Not the World's Best Book About Radio 4

So anyway I’ve been reading Simon Elmes’ book (And Now on Radio 4: A Celebration of the World’s Best Radio Station, London, 2007), and I have to say that although I agree with the general premise (World’s Best… etc), it is a somewhat disappointing book to actually read.

Elmes is an insider, a documentary maker at the BBC, and he writes like one. Although he discusses the programmes and the characters, what he seems most interested in is the schedule – the logic of what show follows which, and why. As a result the book is peppered with references to papers and reports from the 60s and 70s (and beyond) regarding how Radio 4 should be shaped, what and who it is for, and what should be done about it. His heroes therefore are the controllers and managers.

Which is more than a little annoying – as, pace the write-in campaigns and complaints that exercise the middle-England listeners when a favourite programme like The Archers or Gardener’s Question Time is shifted by a gnat’s crotchet – this is quite dull stuff. Hard to get through. And its embedded in the book - gives it its' structure. It also results in an abiding emphasis on the news and current affairs strands on the network, which punctuate and to a degree give form to the Radio 4 day – but which for me are not the shining jewels.

The feel of the book is dry, managerial, dare I say bureaucratic. As a result it is miles away from the tone of the network itself. Sigh. A sad, missed opportunity. Doubtless there is a role for a book like this, but it isn’t the one I wanted to read.