BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is the second-most-popular British domestic radio station by total hours,[6] after Radio 2. It recorded its highest audience, of 11 million listeners, in May 2011,[7] and was "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2003, 2004 and 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards.[8][9] It also won a Peabody Award in 2002 for File on 4: Export Controls.[10] Costing £71.4 million (2005/6),[11] it is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and is considered by many to be its flagship. There is no comparable British commercial network: Channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech-based digital radio station in October 2008 as part of a £100m cost cutting review.[12]

In 2019, Mohit Bakaya replaced Gwyneth Williams, who had been the station controller since 2010.[2][13]

Music is broadcast as in documentaries relating to various forms of both popular and classical music, and the long-running music-based Desert Island Discs. Following the creation of BBC Radio 5 Live in 1994, the station has become the home of ball-by-ball commentaries of most Test cricket matches played by England. The coverage is broadcast on long wave. Consequently, for around 70 days a year, listeners have to rely on FM broadcasts or DAB for mainstream Radio 4 broadcasts – the number relying solely on long wave is now a small minority. The cricket broadcasts take precedence over on-the-hour news bulletins, but not the Shipping Forecast, carried since Radio 4's move to long wave in 1978 because long wave can be received clearly at sea.[14]

The station has a strong reputation for news, drama, and comedy. Following the Six O'Clock News from Monday to Friday, the station normally broadcasts a thirty-minute comedy programme.

The station is available on FM in most of Great Britain, parts of Ireland and the north of France; LW throughout the UK and in parts of Northern Europe, and the Atlantic north of the Azores to about 20 degrees west; MW in some areas; DAB; Digital TV including Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media, and on the Internet. Freesat, Sky and Virgin have a separate channel for Radio 4 LW output in mono, in addition to the FM output.

The longwave signal is part of the Royal Navy's system of letters of last resort. In the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on Britain, submarine captains, in addition to other checks, check for a broadcast signal from Radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in Great Britain.[15][16][17]

Logo of Radio 4 until 2007

Logo of Radio 4 used from 2007 until 2022

The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on 30 September 1967, when the BBC restructured and renamed its domestic radio stations,[1] in response to the challenge of offshore radio. It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency (1,500 metres) previously held by Radio 2 - later moved to 198 kHz as a result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference (all ITU Region 1 MW/LW broadcast frequencies are divisible by 9). At this point, Radio 4 became available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until 29 September 1984.

For a time during the 1970s Radio 4 carried regional news bulletins Monday to Saturday. These were broadcast twice at breakfast, at lunchtime and at 17:55. There were also programme variations for the parts of England not served by BBC Local Radio stations. These included Roundabout East Anglia, a VHF opt-out of the Today programme broadcast from BBC East's studios in Norwich each weekday from 6.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m.[18] Roundabout East Anglia came to an end in August 1980, ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Norfolk.[18]

All regional news bulletins broadcast from BBC regional news bases around England ended in August 1980, apart from in the southwest as until January 1983 there was no BBC Local Radio in the southwest so these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme, Morning Sou'West, continued to be broadcast from the BBC studios in Plymouth on VHF and on the Radio 4 medium wave Plymouth relay until 31 December 1982.

The launch of Radio 5 on 27 August 1990 saw the removal of Open University, schools programming, children's programmes and the Study on 4/Options adult education slot from Radio 4's FM frequencies. Consequently, the full Radio 4 schedule became available on FM for the first time. However, adult educational and Open University programming returned to Radio 4 in 1994 when Radio 5 was closed to make way for the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live and were broadcast on Sunday evenings on longwave only.

Between 17 January 1991 and 2 March 1991 FM broadcasts were replaced by a continuous news service devoted to the Gulf War, Radio 4 News FM, with the main Radio 4 service transferring to long wave.

In September 1991 the main Radio 4 service transferred from long wave to FM coverage had now extended to cover almost all of the UK - Radio 4 did not become available on FM in much of Scotland and Wales until the early 1990s. Opt-outs were transferred to longwave: currently Test Match Special, extra shipping forecasts, The Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament. Longwave very occasionally opts out at other times, such as to broadcast special services, the most recent being when Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010.

Announcers carry out the following duties from Broadcasting House:

• Provide links (or junctions) between programmes
• Read trails for programmes
• Provide reassurance to listeners during a programme breakdown
• Read the Shipping Forecast (except the 05:20 broadcast, which is covered by BBC Weather)
• Read the BBC Radio 3 news summaries at 13:00, 17:00 and 18:00 on weekdays

Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House.[24][25] In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten.[26]

Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues,[31][32][33] as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today[34] as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly "socially and culturally conservative" approach.[35]

There has been criticism of Today in particular for a lack of female broadcasters.[36] In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints.[37] In addition, there has been long-running criticism by atheist and humanist groups of Thought for the Day, a slot dedicated exclusively to religious discussion during Radio 4's flagship morning news programme.[38][39][40]

Radio 4 has been criticised for being too middle class and being of little interest to non-white listeners.[41][42]

• ABC Radio National
• CBC Radio One - Canadian talk radio station from CBC
• List of BBC newsreaders and reporters
• National Public Radio
• Radio New Zealand National
• RTÉ Radio 1 - Irish talk and music radio station from RTÉ
• Sveriges Radio P1

• d'Arcy, Kevin (2007). The voice of the brain of Britain: a portrait of Radio Four. Rajah Books. ISBN 978-0-9556706-0-2.
• Elmes, Simon (2007). And Now on Radio 4. Random House. ISBN 978-0-09-950537-2.
• Hendy, David (2007). Life on Air: A History of Radio Four. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924881-0.
• Mullen, L (29 September 2007). "20 things you didn't know about Radio 4". The Times. TV & Radio. London. Retrieved 2 October 2007. (subscription required)

• Official website