James Boyle (broadcasting)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Boyle is one of the leading public figures in the British arts world, with a long track record in broadcasting in particular. His take-no-prisoners style has earned him numerous plaudits, but also resulted in controversy, most famously at BBC Radio Four.

Boyle at the BBC

Boyle spent more than 25 years at the BBC. A series of high-profile posts culminated in four years as Head of BBC Radio Scotland and four years as Controller of Radio Four. At Radio Scotland he oversaw sweeping changes which – while generating a very mixed mailbag from those loyal listeners whose favorite presenter had been axed – led to the radio station being named as the U.K.’s Radio Station of the Year at the broadcasting industry’s Sony Awards.

In 1996 Boyle was appointed to head Radio Four, the U.K.’s premier radio station. In his decisive style, Boyle radically overhauled almost the entire schedule. [1] Critics both outside and inside the BBC questioned the number of changes, and their timing. However, after the changes bedded in, they were shown to have been a resounding success: both listeners and listening time leapt past their pre-overhaul levels, and many of the new shows received critical acclaim, including John Peel’s quirky Home Truths, arts program Front Row, and light-hearted current affairs show Broadcasting House. [2] Boyle announced his departure in 2000, leading the Observer Newspaper to run the headline: “He Came, He Conquered, He Quit.” [3] Just after Boyle left, Radio Four, like Radio Scotland before it, was crowned Radio Station of the Year at the Sony Awards. [4]

The Scottish Arts Council

After leaving the BBC, Boyle served as Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council (SAC), the agency that has control over the Scottish government’s arts budget. [5] In 2004, the Scottish government appointed him as Chair of the Cultural Commission, a body set up to review Scottish arts and cultural funding and provide recommendations for the next quarter century. [6] [7] The centerpiece of the Cultural Commission’s report – issued after a year of investigation and deliberations – was a recommendation that the government increase arts spending by £100 million (approximately $190 million), enshrine “cultural rights,” and overhaul and simplify the arts bureaucracy (including, ironically, by getting rid of the SAC, which Boyle had just left). [8] [9]

Boyle had a very public run-in with Scottish Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson when she announced her support for an Academy of Scotland scheme just before the Commission was set to unveil a similar policy. [10] Boyle denounced Ferguson’s “lack of integrity.” Id. After the Cultural Commission report was published, Ferguson was publicly accused of trying to bury it. [11] Eventually, however, the Scottish government adopted a version of the report’s main proposals, increasing arts spending by £20 million, restructuring the public arts agencies, and agreeing to implement cultural rights. [12]

A Life of Public Service

Boyle’s career in public service has encompassed numerous other appointments. Until 2005, he served as a Civil Service Commissioner. Boyle’s most recent role was as Chairman of the City of Literature Initiative. Boyle spearheaded the effort that led to Edinburgh being selected by UNESCO as the inaugural City of Literature. [13]

Currently Boyle is a director of the London public relations company Franklin Rae and a member of the board of governors (known as the Court) of Edinburgh’s Napier University. In 2005, the University of Edinburgh honored Boyle with the degree of Doctor honoris causa. Boyle previously received honorary doctorates from Napier University and the University of Aberdeen. He is also an honorary professor at the University of Stirling.

When at the BBC, Boyle wrote many scripts for radio and a number of TV plays for educational television. He collects first editions of twentieth century literature. Boyle and his wife Marie live in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has three sons and three grandsons.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/a/m/James_Boyle_%28broadcasting%29_b80b.html"