BBC under fire

Following criticism of Songs of Praise from Calais, the BBC is now under fire for its radio programmes. A consultation has revealed that religious programmes on Radio 4 are the most poorly rated by listeners with just 63 per cent rating them as good. They are also the least popular, attracting only 15 per cent of Radio 4 listeners compared with the 91 per cent who listen to ‘in-depth’ factual programmes. The BBC trust says it has no plans to change the religious programmes but the National Secular Society says it is wrong to carr y out a consultation and then take no action in response. NSS is right about that but the Trust should not follow its advice and further reduce the number of religious programmes. Instead it should take measures to improve their quality. The popularity of Religious Studies in schools shows that there is real interest in a serious and intelligent presentation of religious and theological topics. Unfortunately this approach is rarely adopted by the BBC. Melvyn Bragg’s ‘In Our Time’ programme on the Trinity was a rare exception. ‘Thought for the Day’ is often so bland as to be embarrassing. Damian Thompson has launched a campaign to bring it to an end. If it cannot be improved, this may be the best course of action. Bad as radio is, religion on television is much worse. Private Eye thought Songs of Praise was out of its depth in tr ying to discuss the influence of Shakespeare’s religion. This is a good example of an important religious subject that demands intelligent treatment. It is not suitable for a programme meant to be devoted to hymn singing that is too often presented by people who think they need to wear a permanent smile.