Bluestraw

Maybe just me, but I never thought that lineup was so strong. I am a fan of Matt, but neither Dev nor Alice alone really impressed me. The current weekend lineup is way better - albeit Adele is on the way out rather than the way up, and M&M are probably destined to remain weekend / cover presenters.

While my first hunch is to disagree about Moyles going on too long, I realise your plan would have avoided a Grimmy breakfast show, so maybe it would have been a better way

The comments you refer to were made way before he was axed... He was extremely popular amongst the youth demographic, so not sure the values aspect came into it. Grimmy was indeed a major change in direction but he was also very celeb-obsessed, which itself isn't exactly super inclusive. But I guess this is just part of the industry - different presenters will have different fan-bases and we can't all like the same! I'm not enough of a fan to follow him to Radio X as the music there isn't for me, but I do think he was exceptional during his R1 time and I didn't like the direction of the show with Grimmy. I realise many (like you) will disagree though, fair enough!

Agree with you about the current state - Aled is doing great work already, and it's no surprise really having heard him on air in the Moyles days it is clear he knows radio exceptionally well. Even decisions like keeping Scott & Chris on shows he's clear about the direction - he's just interested in what appeals to the youth market, he doesn't care about the age of the presenter! There is perhaps some work to do on evenings in the longer term, but I'm sure he's got a 5 year plan in mind (or several plans, as of course he can't tell who will choose to leave!) Indeed Ben Cooper claimed he was doing some 'big things' to appeal younger, like axing Moyles, but even that could have been handled very differently. He lost a major radio talent from the BBC simply because he wanted to be seen to be moving forward, whereas actually Moyles' ratings for the youth demographic were no worse than Grimmy's - it's just he also kept older listeners too. The station is fortunately no longer afraid of 'average listener age', as long as it's appealing well in the target demo. Not sure about the description of Moyles' style as dinosaur...He produced some exceptionally strong radio and I suspect his shows only feel 'old fashioned' these days because things have moved on so much in the interim. Back then, Scott's style was also different and he was noticeably the weaker of the two, but he's gown immeasurably since!

Well that wasn't what we were all predicting! And seems likely now that Jordan is unlikely to move to Drive during 2021... It also debunks the theory that the recent cover presenter doesn't get the show, with both RMC and Clara covering their 'new' shows quite recently! Am very surprised about RMC on mornings - as soon as I heard about Clara moving I figured it would be Vick, but I think it's a positive move to change the style of that show and give something different a chance...

Agree with you there. Given the lack of significant promotion about it all so far, seems odd to change all that and possibly get not many actually listening!

Earth Day is an international thing on Apr 22nd. So I guess R1 is simply joining in.

I still think Jordan on Drive is inevitable. I can't think of many recent examples but Moyles covered breakfast a good deal before getting the show, I'm sure there are many others. I'd say if he ISN'T covering Grimmy the next time he's off, then it's almost guaranteed the show will be his. As for your examples - Scott on breakfast just wasn't right after Moyles, they had to go for a complete younger refresh with Grimmy; Dev was never good enough for weekday daytimes; Huw wasn't the right replacement for Zane. Nothing to do with them covering I think... Agree can see Adele moving off to commercial radio - though like Dev probably not because she chooses to, but because R1 doesn't renew her contract. I think she (like Dev) will do well there though.

On one hand I agree with you... On the other hand, Chris Moyles was offered exactly that slot after coming off breakfast (and declined it of course). Would be a way of keeping them on the station much longer perhaps with a post-watershed show covering the late-night student crowd. Though hopefully any talk of moving off weekday daytime is still a way off, given the quality of the show right now.

I do admire your tenacity with the morning schedule suggestions that have as much chance of happening as there is of Chris Moyles returning to R1 breakfast! I agree with you that the station needs to keep on pushing its distinctiveness, but the daytime schedule needs to be cohesive and that schedule isn't... Perhaps we could have some elements of the 'groupchat' format you mentioned being embedded in other shows throughout the day, and as such boosting the speech output a bit, and could even include a bit more new music. But that's the furthest they could and should go in order to keep a consistent daytime station sound.

