PM (Radio 4)

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PM, sometimes referred to as the PM programme to avoid ambiguity, is BBC Radio 4's long-running early evening news and current affairs programme, which is broadcast from 5pm to 6pm from Monday to Friday and from 5pm to 5:30pm on Saturdays. The weekday editions are usually presented by Eddie Mair, although Carolyn Quinn takes over when he deputises for Jonathan Dimbleby on Any Questions. Paddy O'Connell is also an occasional presenter. The Saturday edition has no fixed presenter, although Quinn, Ritula Shah and Nigel Wrench present frequently.

The programme won two accolades in the 2007 Sony Radio Academy Awards: Gold in the Interactive Programme Award, and Silver in the Speech Programme Award.

Analogous programmes include PM on ABC Radio National in Australia and All Things Considered on NPR in the United States.

Contents

[edit] History

PM launched on April 6, 1970, with its first presenters, William Hardcastle and Derek Cooper, promising a programme that "sums up the day, and your evening starts here" [1] It made history for being the first radio news programme to feature its own theme tune. Three have been used, with the last ending in 1997 in the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.

Notable presenters after William Hardcastle included Steve Race, Chris Lowe, Joan Bakewell and Valerie Singleton (a former Blue Peter presenter - in pre-interview chats, junior ministers "inevitably" claimed that they still had their Blue Peter badge [1]).

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the programme's main presenter was Gordon Clough, who would typically prepare for the programme by completing the Times, Guardian and FT crosswords.

In November 2005, the programme began producing a daily e-newsletter written by Mair. In August 2006, this was followed up with a blog - regular features include The Glass Box, for discussion of programme content; The Furrowed Brow, for discussion of other serious matters, and The Beach, the off-topic area [2].

On 12 October 2007, the programme started an additional blog for a spin-off programme called iPM [3], which was broadcast on Saturdays at 5:30pm (immediately after the Saturday edition of PM) until 22nd December, and also made available as a podcast [4]. iPM was a unique programme in that through the blog, listeners could discuss ideas with the production team and comment on the stories being lined up for the following show - so what ended up on air was shaped by the listeners [5]. Although the first series has ended, the blog aspect of the programme remains open to shape ideas for the second series, due to be broadcast later in 2008 [4][6].

[edit] Production

PM is currently edited by Peter Rippon[7]. The production team also works on Radio 4's The World at One, The World This Weekend and Broadcasting House. Though predominantly consisting of serious news content, the programme is known for occasional satirical commentary, both from the presenters and in letters from listeners.

A Radio Times poll in 2005 named Mair as the fifth most powerful person in radio [8].

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b BBC Radio 4, 2007. "PM History." Accessed 2007-09-10.
  2. ^ BBC Radio 4, 2007. "PM F.A.Q.." Accessed 2007-09-07.
  3. ^ BBC Radio 4, 2007. "iPM Blog Introduction." Accessed 2008-08-01.
  4. ^ a b BBC Radio 4, 2007 "iPM Show Notes, 22nd December 2007." Accessed 2008-01-08.
  5. ^ BBC Radio 4, 2007 "What's iPM? 12 October 2007." Accessed 2008-01-08.
  6. ^ BBC Radio 4, 2008 "In the meantime... 3 January 2008." Accessed 2008-01-08.
  7. ^ BBC Press Office, 2004. "Peter Rippon." Accessed 2005-12-08.
  8. ^ BBC News, 2005. "RT Poll." Accessed 2007-09-10.
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