There seems to have been a fair bit of traffic on this site already – even if there are hardly any comments – least of all from the BBC. A reasonable number of hits have landed on the previously empty ‘about’ section, so it seems that a paragraph or ten by way of explanation is in order.
Like many listeners, I used to be a 6 Music ‘fan’ who’d never written on a BBC message board, never thought he would join Facebook and had never been involved in an internet campaign of any kind. Then in August 2007 Lesley Douglas announced a change in programming. I was concerned, but not particularly alarmed, by the changes in personnel, having caught occasional sight of George Lamb on the TV and heard his evening show. I was bothered that Gideon Coe was leaving the mid-morning slot as he seemed perfect there, but also recognised that change happens, talent gets fashionable and management preferences change. The previous five years had been good, by and large, and excellent often, so the assumption was that the BBC wouldn’t wreck something so clearly in tune with both audience expectations and the Service Licence.
The recognition that things had changed drastically came slowly. OK, so Lamb was a bit ‘madcap’, seemed rather at sea in fast-paced show and relied on a posse to maintain the flow, such as it was. Mistakes for such a novice seemed inevitable, so the periods of dead air, distorting the mic, playing the wrong track, crashing the vocals or the news and appearing to know little about music were put down to inexperience or nerves. The annoying repetitious use of catch-phrases and air horns was clearly out of kilter with the rest of the station and so, most people figured, audience feedback would modify such behaviour. After all, 6Music had always had a great relationship with its listeners and encouraged the use of feedback through well-used and largely positive message boards.
This changed when all comments related to the George Lamb Show were corralled into one place on 24th January 2008. The show appeared to go from bad to worse (attracting poor or appalling reviews) and then, three weeks later, Lesley Douglas publicly defended the programme on Feedback. Female listeners, in particular, seemed astonished at her claim that his appointment was specifically aimed at them.
Apparent errors of judgement continued within the show. Interviews with Late of the Pier, Super Furry Animals and Ray Davies generally being cited as poor practice. Apologies were issued with respect to Lamb’s on air support of Boris Johnston for London Mayor (contravening election regulations and contradicting his previous claim to be ‘a lefty at heart’) and his comments comparing Travellers to asbestos. (Despite this, George Lamb won a Rising Star award that detractors were at a loss to explain.)
The mood on the message boards, however, changed dramatically when Lesley Douglas resigned over the Ross/Brand affair on 30th October. All messages were pre-moderated and a new BBC staff member was introduced to regulars. To users it felt like a change in tone and the number of removed messages increased. It was made clear that board users were being monitored not only on BBC sites, but elsewhere, with two of the most regular contributors eventually being banned from the boards on 11th March this year, apparently for comments made on Facebook and a media discussion forum.
To most this felt like the beginning of the end, whilst elsewhere the Points of View boards dedicated to radio, online and digital matters were closed after tortuous online discussions with the users of those forums. This meant that, should the 6Music Feedback boards be shut down, there would be no natural place within the BBC for listeners to go to air their views.
The third of the top 3 contributors to the boards was duly banned on May 11th, apparently for asking questions regarding the erstwhile producer of the show and the boards were closed, without warning or consultation, the following day.
So that’s the potted history. I know George Lamb has his supporters, but to be honest this is about much more than one show. I don’t think there are any inaccuracies in this attempt at explanation and I’ve tried to keep comment and opinion to a minimum. I haven’t mentioned any talent management agencies or referred to individual hosts or moderators. I’ve also avoided referencing the many, many blogs, comments and other online articles that have proliferated since all this started. However, if you think I’ve been unfair or am mistaken in any of this, please let me know.
It seems clear that message boards are regarded as history for the BBC with twitter and blogs being seen as the way forward. These very specifically remove any hope of agenda setting from listeners and put it firmly back in the hands of the producers and management. I believe that to be wrong-headed and anti-democratic in a publicly funded organisation.
So that’s why this is here. It’s very much a holding situation until a specific campaign is launched calling for a return to a publically accountable and responsive radio station.
I realise that’s hardly important in the great scheme of things, but thanks for visiting anyway.
