Just heard Nick Clegg say on BBC Radio Sheffield that local radio is very important and he can’t imagine it being closed down. Nick Higham (I think it wad him) said to Radio5Live that after talking to the BBC he didn’t think it was an idea that was very high on their agenda.
Shadow minister demands meeting over ‘radio cuts’
Shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis has demanded a meeting with BBC bosses over reports that local radio services could be axed and replaced with content from Radio 5 Live.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said proposals had been aired to produce only local breakfast and drive-time shows and fill the gap with 5 Live programmes.
It said this would mean the loss of around 700 jobs and the possible closure of some stations.
Lewis said: ???At a time when Jeremy Hunt is forcing the BBC to spend ??25 million on local TV, it is perverse that the Conservative-led Government cuts may threaten the future of local radio.
???I will be seeking an urgent meeting with the BBC to discuss the range of options under consideration.???
It was reported the proposals were aired as part of the BBC???s Delivering Quality First review, which is tasked with finding savings following the six-year licence-fee freeze.
A BBC spokesman said: ???No decisions have been made so it would be wrong to speculate. It is, of course, only right that BBC staff have an opportunity to input ideas about shaping the BBC???s future.
???The Delivering Quality First sessions are designed to provoke discussion amongst staff about the way the BBC works and any decisions coming out of the process would be subject to approval by the BBC Trust.???
Ivan Lewis is making a good point here.
???At a time when Jeremy Hunt is forcing the BBC to spend ??25 million on local TV, it is perverse that the Conservative-led Government cuts may threaten the future of local radio.”
Coercing people into a brave??new??digital world
A government-backed campaign to get the entire UK adult population online threatens to make cyber slaves of us all.
Why do we think everyone should be online and surfing? There are some really useful observations in this Spiked article. Worth a read.
Labour must seize the “big society” idea from Cameron
Labour would be foolish to reject David Cameron’s “big society” idea entirely, writes Jonathan Freedland. Cameron likes to suggest that the notion of a big society chimes with an ethos that lies deep in Toryism. Yet whatever ideals pre-industrial Toryism cherished, they are a long way from the worldview of the post-Thatcher Conservative Party. A big society needs people anchored in place and blessed with time, yet Conservative economics grants neither — except to the well-off. Labour needs to seize this idea from Cameron and reclaim its Labour origins — and then improve it. That would start with a realisation that a truly big society does not entail public services on the cheap. Labour should also notice the big gap in Cameron’s big society. His idea rests on the notion that the only obstacle in people’s way is the state. But what is good for the public-sector state is surely good for the private-sector gander.
Big Society needs people anchored in place and blessed with time – I suspect there are not many of these people. Small Society then.
delicious thoughts for April 10th from 08:58 to 08:58: