Having yesterday paid my (sincere) condolences to the royal family following the death of Big Phil, and scrabbled around to find something else, other than tributes and other assorted piety, to watch and listen to on the BBC, I now find today the suits at the corporation have continued to arse around with the schedules. Instead of my regular Saturday helping of the brilliant Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC 6 Music, followed by the Huey (Morgan) show, Radcliffe is doing a four hour show of ambient, chill out music, to be followed by four hours of Maconie doing much the same thing from 11.00am and the Huey show being axed altogether. Am I alone in thinking this is slightly OTT?
A quick glance at BBC 1 and I note there is continuing live coverage of Philip’s death with an outside broadcast from Windsor Castle. ITV, not wishing to be outdone, is based outside of Buckingham Palace. What, exactly, are they expecting, or at least hoping to happen? I don’t wish to make light of it, but I’d say it would be most unlikely that we will be greeted with a ‘BREAKING NEWS’ headline because there’s not much news that could break about a man’s death. The Duke is not likely to snap back into life anytime soon so it will likely be a continuation of tributes, anecdotes and plenty of padding.
Look: I totally get that why death of the Queen’s husband and consort is attracting so much media attention. And to an extent I think it’s right that there is considerable media coverage of his passing. I get also that a number of people would like to continue to watch the rolling coverage of not very much and so I understand why the BBC, our national broadcaster, has a public service duty to make it available. But why to everyone?
One of the reasons I so value the BBC is because of its variety. I am not feeling that today. I want to listen to Radcliffe and Maconie playing great music, ‘Crisps on the Radio’ and ‘The Chain’. And I want to hear them make me laugh, as they always do. Today, I get eight hours of RadMac playing mournful music. I have done my bit, I was respectful yesterday, and I am respectful today but I want this tiny but joy-giving part of my life back.
Don’t get me wrong: Mark Radcliffe’s show has still been brilliant, even in the absence of the eclectic mix we usually get from him and his old mucker Maconie. It’s still far better, in my opinion, than any of the junk you might hear on any commercial station, but I want normal.
I suppose the BBC is scared of its right wing establishment enemies in government and in the rest of the media who would nothing more than to get rid of it altogether. I guess today’s changing of the schedules is their way of keeping their noses clean and avoiding criticism. I think it’s a great shame.
My feeling is that the reaction of most people to the passing of Philip is along the lines of ‘that’s very sad, thoughts with his family and friends’ and little more than that. The current media coverage – have a look at today’s newspapers and tell me any different – suggests another story altogether, a nation in mourning with every house in every street flying the Union Flag at half-mast. The older generation of Mail, Express and Telegraph readers, representing barely two million people, I’ll bet, will feel that way but for the rest of us life will go on.
Millions will watch the funeral on TV. By then, the pubs will be open again. As with Princess Diana’s funeral, I know where I will be.
