We haven’t loved 2023. We do hope for better things in 2024. We are, clearly, not alone. Warning: this post starts with sadness, but (spoiler) ends upbeat.
There has been a lot to worry about and to have been upset by in 2023, and that not long after the low of 2020 and the pandemic (a lengthy public enquiry picking it over this year hasn’t helped)! For example, the continuing war in Ukraine, the Hamas attack on Israel and the consequent war in Gaza, and the latest lily-livered COP summit claiming that the gravity of climate change is recognised, but once again the sluggish response remains out of proportion. Inflation, strikes, cost of living crisis: there are so many negative headlines broadcast all the time that people avoid the news. News avoidance is definitely ‘a thing’ for many people.
Then there have been changes to the channels that carry the news. The BBC cuts to its unique regional radio service in favour of more digital content felt like an act of self-harm, and as with an ill-timed round of redundancies by the REACH media organisation at the end of the year, cut a lot of good journalists adrift, hopefully temporarily. Faye Hatcher, formerly of BBC Radio Gloucestershire, summed it up so well that her broadcast words were featured in a wrap up of 2023 by BBC Radio 4’s Pick of the Year show. Sadly, the audio is only available (as of today) for another 24 days, but it can, for now, be heard here. It is itself a reminder of how special radio can be, and so that Faye’s words don’t vanish, here they are: “I’ve always tried to be honest and authentic on the radio. I’ve told you everything about my life over the years. Getting engaged, buying a house, my cancer diagnosis, IVF, having premi babies, and all of the silly stuff in between. In return, you’ve given me guidance, relationship advice, some of you even came to my wedding. You fed me when I was sick in hospital, you sent me flowers. You let me into your lives and shared your stories, I’ve never known a connection like it. I doubt I ever will again. The changes to local programming I believe will be detrimental to you, the listener. You have been at the heart of everything we do, we are rooted in your community. Surely that’s what local radio is about: we experience what you experience, we are here to serve and represent you. You remove these community ambassadors and all those wonderful contacts and stories disappear, and I fear they will never come back. I still believe in radio. 89% of the UK population still listens to live radio every week. It’s company, interaction, friends in the room we can take anywhere. Thank you so much for always being there, and being the very best kind of listeners, it is you I will miss the most.”
In a tweet on 31st December (or an X? that random, pointless platform re-brand of Twitter on 23 July was another milestone of misery for the year), Faye added, accurately, “A click, like or share does not equate to keeping listeners company. It’s as simple as that.”
The Pick of the Year show included other highlights, one of which was an excerpt from Desert Island Discs with comedian Adrian Edmonson, which again illustrated the way that radio can trigger a more human response than TV, with its pressurising visual element and the make-up that participants wear and can hide behind. Then there was a remarkably worded introduction to the News Quiz in October, by another comedian, Andy Zaltzman, who began, “Hello, I am Andy Zaltzman. I will be honest with you. I prefer doing the News Quiz in weeks in which wars are not breaking out, in which acts of unspeakable barbarity have not been committed, and in which the world has not become even more horrifically, tragically brutal, but I guess that’s the problem with doing topical comedy shows in places like planet earth. I’m Jewish, I’m also human, and furthermore I’m related to and friends with other humans. But sadly this has been another week in which once again we learned that the only true lesson we ever learn from history is that we will never, ever, learn the lessons of history. The News Quiz is a comedy show which tries to concoct laughter from the world’s week, but with some stories, and some weeks when the tragedies, loss and suffering are so so vast, so raw, so unfathomably sad, that a comedy show like this one needs to stand aside to wait for a better time and a better place. So, I hope you will understand that we will focus on the rest of the weeks news, and hopefully prove that while laughter is scientifically not the best medicine, it can have some restorative properties that are significantly better for you than sitting on a sofa shouting ‘Why, why, why?’ into a void of despair. So, welcome to the news quiz.”
Much more happily, in 2023 – to our surprise and pleasure – we were quoted in Positive News magazine as saying that people should be reminded that they can and should create positive news. To be consistent with this, we will feature some random and personal positives here:
- BBC regional radio still exists, albeit it is changing, as does BBC national radio, two of the unhidden gems of British media.
- There is a remedy, of sorts, to any ebb and flow of BBC and other media, and that is the ability of any individual to broadcast via social media, podcast, and vlog. If you don’t like the news, create your own, and somewhere to broadcast it. We will be co-launching a new podcast in this vein in 2024.
- Positive media – Positive News, the Smiley Movement, and more – can be found. Some channels – such as The Guardian with the weekly ‘The Upside’ email – have good news only outlets.
- A story from today, on the eve of 2024, about the model with Down’s Syndrome who is the first with the condition to be on the cover of Vogue magazine. Read more here.
- The next series of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (with Ted the dog) will appear in 2024 and will have 8 episodes, 2 more than usual. The Christmas 2023 edition, with its comical calendar presentation (do check it out) was a televisual treat in 2023.
- We will meet broadcaster and canine behaviourist and nutritionist Anna Webb and one of her menagerie, Mr Binks, in 2024, as she has accepted our invitation to check out some doggie highlights in Bromley, where we are based. We believe firmly in the value of ‘something to look forward to’, and that is one of the first on that list for the coming year.
In conclusion, Happy New Year!
Darren Weale, Founder, In Tune PR, 31 December 2023
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