I think they meet 3 objectives at R1 and don't see this really changing... Firstly they deliver an on-target show from 8-10 each night, following on from Charlie Sloth whose show they heavily promoted. Secondly they provide a decent option for daytime cover as-needed. Thirdly they have brought Charlie to the station who is a good addition to their dance-presenter roster. I struggle to see them taking over any other daytime slot - Scott is still at the top of his game, surely Jordan is in pole position for Drive, and not sure they'd fit in anywhere else... Also it's hard to say what the terms were of the 'poaching' - we don't know what their previous contract was like or the outlook, and how much they wanted to come to R1 from a career-goal perspective, so it's impossible to know how much they are really costing...

Clara isn't as big a name today as Greg... Yes she is important to the station for various reasons, but a feature-laden breakfast show is much better suited for a later start / finish in today's slightly later-time world. IMO her show is the least entertaining of all daytime, but I guess that's by design as she really does very few features and just focuses on the music. While I completely disagree that a new-music show from 9-11 would be good (and I'm certain it will never happen), I do agree that R1 could do more in the mornings to be distinctive. Arguably Scott's show in particular stands out as unique and not like any commercial competition in that slot, but Clara's - aside from being ad-free - isn't exactly unique compared with the alternatives...

I completely agree with you on this! There simply was no need to simulcast R4 all the way until 4pm, and the instrumentals until 6.30 were again pointless. I am often a big defender of Radio 1 but I think they got this very wrong for their audience - pretty much 'enforced mourning' for that age group... Of course they should be sensitive and adjust the output, but for example as you say they could have done the chart but perhaps with a bit more subdued presentation to avoid accusations of insensitivity. There was also a big opportunity to go more down the 'life hacks' route and connect with the audience in case they were feeling mournful. Back to back sad songs with minimal DJ interaction was entirely the wrong approach IMO.

I won't debate, but will just say I strongly disagree and think you're wrong. There are no gaping holes, and I hope Aled continues to treat the station as he currently is doing, which is very well ?

Let's focus just on R1 here. The wider industry may have a way to go but R1 is filled with a variety of different voices so what's the issue?

I think it's hard to explain why someone is better talent as it's so subjective. But I think the fact that Greg has recently been promoted to 5 days vs 4 days is an indication that he is doing well and is going nowhere! The fact is that the population is already well-represented by R1 today. And you and I have a very different view of the intents of PSB... Viewer / listener numbers DO matter to a PSB.

Yes it's a PSB but so is BBC1 and that has various populist shows. Is that wrong too? PSB doesn't need to mean niche, it can be the best of populist and distinctive which - personally - I think it already is. What evidence - other than your personal view - do you have that it currently doesn't look or sound like young people? I'm certain R1 work with many youth focus group and carefully analyse audience data. It remains a fact that the majority of UK young people are white, able-bodied and straight. So that naturally leads to the majority of the presenters being that way, but also with a good mix of diverse presenters to complete the mix. That surely is already the case?! Why do I feel Dotty would have been wrong instead of Greg? Because I find Greg to be a significantly stronger presenter than Dotty, simple as that. She's not bad of course, but just not AS strong as Greg and hence he was right for the job. Not because he's a man, or because he's white - but as the other poster mentioned he is extremely relatable to the right youth audience so he got the job on merit! Do I think that one day there could be a black woman presenting breakfast? Absolutely, I'm sure that will also be an on-merit choice for the right person, potentially Vick Hope...

Not sure I said that diversity would drive people away?! Just that FORCED diversity would potentially lower quality and that itself would be a bad thing. Of course shows should absolutely be given on merit and opportunities not denied to anyone based on skin colour or gender, but we can't change the past and as you say, R1 has done better than many at already changing that approach. The point I'm challenging is - what is currently needed to 'fix' about the weekday lineup in terms of diversity? It seems very strong and diverse... Greg (straight white male) aside, we have a woman on earlies, a black woman on mornings, a gay man on afternoons, a gay man on drive and a woman on evenings. And I'd say all those shows have been given to the presenter on merit and not due to any force-fitting. So what are we even debating?! ?

