the station has sometimes also been criticised for an overtly socially and culturally conservative approach,though these criticisms are less prominent than they once were following the station's evolution under recent controllers.