Read this: Job Vacancy: Radio 4 Controller

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts interesting job vacancies have Arisen hear the BBC the deputy director-general is leaving as eventually is today's John Humphrys closer to home the controller Radio 4 is retiring will be hearing some advice for applicants per job from her predecessor markdown Azam the single most important ingredient in the entire Radio 4 equation is the relationship between Talent and audience the Radio 4 Series Tara and George has been tugging at listeners heartstrings will ask it's presenter if she was similarly torn in your talking to people in their revealing things about their past or committee members of their family who see things that you think that are quite shocking and a remarkable admission from Radio 4 commissioning editor farts sometimes.

They don't always work.

I'm

Afraid I can't always deliver brilliant programs all the time for every minute of every day.

I started to fallible more from James Runcie later, but first in the mornings things ain't what they used to be across BBC networks.

There's been a changing of the guard on flagship breakfast shows Chris Evans has left Radio 2 to start a new show on Virgin to be replaced by Zoe Ball and Lauren Laverne has taken over from Shaun Keaveny on 6 Music so how has the new dawn chorus gone down with listeners to say my name is Nicola Porter from Norfolk every morning at 8.

We knew where we was because Chris Evans told his and it was part of our routine.

Zoe needs to find something to make a routine partly of her, so cuz it every morning.

It's different and sometimes you need things to be the same good morning Radio 2 super.

Farnham just wanted to say how much I love Zoe in the morning on Radio 2.

She makes my mornings plays great music great chat and great guests Chris O'Brien we trying to listen to the new Breakfast Show with Zoe Ball but can't stand the over-the-top non-stop excitement anymore Who at the BBC thought Zoe was the best replacement for Chris Evans she can't be the best Shirley my name is Ruth mcettrick from Italy Belfast since the New Year I've been looking for my new home for radio to wake me up in the morning and I found out with the Dulcet Tones of Lauren Laverne hello Music Lover this is BBC 6 music and I'm going to bed I want to be working with the equivalent of warm shower not a cold bucket of water and this show does that but also stimulates you to get moving in and out the door and has some fantastic music people getting in touch today this text feels like

Sarah Ingleby such a great choice putting Lauren Laverne for breakfast every tune is a banger and bringing my mornings to a better place will be following the progress of the new cohort of presented throughout this series of feedback.

So please keep sending us your thoughts.

It's unlikely that any of the new faces was staying post as long as John Humphrys who was first heard on Radio 4 Today programme back in 1987 but John has announced earlier this month that after a 32 years since he expect to leave the program by the end of the year.

I have always enjoyed it always loved it and I still that's the problem.

I should have gone years ago.

Obviously I should I love doing the program.

It's the end of an era one in which the Welsh wizard has reliably divided feedback listeners name is John Lincoln Huddersfield well.

I thought about time it's time for other people to take his place Johnson

Muesli with a politician could be described as bullying and it always seems to be that he wants to get his point of view across as much as hearing what the person has to say penny King from Devon I have mixed feelings about John Humphrys departure because I have ambivalent feelings about him as an interviewer on the one hand.

I've always like the way he has the common touch and we politicians you really let them get away with much and he keeps them on the question and not on the steel.

They want to give on the other hand sometimes.

It's still Dover into rudeness to the interviewee, so who will replace John Humphrys well, we understand that at least for an interim.

He won't be replaced at all the famous five will simply morph into what will doctors be called a fantastic Four father of the greasy pole Warren Jones bosses Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams has also announced that she'll be leaving after more than 8 years in the job were hoping.

Venus Williams will be joining us later in the series to answer your questions about her time in the job.

I'm going down the line by the man.

She replaced as controller Mark damazer now master of st.

Peter's College Oxford Howard House Radio 4 change since you left it run and Gwyneth Williams has done a tremendous job and that manifest in all kinds of ways.

I think that some of the science programming has definitely got better.

I think she has chosen presenters for some of these programs that are more diverse and brought more energy to the network and Jim al-khalili and the Tuesday science program Life Scientific is a very particular example.

I think I reek lecturers have been splendid and the network still seems to me to be in very very good, so I can't get whether the controller ready for his quite as powerful as she or he appears.

I mean after about a third of the advert for the new sequences and pick something about you.

I'll be on to your Direct control.

She wants to bring about change in news programs you you had to pop over and talk very sweetly to the director of news.

Didn't you? Yes, Wheatley would not necessarily be the word that I would use I mean you have a lot of influence and power with the news programs, but it is as you say it sort of Duty system in which anything that you want to do by the structure or in terms of timing in presentation and sounds of force needs extensive negotiations Wheatley or not.

