Radio Nowhere

I am a radio man.

As a smallish boy, I listened to Radio Luxembourg, an English speaking commercial station.  

I listened mostly at night, tucked up in bed, with the sound swishing and sometimes disappearing altogether.  It was pretty well the only place I could hear Pop Music.

The BBC, prior to 1968, had the Light Programme (a sort of Radio 2 for Octogenarians), the Third Programme (Radio 3, basically) and the Home Service (Radio 4).  For anyone who wanted to listen to anything other than music from the shows or band music, there were the Pirates (until Harold Wilson got rid of them) and Radio Luxembourg.

1968 changed all that, giving us Radio 1.  Tony Blackburn played us the music of the time and it was great.

Step forward to 2014 and radio has ballooned.

We now have loads of BBC national stations along with countless independent (commercial) stations theoretically competing with each other.

I do watch some television, mainly sport, but radio is my favourite media outlet.

I listen to BBC Radio 2, Five Live and 6 Music at various and varying times.

Commercial radio holds no interest for me.

They all sound exactly the same, playing the same dreary generic music on an endless loop.

The presenters are almost all bland and accent free.

I did use to listen to local BBC radio in the form of BBC Radio Bristol but even that has become a trial.  Allow me to give my view as to why.

I came late to Radio Bristol.

I listened to some of its great presenters like John Turner who was, for a time, the voice of radio in our area.  Similarly, Keith Warmington, the Cornish schoolteacher/musician and the greatest political interviewer at the station was a must in the drive time slot. And Roger Bennett, the doyen of the breakfast show, Morning West.

Alas, none of these presenters are with us on the radio anymore, and sadly Roger Bennett is no longer with us at all.  And Radio Bristol suffers horribly.

The daytime schedule clunks along miserably with square pegs in round holes and some pegs which shouldn't be there at all.

The amiable breakfast show host Steve Le Fevre would be far better in a  relaxed afternoon slot, the mid morning presenter John Darvall's show is as dull as ditchwater, dear old Steve Yabsley continues with his madcap mirth and an afternoon show with Laura Rawlings specialises in D list celebs.

Only when the excellent Geoff Twentyman comes on at 4.00pm do we hear what a professional broadcaster is meant to sound like.

The weekend is the same with just Ali Vowles excellent Breakfast Show on a Saturday and, yes, Geoff Twentyman again (thank god) and generic rubbish, a three hour medical show, two amateur women (who unaccountably won a Bronze radio award) and wall-to-wall dross on a Sunday.

And guess what?  No one's listening.

Well, that's not entirely true. With listening figures tumbling through the floor, at least there is a healthy audience of pensioners, catered for perfectly with some of the oldest music on radio - a bit of a throwback to the Light Programme, really. 

I ask myself: what does Radio Bristol do that it's commercial rivals can't and don't?

The first answer is sport which continues to be excellent under the new editorship of Richard Hoskin and the vital involvement of Geoff Twentyman.  Apart from that?

Formulaic music, generic presenters (and endless stand-ins) and nothing that makes it sound like a local station.

I can't understand for the life of me how managing editor Tim Pemberton is still in a job.

On his watch, the reach of listeners has bombed, the quality of programmes and presenters has done likewise and it sounds like Radio Anywhere.

As I pay my TV license I feel I am entitled to at least something to listen to but as things stand there's nothing.

My grand plan for Radio Bristol is as follows:

Put Ali Vowles on the Breakfast Show
Bring in younger, fresher presenters who are local and understand the area
Have a more adventurous music playlist - don't just cater for the over 70s
Have a harder news show at lunchtime
Scrap the D list celeb nonsense in the afternoon
Have a Soccer AM type sports show on a Saturday morning, presented by local talent - there's loads of it out there, don't bring in some journeyman from Hereford and Worcester.

Oh that's just a start.

I haven't charged for my advice but I am open to offers.

Radio Bristol used to have something going for it but now it's just going nowhere.