BBC Radio Scotland to put politics at its core after independence referendum

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/19/bbc-radio-scotland-politics-current-affairs

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BBC Radio Scotland has announced a new schedule that puts politics and current affairs at its core, as a direct result of the listener participation during the independence referendum campaign that “brought the station to life”.

Speaking to the Guardian following the announcement, Jeff Zycinski, head of radio for BBC Scotland, also acknowledged that the station had to be “quicker and cleverer” on social media, in particular in response to accusations of bias.

Zycinski said that planning for schedule changes, which will begin next March, started the day after the referendum. “There was a sense among staff and listeners that the BBC should have a response to this changing political and cultural landscape,” he said.

Veteran broadcaster Kaye Adams is to host a new daily three-hour programme, featuring topical debates, interviews and phone-ins, replacing her popular Morning Call show, while the late afternoon Newsdrive programme will be extended by 30 minutes every weekday.

There are also plans for a new weekly satirical panel show featuring comedians and journalists recorded in front of a live audience.

There is no doubt, said Zycinski, that this beefed-up emphasis on politics is a direct result of the station’s referendum experience. “We had a huge volume of calls and texts coming in, many from new listeners who had never contacted us before, mirroring the new voters in the referendum.

“To be honest, it brought our station to life. We knew that politicians were to some extent using our programmes and anything with audience participation as a barometer of how the debate was going.”

In parallel with the new schedule, Radio Scotland intends to strengthen its online presence, and will be appointing a “senior figure” in charge of social media to work in particular with the new morning and debate programmes. During the referendum campaign, accusations of biased reporting by the BBC were especially rife on social media. “Obviously we feel that accusations of bias are way out of line, but we’ve realised that we’ve got to be more fleet of foot, putting up links to what we have done. We have to be quicker and cleverer.”

For Lesley Riddoch, who had her own current affairs phone-in programme on Radio Scotland until 2005, and now runs an independent radio, podcast and TV production company, a commitment to more politics rings hollow “if it just means more cheap phone-ins”.

She adds: “It also relieves programme-makers of the responsibility of getting off their butts and going outside the door. There needs to be much more effort made to find out what are the issues that Scots are really grappling with.”