Today , or Today's Program , is the current morning news and current BBC Radio 4 show, broadcast on Monday to Friday from 06:00 to 09:00 and 07:00 to 09:00 on Saturdays. This is the most popular program on Radio 4 and one of the most popular BBC programs on its radio network. Consisting of regular news bulletins, interviews and in-depth political reports, as well as Today's Thoughts, has been voted the most influential news program in the UK in setting the political agenda, with an average weekly listening to an audience of about 7 million. It was voted Best Speech Breakfast Address at the 2016 Radio Academy Awards.
Video Today (BBC Radio 4)
History
Today was launched on BBC's Home Service on October 28, 1957 as a "topical talk" program to provide an alternative listener for listening to light music. The founders of the program are Isa Benzie and Janet Quigley. Benzie named the program and served as its first de facto editor. It was originally aired as two 20-minute editions placed around an existing news bulletin and religious and musical objects. In 1963, he became part of the BBC's Affairs Department, and began to become more news-oriented. Both editions became longer, and by the end of the 1960s it had become the only two-hour program that included news bulletins and religious lectures that had become the Mind for Today in 1970. On May 1977, Radio 4 controller, Ian McIntyre cut it into two 25-minute sections, filling the gap with Clock . The new format is unpopular with BBC staff, including Peter Donaldson who on at least one occasion publicly mocks the program in the air. It also provokes comments in the diary column of the daily newspaper. From July 1978 Today returns to previous length and Until Clock is revoked.
Jack de Manio became its main presenter in 1958. He was held by audiences, but became famous for air disruption (announcing a documentary about Nigeria entitled 'The Land of Niger' as 'The Land of Nigger', and referring to Yoko Ono as "Yoko Hama, or whatever it's called", for example). In 1970 the program format changed so that there were two presenters every day. De Manio left in 1971, and in the late 1970s the teams of John Timpson and Brian Redhead became established. Timpson has been critical of Today's content, style and professionalism - describing it once as "not so much a program, more a way of telling time" and filled with "eccentric octogenarians, pumpkin gifts, and people who eat light bulbs and Spider ".
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, under the editors Ken Goudie and Julian Holland, Today made a move to broaden its appeal far from broadcasting much of national politics with London-centric bias. Presentations are divided for time between London, usually by John Timpson, and from Manchester, usually by Brian Redhead. The goal is to make it a more balanced, national program. The humor of the two renderers and location splits makes this program very popular and influential. Brian Redhead was quoted as saying, "If you want to drop the word in the ears of the nation, then this is the program to do it." The couple lasted until Timpson's retirement in 1986. Other organizers during this period included Libby Purves in the late 1970s. John Humphrys and Sue MacGregor joined the list of presenters who spun in 1986. Peter Hobday, who first broadcasted the program in the 1950s, was a regular presenter from the early 80s and a favorite with listeners for his casual and polite style.
At this time the program benefited from the publicity it gained after it became known that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a regular listener. Thus, the ministers were very interested in joining the program, but the loud and confrontational interview they encountered led to allegations that the BBC was biased. Criticism is primarily directed against Redhead, who is often seen as the person on the left. Chancellor Nigel Lawson accused him of having been a Labor Party voter all his life during a live interview, in 1988. The male interviewer's style was analyzed and contrasted with MacGregor's approach, which supposedly gave the subject time easier. The '8.10 Big' interview following the 8 o'clock news has become an important British political institution, a position it retains.
After Brian Redhead died in January 1994, James Naughtie became a member of the team. Peter Hobday presented the program regularly until 1996; Sarah Montague replaced MacGregor in 2002. Carolyn Quinn was a regular presenter until 2008 like Edward Stourton until 2009. Others more often are Stephen Sackur and Tim Franks. Evan Davis and Justin Webb are the latest regular presenters to join the list until Mishal Husain in 2013. Husain became the second regular female presenter when James Naughtie began covering the Scottish Independence referendum as a Good Morning Scotland renderer for two days a week, and across BBC output. Naughtie returns to Today before the 2015 general election.
On July 7, 2015, the BBC announced that James Naughtie would be leaving the program, to become a Special Correspondent for BBC Radio 4. Two days later, Nick Robinson was announced as Naughtie's successor. In April 2018, Martha Kearney joined the team in a direct exchange with Sarah Montague, who left to take over Kearney's old role as the main presenter of The World At One.
Maps Today (BBC Radio 4)
Current presenter
Former presenters
News Reader
- Chris Aldridge
- Corrie Corfield
- Caroline Nicholls
- Neil Sleat
- Zeb Soanes
- Speed ​​Diana
- Kathy Clugston
- Susan Rae
- Charles Carroll
Editor
- Jenny Abramsky (1986-87)
- Phil Harding (1987-93)
- Roger Mosey (1993-97)
- Rod Liddle (1998-2002)
- Kevin Marsh (2002-06)
- Cherries Thomas (2006-12)
- Sarah Sands (2017-present)
Guest editor
Starting in 2003, for more than a week at the end of December, guest editors have been invited to assign items for one edition of the program. This usually reflects their social or cultural interests and at the end of each edition the guest editor is interviewed by members of the regular presentation team about the experience. Guest editors who participated in the first year of this feature were Monica Ali, Thom Yorke, Stephen Hawking, and Norman Tebbit, who were often critics of the program. From the start, a well-known guest editor has included: David Blunkett, who used the program as an opportunity to 'turn the tables' on John Humphrys in 2005; Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose appearance on December 29, 2006 includes a discussion of his growing concerns about the 'justification' of the invasion of Iraq, Britain's role in infidelity, and consequences for British armed forces; and Peter Hennessy, who, on December 28, 2007, led a visit to HMS Vigilant (British Trident submarine) in addition to his headquarters in Faslane. People like Queen Noor of Jordan (2005), Bono (2004) and Sarah, Duchess of York (2004) have also been pitched for one-day editorial work to promote their causes and interests.
Important features
Today regularly conducts year-end polls. Over the years, this took the form of a written voice for Men and Women of the Year. It was stopped after an episode of organized cheating in 1990, but was immediately revived as a phone voice for one Personality of the Year. A subsequent episode of vote rigging, supporting Tony Blair in 1996, forced program makers to consider more innovative questions. In 2004 the listener nominated a candidate for a noble title, in 2005 the question was "Who Runs Britain?" (although this, too, was rigged). Recent years have also included nominations for "Listener's Law" (approved by a parliamentarian to sponsor as a parliamentary law, although he does not support the winning nominations, which he finds inappropriate), and, in 2006, nominations sought for the law most wanted by the listener to be revoked.
In Thought for the Day , shown since 1970, a speaker reflects topical issues from the theological point of view, editorial responsibilities located in the BBC's Department of Religion and Ethics (a point often made on < i> Today program). Top contributors to the slot have included Rabbi Lionel Blue, academics Elaine Storkey, Sikh Indarjit Singh and Richard Harries, former Oxford Bishop. Over the years, this slot has featured an increasing number of speakers from religions other than Christianity, although Christian speakers remain in a substantial majority. In August 2002, Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins gave non-religious humanist thought for the day; However, this does not replace regular thinking and is broadcast an hour later as an alternative thought.
In 1983, the long-running "Prayer for the Day", which was always on air at 6:50 am, was moved to 6.25 am and replaced by a "Business News" slot. It is then moved, out of Today against the protests of the listeners, to 5.43 where it is still accepted by an appreciative audience.
The program has regular slots for news and sporting goods, 'Sports Table', between 26 and 30 minutes per hour, regularly presented by Garry Richardson, Jonathan Legard or Rob Bonnet and sometimes by Alison Mitchell, Karthi Gnanasegaram or Chris Dennis. If Parliament is in the session of the previous day there will be a summary around 6:50 pm (Yesterday in Parliament) presented by two of Robert Orchard, David Wilby, Rachel Hooper and Susan Hulme.
Journalist and historian Peter Hennessy has made a statement, in one of his books, that a test that the British missile nuclear submarine commander must use to determine whether Britain has been the target of a nuclear strike (in this case has a sealed order that would allow it to fire its nuclear missiles in retaliation), is to listen to the presence of Today on Radio Frequency 4. If a number of days (say three) pass without an aired program, which must be taken as evidence that the order should be executed. The real condition is of course secret, and Hennessy never reveals its source for this story, which led Paul Donovan, author of a book on Today, to reveal some skepticism about it. However, the long-wave signal of Radio 4 is able to penetrate to the depth of the surface where the submarine can rise, although it lacks the range that needs to be heard at this depth far from the coastal waters of England.
Message boards
In 2001 the Program Today created a message board system that allows users of its website to challenge thoughts about current affairs with all who contribute. Available statistics show gathering, for five years, up to 18,000 separate discussions - topic threads - sometimes with as many as 3,000 contributions per thread. However, on 16 November 2006 the program changed its board policy so that only Today's producers can start the threads, but all contributors can still join them. This action does not seem to appeal to previous contributors and, apparently, many are quitting dealing with Today supporting other outlets. After the change there are fewer contributions, but, sometimes, publicly made contributions are displayed in the air in the Today program. The dedicated message boards for the Today program were discontinued around mid-2008 and listeners were invited to use the general board 'Have Your Say'.
