The BBC Local Radio Thread

After at least a decade (and three different counties), I've finally tuned the radio on my alarm clock to something other than BBC Local Radio - the constantly self-congratulatory presenter was just too irritating, with decreasing amounts of news and constant invites to phone in "if you own more than five ties" or "if you can think of a famous name that sounds a bit like a vegetable" (he can't cope with serious news days). Having experienced the Fi Glover/Gideon Coe show when I lived in London, I know local news can be an excellent combination of funny/serious and informative/flippant but I wonder what others *expect* from local BBC breakfast shows and what they *get*?

What I expect is local news and stuff about the local area. What I get is terribly drippy presenters talking like Alan Partridge in...slow...mo...tion. As if they had nothing more to say and hours of time to say it in. This morning they were discussing people saying "please and thank you" and asking "what do think the rise of feminism has to do with this kind of thing?". I turned it off at that point.

The worst is this local Heartbeat FM radio (London's Heart) which used to be B97 and beofre then 97.9 The Hot FM. Since I was very wee they've played a mix of seriously annoying adverts, the same 5 chart hits on repeat and padded it all out with oldies, and by oldies we're talking about the same orange-and-green wallpaper supermarket disco that they've been playing since I can remember - Carwash, I Feel Good, Lost In Music, Let's Go Round Again etc...

What I expect: senile old Tory cunts phoning up to moan about bullshit plus the odd Frankie Ifield record thrown in.

At seven in the morning I kind of expect news with a local bias, the odd old record perhaps (though i'd rather do without this) and enough travel news to know whether it's worth my while leaving the house ... the level of inanity seems to be increasing as does the self-congratulatory tone.

Trade union leaders have condemned proposals being considered by the BBC to axe much of its local radio output, claiming it could lead to the loss of more than 700 jobs.

The BBC, which is seeking savings of more than £400m following last year's licence fee freeze, is looking at cutting all of its local radio programmes, apart from the breakfast and drivetime shows, and replacing them with content from national news and sport station, BBC Radio 5 Live.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/22/bbc-criticised-shockingly-insensitive-ian-brady-playlist/

DISGRACEFUL

meanwhile brady's life and legacy being contsantly raked over in the days after he kicked the bucket, despite there being literally nothing new to say about any of it, was totally okay

Wouldn't call it disgraceful but it's certainly worthy of ridicule

Any (in)famous person's life and legacy is always raked over when they die, it's inevitable and not without interest imho. And the Guardian did run some new stuff about how the nurses treating him went about their business which I thought was well worth reading