Furore in Scotland as BBC slashes music programmes
NewsThe BBC has confirmed it is ending two signature radio programmes in Scotland, Classics Unwrapped and Jazz Nights. The reason it gives is the licence-fee freeze.
Tommy Smith, head of jazz at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, says BBC Scotland is ‘abandoning’ the art form.
The leading Socttish classical label Delphian says these are two ‘programmes which have offered us so much support in our 20-year history’.
A BBC Scotland spokesman said: ‘We’ll still reflect our vibrant classical and jazz communities in Scotland on our schedule, and we’re working on new and creative options for achieving this.’
More here.
But as long as they have a Diversity officer…..
One of the interesting things is of course that jazz used to be played by black people. The vast majority of people playing jazz in Britain are nowadays white. What went wrong?
The loss of Classics Unwrapped is no tragic loss.
Welcome to the green shift. It means energy decline, poverty and less money for everything. You probably voted for it.
The immediate connection between being environmentally literate and a classical music program – and why they exclude each other! – is not completely obvious to me. Perhaps you can enlighten me.
I can explain: A jazz program on radio is a surplus phenomenon. You can only afford this in rich societies. And why are societies rich? Well, mainly because of access to cheap energy. It gives you jobs, which gives you wealth, which gives you tax money that can distributed to – for instance – jazz programs on national radio. When cheap energy is gone, society is back to basics – infrastructure, schools, health care and so on. But nothing extra.
You’ve nailed it and the predictable response will be, “hey; look over there!!”
We dont like to face it, but we take cheap energy as a basic right. And it isnt.
‘we’re working on new and creative options for achieving this.’ Which being interpreted means we haven’t given an iota of thought to this yet and may never do so!
It sounds like blackmail to me. You freeze our licence fee, we cut the programmes – though not, of course, the vacuous chat shows, soap operas and facile popular entertainment. That would make us unpopular. Let’s cut classical music and jazz, mostly the programmes that appeal to an older demographic who don’t really matter.
With hundreds of stations that can be viewed free, I’m wondering why the BBC should receive a licence fee at all these days. If they are to have a licence fee, then it should be for providing a high-quality public broadcasting service that is limited to news coverage and educational documentaries such as those on PBS in the USA (and yes, I know, some of those it provides are BBC products – but high-quality, serious ones) and, of course, a radio station that features classical music and drama – just like the Third Programme did, when culture was not a dirty word.
The popular entertainment should be transferred to a commercial station that relies on advertising for its income.
And does the BBC really need to have Radios 1, 1D, 1R, 1X, R2, R6, catering for a lot of people who probably don’t pay a licence fee? Also the BBC’s obsession with ‘celeb’ culture and football is beyond the pale.
Yes, especially when it’s already a political collective.
Not so much diversity, hey!!
Interested to see the map that you used for this article. It is from my website mendelssohninscotland.com which tells the story of Mendelssohn’s visit to Scotland in 1829!
Why pay for an image when you can get the wrong one for free ?
Mendelssohn was unsurprised to encounter an absolute dearth of both classical and jazz wireless broadcasts in Scotland.
Especially on the Hebrides!!
Now THIS is something Harry should be upset about and whine about in an interview.
This kind of ‘whining’ would be well beyond the remit of his vocabulary.
I’m incensed at this comment : “ A BBC Scotland spokesman said: ‘We’ll still reflect our vibrant classical and jazz communities in Scotland on our schedule, and we’re working on new and creative options for achieving this.’ “ Adding insult to injury: Classics Unwrapped IS reflecting our classical community – and the presenter, Jamie MacDougall, is nurturing that community with his creative and accessible presentation and content!