Controversy
Today found itself in the middle of another controversy in 2002, when its editor Rod Liddle wrote a column on The Guardian very critical of the Countryside Alliance and raised questions about his own impartiality. In the article, he writes that it captures "a glimpse of the forces that support the Rural Alliance: the public schools put on coaches: the crowded dining room, the bowels of London clubs opening their doors, for the first time, to the protesters Prince of Wales and, of course, Camilla... and suddenly, rather nobly, you may recall [why you voted Labor] once again. "He resigned from his post on Today .
In the summer of 2003, Today has again found itself amid political allegations, this time against the Labor government. The controversy came after Today broadcast a report by its correspondent, Andrew Gilligan. The report alleges that the files created by the British Government to convince the British public about the need to attack Iraq are deliberately exaggerated, and that the government has known this before publishing it. In his 2nd live broadcast (interview with presenter John Humphrys), just after 6.07 am, Gilligan asserted that the Government "probably knew" that one of the main claims in his document was "wrong". Gilligan's anonymous source for the claim was Dr David Kelly, a key biological weapon adviser who had worked in Iraq - though it was never ascertained whether Dr. Kelly actually used the words Gilligan had attributed to him. In the furore that followed Gilligan's report, the name of David Kelly became public and he was forced to appear before the Election Committee. Shortly afterwards he was found dead after allegedly committed suicide. In a subsequent public inquiry (Hutton Inquiry), reported in January 2004, the BBC was strongly criticized. This led to the resignation of the BBC's chairman, Gavyn Davies, Director-General, Greg Dyke, and Andrew Gilligan.
On Friday November 5, 2010, the program failed to be transmitted due to a 48 hour strike action on the BBC. Transmissions continued the next day, regardless of ongoing industrial action, such as Evan Davis and Sarah Montague deciding to break the strike. Justin Webb revealed he would take the same action, had he scheduled to attend that day.
Criticism
"Radio 4 is overall good for using a serious female presenter, but Today's program is disappointing", comments former Today Alice Arnold newsreader in early 2013, pointing out that Sarah Montague is ( at that time) the only female presenter among the regular presenters. During 2010, editor Ceri Thomas acknowledged that gender balance was not ideal, but faced criticism for saying in an interview that the program would not be "the first place you will see the change because it is too difficult for the environment for beginners." frankly. "Radio Presenter 4 Mariella Frostrup described the people involved in running the program in an interview as a" misogynist group ", but later revoked this statement by saying she was" careless "in the vocabulary.
In 2011, Guinean journalist Kira Cochrane and colleagues examined the female-male ratio in the British media for a month. About Today they found 83.5% of the contributors were male and the remaining 16.5% women. This issue was deemed important enough for the cultural minister Ed Vaizey to request a meeting with the BBC in January 2012, and for Director General George Entwistle, at the beginning of his brief period in charge of the BBC, to advocate that the next next Today should be women.
An interview with David Cameron conducted by John Humphrys in 2006 received 200 complaints about Humphrys' aggressive approach and "excessive" interruptions. Cherry Thomas became editor of the program shortly thereafter, and was asked about the matter. "I would not rule out a confrontational interview because sometimes it's needed... [A] the evidence we have shows that the audience is very behind John Humphrys in general and supports our right to do [this] kind of interview."
In an article denouncing the BBC's attitude to the science report, Guardian science guardian Martin Robbins wrote, "Today's Program claims seriously, but seems to work on the basis that the best way to enlighten viewers is by taking two people and forcing them into a kind of intellectual masturbation death game. "Graham Linehan appeared on the show last year to discuss his adaptation with The Ladykillers and finds himself ambushed by questions that are not only hostile, but sometimes really weird. Expert Women's Days, intended by the BBC as an exercise intended to increase the number of women interviewed on Today , takes place in several locations by 2013.
See also
- The Largest Painting in Britain Vote, 2005 Today's 2005 listeners poll
- PM , the initial stablemate from Radio 4 to the Today program
- The World at One , stablemate on Radio 4 today to Today program
- The World Tonight , Radio 4 last night for Today program
- East Anglia Roundabout , Eastern part of the program Today in the 1970s
- Morning Sou'West , South West region participation of the Today program in the 1970s and early 1980s
References
External links
- Official website
- Today in the BBC Program
- All Our Todays: The Four Days Program "Today" Radio 4 ". Book review
- Thinking for the Day the official site
- Luckhurst, Team (October 27, 2007). " Today... 50 today! ". The Independent . Archived from the original on October 27, 2007.
- Today's Program - Review and analysis in Journalism Now! project
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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