If you wanted to replace could do it, then I have to go across the news and sale of this is who I fancy do you agree with me no names no pack drill and on more than one occasion and I had absolutely clear views about it and then went into an extensive period of discussion with my former colleagues in news.

I've come from that tried and we got to what I was considered to be a perfectly reasonable answer the larger point that I would make is that you can engage news with discussion in which you bring to the table essentially a Vito and a lot of influence.

Are and Bella and then you talk to news about how it's best done and you can I can I put it slow down some of the more interesting and exotic ideas in favourite something that you think is better for the business news.

Is it there a certain programs like the Archers and pubs woman's very ineffective movable so where where's the scope for experimentation if your controller comes in wants to make a difference in all kinds of genres in all kinds of ways in The Archers any controller signs the equivalent of The Archers official secrets act in which you're giving the plot lines in advance and then you can't see much as tell your cat and you don't try micro managed The Script lines, but you do so taking it all to a three-year view of it.

I just wonder whether these are some things that we might consider about the development of The Archers so where are you going where the opportunities for real experimentation? I think it was quite a lot of criticism of the present controller for taking out the midweek programme for you to see wife.

Would do it after all these years because somebody has to go to create the space to experiment.

I think there's much more than people think the audience with its insatiable Curiosity and reasonableness in the round or are perfectly capable of adapting to change not all of them all of the time and you don't want a ram it down your throat by turning them on A Revolutionary you're being but you can do all sorts of things to change program.

She's giving one example that winded but I mean if you take a Chambre when I took over I wasn't happy with the way that Radio 4 with doing history, so you bring together some people and say why and we thought about doing these sorts of things and you recite the whole offering over the financial background.

However.

She has the plus controller present yet has had to face cut virtually every are these continue and of course there's money being diverted to sounds, I can't see that there's going to be a budget expansion and it's more likely to be cut then growth so on the one hand that a force pressing down on the audience.

Potential audience figures because if you originate fewer programs because you have smaller budgets overall you might expect the figures to go down a bit on the other hand you have a price list advantage of an audience were people are living longer geriatric medicine has been very good for Radio 4 because the older audience consumes Radio 4 in gigantic romance and you've also got as important and not much discussed and increasingly educated origins and that is a gravitational pull the other people saying oh well the older listeners RM and older viewers come to think of it as supersoft.

We can't do this.

We have to attract the young and we got any BBC commissioning meeting and that's what concerns of there's a day to hear of deserting wanted to listeners in pursuit of another set of listeners the younger listeners, who may not coming to very you'll be very careful how you do that, it's an age-old task and there's nothing you in it I mean Radio 4 is not repeat.

Not i'

Auto for older upmarket well-educated listeners, it's much more than that Radio 4 was watching this consists of an overlapping series of groups to share one thing in common, which is a Hunger for Intelligent speech and Curiosity and you can sort of sensors and feel it when you're listening to the programs and your new making the programs you don't set out to a unit 1 part of the audience in order to attract another you just make very very good programmes with an ear to what is going on around you when choosing formats and presenters who have a very wide appeal.

It's not get a broad cutting tool.

What's the single most important thing that applicants for this job, so which I believe her phone.

You're ready being in can't on that.

They need to think about so the first thing that you need to do is to ensure that you are sending out an overall message to talent talent comes in many forms its producers.

It's presenters its researchers.

It's inside the BBC it's outside the BBC the single note.

Important ingredient in the entire Radio 4 equation is the relationship between Talent and audience and you want as many talented people who have a learning for speech radio to know that if they bring their best ideas.

They're going to find a welcoming home you want to attract Talent including some Talent that's never even thought of doing Radio 4 to come to the table and offer something that the audience will enjoy that is the single most important thing in the expanding the pool of ideas that are available for this quite wonderful origins controller Radio 4.

Please get in touch with feedback if you have a list of priorities for the next Radio 4 controller to focus upon you can email feedback at bbc.co.uk Twitter said BBC R4 feedback you can leave a phone message on 0333 444 5440 standard landline charges apply, but it could cost more on some mobile networks.

right to feedback PO Box 67234 London se1p 4ax always details are on our website now the story of two Hamlets friends, which move both audience and presenter to Tears Tara and George

the program was presented by the journalist or drink Gillan who is known Tara and George personally before deciding to make a program with them the series wrapped up last week with an episode revisiting the subjects of the coldest time of the year and many of you were captivated by her life on the streets is hard and precarious and every soul who sleeps on a pavement as a story Lynn Masters return of Karen George very moving as usual insect the first series protein need to engage with a local homeless person as I was so moved by article is compassion and kindness that she shows Tara and George and also the wider homeless community.

