Bluestraw

At the risk of disappearing down this same rabbit hole as last time... There is - quite simply - no 'problem' to fix, and even more than that, improvements are being made all the time. The station has recently won a bunch of awards, there is more new talent than that has been for years, the presenter roster is diverse and inclusive.... Of course yes you could put MORE new talent on, or MORE diversity (e.g. Asian voices), but that's missing the point. The goal of equality should be to ensure everyone gets a fair go, and is not discriminated against. Clearly that has been happening at the station for a good while, and there is no need to 'force-fit' any further such changes - we can just let that happen naturally now as talent evolves and grows.
It's also critical to keep a good focus on listener numbers, just as they are doing. It's idealistic to say that that doesn't matter and the station should push the boundaries further in daytime - quite simply without the strong figures, the station would be doomed. If anyone thinks the station sounds similar to commercial rivals in daytime, they really need to reconsider that view!!!
R1 Dance / Relax are low-cost add-ons that will attract a few more people to the station, and they do offer a commercial-free option that is pretty unique. All in all Aled is doing a fantastic job, the station has rarely sounded better and has never had such a forward-looking presenter strategy!

You’re living in a dream world though. Radio 1 has never worked like this & never will. It’s a professional national station and they use a small pool of known faces to cover shows (usually weekend presenters covering weekdays).
Your point is a bit redundant as they are allowing more presenters than ever on the station. See the Xmas takeovers & Friday early breakfast. Dean covering for Matt is great example of how they’re thinking forward now....

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  

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 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 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.

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 ? 
 

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 ?

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 guess we can agree to disagree ? I think the station is stronger than it's been for a long time, no need to shake things up. I guess if I could choose my own change, I'd inject some more / longer links in daytime but that's all. Admittedly that goes against the recent trend so I find it unlikely.
Certainly it's never been the case that the station evolves purely to 'give presenters a chance'. For sure I'd love to see Jordan on drive, but other than that I hope no other major changes in 2021... Trying out some new presenters over Christmas / Easter is good too, but no need to go further.
Your point about making the station less-commercialised would unfortunately backfire, in that listener figures would plummet and the argument to keep the station would be hard to justify.

Radios 1 and 2 still sound nothing like their commercial rivals. It's a fine line between being 'appealing' and 'overly commercial sounding' and I think today they are the right side of the line. Radios 1 and 2 are also VERY different from one another, yes there are some playlist overlaps but the presenter style, station sound and overall feel are poles apart.
 
Anyway such radical changes won't happen, and I for one am glad ?

I guess we can agree to disagree ? I think the station is stronger than it's been for a long time, no need to shake things up. I guess if I could choose my own change, I'd inject some more / longer links in daytime but that's all. Admittedly that goes against the recent trend so I find it unlikely.
Certainly it's never been the case that the station evolves purely to 'give presenters a chance'. For sure I'd love to see Jordan on drive, but other than that I hope no other major changes in 2021... Trying out some new presenters over Christmas / Easter is good too, but no need to go further.
Your point about making the station less-commercialised would unfortunately backfire, in that listener figures would plummet and the argument to keep the station would be hard to justify.

Why boot off a highly successful breakfast presenter? And clearly Jordan is head and shoulders above those others you list.
 
You seem to be trying to fix something that isn't broken.

That will never happen. The station's primary aim is to appeal to a broad audience (within the defined age range), and daytimes will reflect that. Not even sure that the core audience for 'future sounds' would have any interest at listening at 9am. I could see Vick and Katie on Clara's slot incorporating a very few small 'life hacks' type segments but it would be in the context of the mainstream show and definitely wouldn't be speech-heavy.
Arguably your suggestion is more radical than the early days of the Bannister shake-up in the 90s, at a time when the station is in very good shape with a clear direction already!