As of next Monday, Wales' biggest commercial radio station will have NO Welsh presenters on it at all during the whole of its weekday output.
Real Radio's new owners, Global, have decided that from the 5th of November, all of its daytime output will come from Manchester -with presenters from there getting all the jobs.
The breakfast show will broadcast from Cardiff, but it is presented by two English presenters.
This means you will not hear a single presenter with a Welsh accent or a single presenter from Wales on Real Radio Wales in day.
Irish radio stations have Irish accents. Scots stations have Scottish presenters. Even English stations are mainly using English presenters.
Real will be the only local station in Britain not to employ presenters for the nation it broadcasts to.
Whilst the new owners have promised to safeguard local news output, the fact that people will not be able to hear presenters with their nation's accents on their nation's radio station is unbelievable.
What does that say to the next generation of wannabe Welsh presenters? How can they build careers if they can't even get a break on the radio station of their own nation?
This is not about petty nationalism. There should absolutely be a diversity of voices on any station. But to eradicate the Welsh voices on a WELSH radio station shows commercial naivety at best, or a total disrespect for the Welsh at worst.
It suggests our accent is not god enough to be on our national radio station.
It seems, as of Monday, Wales REAL-LY will lose its voice.
They do it because they can get away with. They can get away with it because we let them get away with it. Therefore the fault is entirely ours.
ReplyDeleteSo don't listen to it? I agree, local radio should be kept local. But while I take your point that the voices you hear are the public face of a station, production is about a lot more than the on-air talent. The idea that these presenters are not going to do as good a job simply because they don't have a Welsh accent sounds slightly xenophobic to me. Lots of people in Wales do not have Welsh accents, do they have less of a right to speak in public? Anyrate, if you live in Cardiff then you should be listening to Radio Cardiff (the clue is in the name)
ReplyDeleteJac O The North - this takeover can still be stopped..or remedies put in place to ensure people from Wales have a better chance of getting a job on a Welsh radio station.
ReplyDeleteThe Competition Commission are still investigating the proposal and want to hear from people against it.
mheseltine..Looks like you work for Radio Cardiff. So, don't you think it is a shame that, as a Welsh person who wants to develop skills in radio, that another door of opportunity has closed on you?
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much about accents, it's actually about Welsh people having the chance to get jobs in Wales.
However, walk the streets of Cardiff, Swansea (any town in Wales) and you will hear Welsh people speak...so why shouldn't you hear that reflected on your radio station.
In the same way if you live in Cardiff and you should listen to Radio Cardiff...if you live in Wales, you should be able to listen to Real Radio Wales and expect it to be for you (or your nation, at least)