Â鶹ԼÅÄ Audience Council Wales audience outreach event with young people attending a Prince's Trust training course, Swansea
Radio
The participants in the discussion mainly listened to the radio while travelling by car, and at other times used on-line music services such as SoundCloud and Spotify. One spoke for a number when he said “I just turn the dial on my radio until I get to a station which is playing good music”. However, some did express their preference for the Wave (local commercial radio station) and Radio 2. Radio Wales was a popular destination for listening to sport.
A number shared the view of one participant who said “When I’m driving to work I just want to listen to music, so it would be good if the debates and discussions were scheduled for the afternoon” though there was also support for the view of another participant who said that “Radio 4 has got lots of interesting talk – and you know what you’re going to get when you tune into the station”.
Reception was also an issue, with one of the people present, who lived on the west coast of Wales, saying that she “listened to the radio in the car, but neither Radio Cymru nor Radio Wales appear in the list of available stations”.
While a few of the participants spoke Welsh, none of them listened to Radio Cymru, since their perception was that it was primarily a speech station, and music was their main listening interest.
Some of those present listened to Radio 1, though it was felt that the station was now targeted at too young an age group, with some of those present feeling that they fell between two stools in being ‘too old’ for Radio 1, but ‘too young’ for Radio 2.
TV
There was a consensus that one of the attractions of watching Â鶹ԼÅÄ TV was the absence of adverts, and the most popular genre was drama, with Silent Witness and Hinterland mentioned in particular. Continuing drama such as Eastenders was also required viewing for some of those present. The most popular channel was Â鶹ԼÅÄ Three, with Top Gear being one of that channel’s most popular programmes, and while some expressed scepticism about the new presenter in the forthcoming series, there was a consensus that they would give it a go, despite being of the view that Jeremy Clarkson, and his colleagues had been excellent presenters.
News and Current Affairs
Despite one person expressing the view that “the Â鶹ԼÅÄ had too much news”, many felt that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s news presenters were far more professional than the presenters on other channels, and there were a number of fans of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ News channel amongst those present. Some expressed the view that it was “important to watch the news to find out what’s going on in the world” but the main modus operandi amongst the participants appeared to be one of following up on stories that they had already heard about on social media or from friends by then listening to radio news bulletins, watching TV News or going to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ News website. As one put it “If I’ve heard of a news story I’ll then follow it up by listening to the radio or going on-line and may even watch the news on the TV.” However, a number agreed with the comment that “I get my news mainly through Facebook.
There was a strong consensus that Wales wasn’t represented proportionately or adequately on the UK-wide network news output.
Some amongst those present would occasionally buy a local newspaper to find out what was going on in their area, but no-one present ever bought a Fleet Street newspaper.
One area where those present felt the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s news provision could be strengthened was through providing more interviews with local business people so as to inspire the younger generation to follow in their footsteps.
On-line and on-demand
A small number of those present down-loaded Â鶹ԼÅÄ podcasts and thought them an interesting and useful option for accessing Â鶹ԼÅÄ material.
General issues
There was a strong consensus that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ produced high quality programmes and provided high quality services. Some felt strongly however the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s music provision lacked in some genres, with heavy rock being one area where the provision was perceived to be weak. Another general point made was that some of those present felt that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ presented young people negatively in their output.
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