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"Radio 4 listeners with banners of protest marched on Broadcasting House demanding that Radio 4 Long Wave transmission be protected. It was."

True, it was at the time but isn't the current policy that long wave will die as the current equipment becomes life expired?

Yes, people protested about the removal of Long Wave. In 1993, almost TWO DECADES ago. Thing have moved on a little since then...

Mobile broadband is getting more and more expensive for the customers. So moving the Daily Service or Test Match cricket to online only is not an option. Transmitters cost money, but without transmitters, there is no need to make a program.

By my calculations, if the plans are implemented fully then 'local' radio will only be local around 56 hours per week, ie about a third of the time. But I wonder about the extent of the savings made by reducing spend on evening and weekend programming, which is often provided by freelances and casuals at relatively low cost. I can't help feeling that this is the beginning of its demise. Before the decade is out, I wonder if their much-prized FM frequency will have all been given over to R5-Live, "local radio" merely providing news opts on the hour and very little else?

Helen,

If you really think you're protecting Breakfast and Drive shows then you have not understood the true impact of these cuts. The changes to early breakfast and afternoons etc. will only account for around half the job cuts. Most of the rest will have to be people who contribute to Breakfast and Drive which only do what they do now because of the hours people donate to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã. You also need to understand the flaws in the arbitrary formula used to calculate savings. If Berkshire was the model then you need to know that the people who turn out Breakdast there do so only by working 10/11 hour days every day. Then they go home in tears because of the strain. The formula also ensures that successful stations will be penalised. The big names earning huge salaries at metropolitan stations who've failed to make any difference to those stations have grossly exaggerated the figure for the average cost of local radio staff. That means the successful stations, and they are those that haven't chucked money at big name presenters, are losing more staff. That will have a huge impact on quality and therefore audiences and you'll soon be in that vicious circle where lack of audience means more being taken from your budget.

Yes, this government has been harsh on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã, especially loading the World Service costs on to the Corporation. But savings can be made without drastically affecting the output of local radio. Even now, those of us on the fringe of an area, like us around Chesterfield who get Radio Sheffield, don't often get reports from our neck of the woods, apart from football, traffic & weather. Already when boradcasts are shared with other stations, it's all Yorkshire and seldom anything re N Derbyshire. That's when I switch off. Don't tell us to listen to commercial radio. PeakFM may be from Chesterfield, but apart from news & info, most local stories are squeezed out by music & adverts. Sheffield's pretty good generally, especially Sarah Major's religous programme on Sunday mornings. We lived in Newcastle upon Tyne for 22 years and Radio Newcastle was excellent: I still listen online from time to time. Look again at how to make savings on local radio without reducing quality & quantity. And the same with regional TV. Not just Look North, but the other regional programmes (few enoughh already).

Helen you let the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Licence payers down when you accepted the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Licence fee settlement so readily.

Where was the leadership needed to stand up and to defend the Ö÷²¥´óÐã, to point out the tremendous service it provides and the support it has from the British Public. You could have taken on the government and won.

But you bottled it and as a result the Ö÷²¥´óÐã is being destroyed.

The reductions in local radio services such as radio Shropshire in my opinion seem to be a cut too far. These programmes serve the local communtiy and have a great value to the communities they serve. Local issues are discussed and if they reverted to a Midlands based programme the whole idea of a local service would be eroded. Colin Young's programme (between 12noon and 3pm Monday to Friday) for example is a very popular programme and many people listen during their lunch hour mid weeek and get alot from it. With a Midlands based platform, local issues and information would be lost. He knows the area well and can raise important topics and pleas for help from local organisations. For example today, a local charity in Oswestry was in need of assisatnce for specific items it needed and Colin put this out on air and I have no doubt these items will be forthcoming from his listeners. How would this be resolved in a Midlands prgramme and I'm sure the same would apply to the local arers covered by Radio Stoke and Hereford etc. in similar situations. I appreciate that savings may be needed but perhaps "double manning" on some other shows maybe a way out if it is thought that these local cuts are really necessary.
These presenters offer a good service. The Ö÷²¥´óÐã employ some extremely well paid celebs for TV shows and I feel there are collossal savings would be better there.

My Ö÷²¥´óÐã days may be over but I thought I had to defend the Beeb given the amount of flack they are receiving.

Our Director of Change along with his management team have been on a residential course and are now holed-up in our luxurious multimillion-pound building in Salford in an attempt to see where costs can be cut. Joined by the Head of Radio, Head of Media, the Radio Output Manager, the Deputy Head of Radio, the Deputy Head of Media, The Radio Change Manager, Head of Change Management, Radio Editor, Deputy Radio Editor, Radio Media Manager, Head of Radio Change Co-ordination, Global Radio Manager, Local Radio Manager, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Media Manager, the Radio Strategy Manager, Media Strategy Manager, Strategic Media Management Manager, Radio Corporate Resourcing Manager, Media Enabling coordinator, Director of Media Change Co-ordination, Change Solutions Director, Head of Radio Enablers, the Human Resources Director, Regional Human Resources Director, Director of Radio Resourcing and the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Head of Radio and Media Strategic Change Enablement they have identified a number of areas where your money can be saved, mainly by cutting essential services like local radio and learning content.

Their proposals will be put forward to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Putting Quality First Management team who will have to add their own proposals and before the document is considered by the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Director of Value. She will then submit the proposals to the Director General, The Director of TV and Radio and then hold a seminar with each of the Directors of Radio Output. The results will then be published in a 200 page glossy booklet, highlights of which will probably appear, as usual, in the previous day's Times newspaper.

And this perfectly shows that the Ö÷²¥´óÐã knows how to ensure that your money is spent on providing the best possible content management solutions. Any questions? No? Good.

Taxi!

Andy Parsnip i believe that is the best blog comment i have ever seen and sums up all that is wrong within the Ö÷²¥´óÐã! Ö÷²¥´óÐã delivering delivering quality jobs for management first!

My concern is for the elderly and house bound who have very little to look forward to, and relay on radio for comfort and pleasure.We are confronted by politicians and senior executives who have a wonderful life experiance on superb salaries and unrestrictive movment driving and flying all over the world.The ''the housebound'' can only gain pleasure from radio.
So i say to Helen Boaden, come and experience what life is like in the real world and consider spending money (or just leave local radio alone)