Has Radio 4 lost their way?

From The Conservative Woman's 'About us' page.

"We launched The Conservative Woman in 2014 as a counter-cultural offensive against the forces of Leftism, feminism and modernism – against the left-liberal cultural zeitgeist, to counter its anti-family, authoritarian identity politics and ‘equality and diversity’ ideology which had swept through the country’s institutions."

They sound nice.

Where are the ratings showing the droves ?

I listen to Radio 4 most of the day but switch to Radio 3 when You and Yours comes on, for Composer of the Week. Back to R4 for the World at One. Radio goes off at 7pm and TV goes on for Channel 4 News.

An article in The Conservative Woman. Written by a man.

Luckygirl3

The Life Scientific is a gem.

I love that programme.

I do miss the good dramas that used to be on, then we had a lot of Welsh and Scottish-based drama, presumably because of production costs.

I think if people submit plays they should get a sample audience to read the plays and choose which one is the most interesting and well written.
This should be done without any knowledge of the writer.
That way we would get to hear material that is chosen purely for how good and well written it

I get the feeling that's not how they choose material.

Love Radio 4 and love Skewer; I think it's a clever way of highlighting the disingenuousness of politicians and of showing the news. Hardly surprised Conservativewoman (Ha!) doesn't like it. They've got the knives out for all the media I do like, including the wonderful Channel 4.

Lucky Yes I agree, the 6,30 slot isnt as it was. Another I dislike is Skewer on late about 11pm. It’s just a lot of noise, and my heart sinks. I wonder if this is the beeb trying to attract the younger set.

The Life Scientific is a gem.

@Vintagejazz
I agree, I've been a R4 listener all my life but find myself listening less and less. I do listen to R4Extra a lot, particularly overnight as I don't always sleep well. In general I don't think that BBC news coverage is any longer the best, I prefer Channel 4 in the evening.
I do miss the good dramas that used to be on, then we had a lot of Welsh and Scottish-based drama, presumably because of production costs.

Love radio 4.

Shared humanity. I like that phrase Luckygirl3. This is why I like Crossing Continents and the switch over to the World Service at night for when I am unable to sleep.

Staff at my village library sometimes remark on the diverseness of books I’ve ordered which often have to be retrieved from the stacks. More often than not, it’s precisely because I’ve heard something on Radio 4 which has grabbed my interest.

I also enjoy the programmes enjoyed by the writer of the linked article: More or Less (latest edition on troop and casualty numbers in Ukraine), The Life Scientific (latest is about conservation and extinction), In Our Time (latest is about homo erectus. Next is about Olympe de Gouge the the Frenchwoman who wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman in 1791 during the French Revolution).

All three of these series have extensive back catalogues as do many other programmes so if immediate programming isn’t to someone’s taste then there are literally thousands of other programmes to listen to.

I listen to Radio 4, and yes it has changed - in some ways for the better and in others for the worse. The 12.30/6.30 slot used to be a must for me, but has lost its sparkle a bit for me.

I love the diversity - it does not feel contrived to me, and it is refreshing to hear different voices. So much has changed in the media since I was young and the inclusion of minorities is the stand-our advance.

There is a lot about transgender etc. - but this is the topic of the age atm - we will move on from this as we did from the shock/horror of homosexuality when I was young.

On the whole I think R4 is doing OK. I do not think there is a left-wing or "woke" bias - just a sense of shared humanity.

I love Radio 4, as does DH. Our radios are all tuned to it, though we listen to BBC Radio stations 5 & 6 as well. IMO it's great to hear a diversity of accents, and more women presenters, producers, etc. The programmes offer a range of interesting & diverse items; keeping me in touch, entertaining me, and, (I hope) keeping the brain cells active!

I am not switching off always listen to R4. There is a radio in most rooms tuned to r4 so I can move around the house and not miss anything. Programmes are varied, Informative and mostly interesting. Some are laugh out loud. From the Today programme through to World service I listen and enjoy.
I can tell what time it is by which programme is n and if I hear Sailing By, Shipping forecast and the national anthem ( its 1 am) know I am in for yet another bad night’s sleep.

DaisyAnne

And here we have it. One view about one, presumably older person, not liking one programme that would probably say about itself that it has updated to appeal to a younger audience.

And this proves what exactly?

Well it's an indication that some of it's longer term listeners might not like the changing tone of the programme.

I listen to quite a lot of radio 4 but listen less because of spotify, availability of podcasts etc. If there has been a drop (and I cant see evidence for that - radio listening increased due to pandemic from what I remember) then it is likely due to the increase in alternatives particularly the increase in non music based programmes.

Thanks for helping to promote interest in some of the wonderfully diverse programmes the BBC has to offer snowberryZ.

Sorry that was my attempt at strike through getting!

I decided that like some other areas in life I am now not the target audience, why should I be when I am —getting— am old! Life moves on and sadly that means we must too.

Now that I've seen OakDryad's list I'm off to listen to Radio 4.

I listen to lots of very interesting programmes on BBC Sounds, mostly from Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

snowberryZ says I'm not going to list every programme but links to a biased piece of writing from two years ago. Audience numbers are not falling as the graphic posted by volver clearly shows.

I am not going to list every programme either. I have left out the News and Weather, You and Yours, World at One - all of which will depend on what is current, the Archers and chat, quiz and comedy panel shows.

This is today’s schedule showing the diverse range of topics and interests.

5:45 Farming Today: About local food networks in Scotland.
9:00 Start the Week: A discussion about the diversity of modern African.
9:45 Preventable: Professor Devi Sridhar discussing the pandemic.
10:00 Woman’s Hour: about female con artists.
11:00 The Untold: about rescuing orphans from Ukraine.
13:45 Museums That Make Us: Neil McGregor visits the National Museum of Scotland to discuss the Saltire and the Battle of Culloden.
14:15 The Tenderness of Boys: Oliver Emanuel’s play about the bond between mothers and sons.
15:30 The Food Programme: about Easter food traditions in Palermo, Marseille and Kyiv.
16:00 Invisible Man: A discussion of Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man.
16:30 Beyong Belief: discusses the Resurrection.
17:15 Front Row: Big Jubilee Read discussion about 70 books published across the Commonwealth during the Queen’s reign.
20:00 Missing Mother: how the lives of young girls are affected by the loss of their mother in childhood.
20:30 Crossing Continents: about Russian’s fleeing to Georgia.
21:00 Three Pounds in my Pocket: about British South Asians and their experience in Britain.
22:45 Three Days: about the 1941 Belfast Blitz
23:00 Word of Mouth: about how we alter the way we speak depending on who we are talking to.
23:30 Women in Stitches: The Making of the Bayeux Tapestry.

Please explain how this is being obsessed with diversity and inclusiveness at the expense of talent and content and why diversity and inclusiveness are bad things? Which of these programmes would you omit and why?

Older listeners should take more interest in the issues of the day instead of switching off. Who wants to be an old fuddy duddy who yearns for the days when radio presenters spoke terribly, terribly proper and never broadcast anything that would cause a maiden aunt to tut.
I will continue to listen and recommend R4’s excellent range of podcasts.

I have R4 on most days, and like that Emma Barnett has shaken up the stale format of Women’s Hour. It seems to me to be more in keeping with modern women.
I also think there are some excellent science programmes.

Despite some of its failings I think the BBC does remarkably well on a reduced budget, and under threat from a government with a clear political ambition to get rid of a public broadcasting service, because it doesn’t fit their agenda.