Go forward sugar nobody Cena millionaire what you call it.

You should be out wage before my eyes to the frustrating complexities of rough sleepers the podcast as well worth a listen and I hope for more updates from the cam collected Audrey Harrison Smith very much enjoyed listening to Audrey in conversation with Tara and George the stories are incredibly interesting I felt they were presented with great empathy I found out it's quite sad when the series finished.

But I still want to get the outreach team to come and see you with good morning and if they offer you anything about the church.

I asked the presenter of Tara and George order given how the programs has come about and then together for a long time and dad's began to speak to them and I'm not always wondered what the story was in.

What like them to the streets I asked if it would be ok if I could begin to record our conversations which is hotel and George began.

Do you have any problem winning the confidence because a lot of people in their circumstances are very suspicious often quite rightly of any sort of word perceived authority was there a real resistance on their behalf to talk into it the beginning.

Because I am gummy bear I am a friendly face I am someone that they're used to show that obviously worked in my favor and sends obviously I am a journalist, but I am also someone that their doctors use to see in and I also hold people which is always helpful in life and was helpful with them and he followed them over a very long time.

I think what I was up to 2 years this first series and took when did you become convinced that there was a series in it? That's quite revelatory that makes me think all time is running out here and that was the point of which I thought I have to have to think about this quite carefully.

I have a lot of really good stuff and um.

I need to speak to produce certain.

That's when I ended up becoming allies with Alan Hall who was the executive producer of the whole series and I want to disturb me about when you doing.

Programme was a sort of absence of anger.

Lot of people faced with what you experience and so would have been very angry.

Did you have to control your anger? Did you have to see her say I hold on I'm in the middle of the story and reporting but it's not my emotions of the stories about emotions to myself running but I did find it in the motion elite difficult story and upsetting story you know you're talking to people in their revealing things about their past or give me the members of the family who say things that you think are quite shocking so that can be difficult as well, but in terms of my anger about the whole situation.

I do just trying keep that back as much as I can and then if one of the characters like 1.

Hours having a go at me.

Try not to be too angry with I can't help reacting a human being does but then you not be too angry because I understand why she shouting at me as an element of ice that has to be in a program make it hard to I know you're on the one hand responding individual but as a producer sounds quite good.

That'll work now.

I'll have to drop that but did you find some of that rather difficult you know I'll still sit down and sing a song what are done things like that and you know sometimes give her a pounder to you or a sandwich or if she asks for something in particular, then? I will I will do that.

I'm by no means an ice cream.

So you know what I can't not react as she asked me something but they were I'm going to order situation where you should really needed a bath and I really wanted together one but that's kind of weird.

I had to draw the line with her phone was on the threshold of my door in a sense.

Why did you have to?

Brother lying I didn't think that as a journalist it was appropriate for me to give her a bath perhaps the listeners might think that is wrong with me by that point.

I didn't think it was the right thing to do if you're becoming her friends in the centre of book character.

So so so subjects in you know there is a point in which a taxi and I go with them and take them back to source.

So that is a tiny bit of crossing the line but sometimes when has to say what else should I have done it would have been quite remiss of me to say ok George sorry.

I'm recording this so I can take you in a taxi.

So that is where it is a little bit cheesy, but I am I am proud.

I don't think I don't think I crossed it too much does an always a sense when a series finish his what now are you going to continue to?

The story in the future of Tara and George follow up to two that we'll just have to wait and see you thanks to order Dylan presenter and co-producer of the series Tara and George and find me James Runcie better known as the author of The Grantchester mysteries was appointed as Radio 4 commissioning editor for arts in April 2016 at the time.

You said that im on many aims and ambitions is the desire to develop new ways of thinking Foster the pleasure of Discovery and celebrate all that is best about the human need to create and find meaning in the moment.

I will be talking to Mr answered, but first how do listeners think he's doing.

Sony me tonight will investigate where the horror films are critically undervalued and why they tend to be ignored for major Awards you can provide your nominations from the radio.

Don't really work for obvious reasons and then we'll figurative aren't you can make out faces in shock horror come with me on a journey beneath the ocean waves to a place.

Where is wool over eyes some of the programs assume the person listening has a certain level of knowledge.

I really enjoyed only artists and one of the reasons.

I thought it was because I may involve the people listening that people can easily think it's a vanity project for you if you're a woman that it's somehow you want it for more attention for yourself.

Extraordinary people think you do what you do for a tension my name is Mike Dempsey and I live in Clerkenwell London certainly more recently and in recent years have programmes like only after such a I do like an out of that often one can see the similarities between created from different disciplines and that's always interesting.

I think programs that look at art is a much wider context would be beneficial particularly those ones on the HS2 through and see when you took this job.

