I've been reading a lot about the huge changes and cuts to BBC local radio, and the process is, as many involved have described, brutal. Having worked in a company that underwent a drawn-out buyout procedure, then complete restructure with the loss of many locations and jobs, I know it's so stressful to be in limbo for many months while you wait for the axe to fall, seeing colleagues crumble, warned to keep shtoom in front of clients, feeling like a performing seal reapplying for your job if you want to keep it, or feeling disposable when you decide to move aside. A cruel process but not uncommon in the private sector sadly.
Those who are losing their BBC local radio jobs must of course be concerned for their own livelihoods but most are selflessly focusing on how the new digital-first policy will affect the
listeners, highlighting the importance of local radio as an essential service. They have apparently been told not to mention anything about it all on air but are doing their best to get their feelings out there, on Twitter, writing open letters to the higher-ups and to MPs etc. The welfare of the listeners is a genuine concern to them, knowing the true power and value of local radio, for those who can't - or don't want to - get their social contact or information digitally. I understand this completely, I have a million ways to get info and entertainment digitally but sometimes you just want to use your ears only, hear someone local talking live about something local with a few random tunes and a cheery, engaged, caring presenter, who is smart enough to get serious when necessary. Not much to ask and it should be cheap enough to keep going for those who need it, along with the new stuff.
However the above does not relate to one BBC presenter whose defiant, pass-agg on-air mentions of the Beeb's changes allude only to how it affects
her, her routine,
her uncertainty,
her sleep,
her income,
her career,
her ego. She won't give her listeners a second thought when she's gone, unless they can be of use to her in some other way. Who? Jo Good, aka @middleagedminx on her monetised social media channels.
Jo Good's shows will be no loss to local radio, they do not serve the local listenership as remitted to. She uses BBC Radio London to talk mainly about herself,
her mates,
her personal admin, domestic and consumer gripes. Her callers and emailers are a small cabal of stans who are allowed airtime to shower her with compliments. It seems the main reason she shows up to a shift is to exploit the airwaves as a market stall to spruik her own ad-heavy social platforms, what with the constant name checking of brands she works for outside of the BBC, and shout-outs of her personal social media handle, a self-declared influencer now.