The point I was challenging was rather the suggestion that anything done TO-DATE has been wrong. I don't disagree with the need to evolve the station in a diverse way, providing the quality is maintained. But to have chosen Dotty (as per the other suggestion) over Greg for R1 Breakfast would - in my opinion - have been a big mistake. I also believe there is also no current problem to fix per-se, but rather as you say a need to understand the barriers and work to continue to evolve as the youth market evolves. Of course R1 clearly has a remit to be a youth station - and my point about not alienating people was rather a challenge back against the suggestion it should over-focus on certain diverse groups rather than be broadly appealing to youth. If a group of 20-year-olds are choosing Capital over R1 due to their needs not being met, that should beg the question 'how do we fix it' rather than 'you're not the right sort of 20-year-olds so we don't care' Agree 100% with your comments about Greg and Grimmy! I still firmly believe the station must still have some populist content to stay broadly appealing and hence keep listener numbers at a reasonable level. If it did become too niche and lost too many listeners as a result, those middle-class white men in upper management would see that as a good excuse to remove funding and/or merge stations, which would then be a self-fulfilling path to the end of the station. That doesn't mean it should be a commercial-clone, not at all - and indeed I'd personally like to see just a few more links in daytime shows to differentiate the station further - but at the same time putting a new music show on for 2 hours in mid-morning (for example) in the name of 'public service' would be a disaster!

Radio 1 is - today - in a very healthy place. There's no problem to 'fix', of course the station should continue to evolve but Aled seems very well placed to do that effectively. Why should the station not be allowed to be populist? Why alienate a large portion of the audience and suggest they go to the private sector? Surely each person is equally entitled to enjoy the station, it doesn't need to be made into a niche broadcaster only appealing to a minority, leaving the rest to suffer with the likes of Capital? I think you and I have VERY different opinions regarding white, male, abled presenters. I want a station that sounds at its best and picks the cream of the UK radio talent irrespective of gender, ethnicity, disability etc. You're looking to force-fit presenters based on certain characteristics who may well be okay but if they were the cream they'd already be obvious rising stars in the industry. We have a fundamentally different view about the merits of such an approach so probably not worth debating it. All I will say - a little smugly if I'm honest - is that Aled is way too smart to go down any of the wild routes you propose.

You say cheesy, I say populist and aimed at a decent wide-ranging audience. R1's obsession with driving out older listeners with Grimmy was jarring and didn't really fit the ethos of the station. Of course back in the 90s it needed a full 'reset' as the style of the station had become very old-fashioned, but in recent years it's always been contemporary and as long as it continues to appeal to a broad range of youth there's no need to deliberately alienate anyone. It's hard to see Breakfast going back to finishing at any time other than 10 at the earliest. Also, not sure why you'd think Breakfast should have gone to a non-white and/or female presenter - surely the show should always go to the best person regardless of ethnicity and even if you disagree that Greg is the best, certainly even the 2nd and 3rd best options don't fit that criteria. Removing ethnic / gender bias is absolutely important, but force-fitting less-competent presenters in to tick a box would be deplorable. Back to the topic - 5 years is an awful long time, and given the current line-up has been on daytime for a long time already it's entirely feasible none of them will be there in 5 years. Greg surely will move off daytimes after Breakfast, rather than returning to afternoons or drive - potentially to the weekends while expanding his TV or R2/5 career. Clara COULD be there but I suspect she'll have moved on, maybe to evenings. Scott would really be pushing it age-wise, though would love to see him defy those odds, and Grimmy is unlikely to be on daytimes at the end of this year let alone in five ?

Completely agree. Until today I didn't see a possibility of Jack coming to daytimes, but he was impressive.

I think that's quite likely - I suspect Aled himself knows the date (or pretty close to) when he will put Jordan on weekdays. Doesn't mean he won't cover at all in the meanwhile, though IF (as hoped) he eventually will get Drive, it's less likely he will cover there in the meanwhile (based on previous examples)

Actually seems his R2 cover has died down a bit - I wonder if that's because Aled has decided he wants to keep him longer at R1? For sure I think he's entirely worthy of his daytime show for a good while yet as he's clearly still very relevant to the target audience. So with that in mind, I keep him at R1 until there was sight of a major show opportunity at R2. Then put him on R1 weekends (afternoons) for a short while, potentially still doing the chart on Fridays, with more R2 cover for a while. Then he could simultaneously leave R1 completely as he starts his new major R2 show. Of course all that assumes there is a longer-term master plan for R2 shows... Ideally I would see him as a Steve Wright replacement.

Glad for him that he's getting more cover. Doubt he's happy he moved, I'm pretty sure he'd rather still be on R1