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I wasn’t going to post again today, but then I read Helen Rumbelow’s misguided attack on BBC Radio Four in The Times. I’m a fan of Radio Four, in fact other than some CDs that reflect beautifully my excellent taste is music, R4 is pretty much all that goes on my car Hi-Fi. So, after I had swallowed the bile that had pooled in my throat, I set to writing this post about what a load of nonsense Rumbelow’s article is.

Now apart from having almost the same name as a now-defunct household appliance store, Rumbelow gets several things wrong. One. Not all Radio Four listeners can be pigeonholed as the sort of person who becomes outraged if “the wife undercooks the morning eggs.” This is a lazy generalisation. I’m a 28-year-old with a young family, and to be honest, it would be a welcome sight if Mrs. tyger and myself enjoyed more than a one breakfast together per-week. We’re busy professionals, with good jobs and a busy family life. Rumbelow’s generalisations only prove what a narrow and bigoted view of the world she has (perfect material for a newspaper columnist then).

The second problem Rumbelow has, is that clearly this article is pandering to the rabid anti-BBC lobby - within which her boss, one Rupert Murdoch, is a leading light. They say that Murdoch doesn’t interfere with the editorial at the Times, but he’s never needed to; his minions know exactly how to tickle his fancy, and how to feed him a daily dose of agreeable comment for him to nod along to. Is it any wonder that Oliver Kamm, obliging mouthpiece of the UK Neocons, got himself a column in this once venerable newspaper?

I googled “Helen Rumbelow,” and somewhat unsurprisingly, this is not the only attack on R4 that she has written. An attack on The Archers – of which I am a lukewarm listener – was published in the Times’ entertainment section back in March of last year. No wonder she got a shot in the opinion section; she is Rupert’s very own little crusader!

The thrust of Rumbelow’s piece is that new digital radio licences are being divvied out, and Channel Four hopes to grasp one and take on Radio Four at its own game. Well welcome to the party C4, you’re more than welcome. The truth is that R4 targets a huge audience, with programmes addressing personal finance, business, farming, parenting, women’s issues, and politics, to name but a few, and while admittedly, it doesn’t always get the balance right, it is delivering radio programming to people who would otherwise be ignored by commercial radio. But I forget, Rumbelow is a mouthpiece of Murdoch, so because these people do not represent a big enough market, it’s right that they should be ignored - supply and demand and all that. I think we can see on our television screens what happens when adverting is the primary concern… I’m a Celebrity: Get me out of here! anyone?

There is not enough nationally broadcasted quality radio programming, and not everyone has the Internet or can listen to Internet radio while washing the dishes. Channel Four is more than welcome to offer intellectually stimulating and quality programming that will compete with R4. After all, there is a great deal of R4’s output that has no appeal to me. Greater choice sounds brilliant, but I don’t know why this development gives licence for a sub-standard hack to attack Radio Four’s faithful listeners?

I assume that the second part of Helen Rumbelow’s, “how to ingratiate yourself with your Aussie media baron boss,” appears next week.