Wednesday 3 March 2010

Quark (n) The call of an aristocratic duck. (v) To call in such a manner.

The BBC, which hasn’t made a sensible decision in years (apart from possibly to cancel Amanda Holden’s woeful sitcom ‘The Big Top’, although one also has to remember that it was the BBC’s decision to make it in the first place) has now decided to axe Radio 6 Music, which has caused a bit of a storm. Cerys from Catatonia has started a protest to save the station which champions new music and upcoming bands. She has described the decision as ‘like cutting off your little finger to lose weight.’
This rather painful simile seems to have roused the world of music and entertainment into action since as I was buying my coffee this morning in the San Marino I saw Gary Numan on their TV lambasting the BBC whose decision is based on the shaky premise that there are other commercial stations that provide the same service.
Gary Numan pointed out that there are far more that provide exactly the same service as Radio One, which plays only chart music (at least during peak hours). The executive who made the decision (a rather portly lady in a business suit who didn’t look as if she’d know her Aerosmith from her Elbow) bleated a little about ratings and audience expectations and seemed to imagine that the role of Radio 6 could be incorporated in Radios 1 and 2. I can’t see this as a viable option since their airspace is finite, and any incursion by Radio 6 programming would have to be in the low-peak hours when Girls Aloud aren’t squawking .
Anyway, I’d be grateful if people could lodge their protests with the BBC to save this valuable resource.