What was your ambition? What's your name? I think my aim was to make sure that the most interesting exciting stories from the world of the arts were told on Radio 4 first so wanted to get their sense of immediacy and what she wanted to spread the responsibility Across The Nation will to make much more after programs from in Birmingham Manchester Glasgow Belfast Cardiff and also internationally.

So that there will be a both a local and global perspective on the art and a bit of energy a bit of Volvo room doesn't imply that that that wasn't what you found when you were preparing for the job.

Well.

I think that I see my produces never going to be rude about him when when you did a fantastic job, but what I thought was there was a way to push things a bit forward by cutting out retrospective stuff, so wasn't so interested in the past on looking back at people at the end of their careers.

I wanted to secure it more two people at the start of their careers.

There are some obvious things that you need to do landmarks.

There are some ways in which would next month with free thinking Shakespeare in a program said I'm hoping that there will be a mix between consideration criticism energy and Performance that's the main aim, but there can be a going to Summer list as I'm going to quote one call Chris Brown in here problem with things like only artists.

He says because one artists tend to be a fan of the other and both come quite a narrow pull of artist has really much of a say.

Two people meeting at string ideas around that would be for me the key to a show like this to acknowledge sometimes that in that program people so impressed with each other.

They're not quite as tough as they should be yes only artists a bit Marmite for some people.

I think that one of the main aims of it is to have a conversation that you wouldn't normally get I mean I like to think of ready for the whole schedule said have different conversations through the day and I see sometimes.

I find that you can be instructed all the time and maybe it's time to let people into other forms of conversation artist talking to each other can be absolutely revelatory like for example Val McDermid in vin Deacon but obviously aren't on the other hand sometimes.

They don't always work.

I'm afraid I can't always deliver brilliant programs all the time for every minute of every day at a time to fallible, but there's another point I wanted to bring up.

I heard this one is by David Austin who said he's having too much about the visual.

Doesn't work for obvious reasons I do find that a particularly difficult thing to do with yes.

I obviously it's difficult to do the visual arts on radio, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be done because I think that everything in the ways of former translation could say sort of say the same thing about film.

We have a rather wonderful series called moving pictures in which is made by a producer call Cathy Fitzgerald where you can actually zoom into paintings online at the same time as the radio programme I realise it takes a bit of you.

Can't really do that if you want to do the ironing instead, but you know there are ways of which you can parallel the audio with the visual which would been experimenting with quite a lot and Sheena governess a class representation is the main question she would like to be here in working class stories by working class writers and performers here Cambridge manager.

I am a Cambridge man with that.

But I also live in Fife which is about as far from middle class Cambridge is in get and of course we did have a program addressing this exact.

Point which every School class act Lenny Henry did which is the problem of drama schools and the problem of the fact that a lot of working class kids can't afford them we also had a programme about working class writers, where all the working class writers from which at kit de waal present acutely aware of that.

I'm also acutely aware that London is actually different country in many ways with its own capital Heathrow airport at is convert Monaco compared to the rest of the United Kingdom and it's my job really really to what hard to get pregnant of Newcastle Brown from Sunderland Manchester Birmingham over the country of the pointed absolutely on the money is absolutely vital that it's not just particularly the Arts aren't just the little home the privileged few and I can't stand it when I was programmed sound like an Islington dinner party.

Not that I go to them very often Rodger no no, just wondering whether that was a reflection of the week this point of front brake switch and you're not directly responsible but broadly come under your remit.

Do the stems are sometimes it sounds like a hamster conversation.

I think talking about the Arts can sound a little bit in sometimes.

Yes, I know that im aware of that and it does drive me slightly up the wall then I get a bit Sheltie well lad from Rover example when I get happened there to get a big shout out to you with front row.

Yes, but they are also now doing programs from Bristol and Cardiff Manchester basically when a normal documentary is bad.

It's boring but when an arts program as bad as embarrassing so I'm very very keen to lower the embarrassment threshold on Radio 4 and try not to make people think what are they talking about? This is nothing to do with me.

I'm turning off.

I want to make people lean it and obviously rather than switch off.

That's my own Radio 4 commissioning editor for arts and that was just the first part of our conversation.

You'll be able to hear the rest next week.

That's all we have time for please keep sending us your questions and we'll try and get them answered.

But before we go one vacancies occurred while we've been off the air which can never be filled Jeremy Hardy is irreplaceable we know that middle-class parents in Bellshill because I was in Mitcham centre soup right.

I think I'm not being stretched properly and Hermione is my knees so bright and that's why she misbehaves.

I think she's so much brighter than the other children and that's why she said goodbye.