Today programme: How the great survivor of BBC news has learned to grow old gracefully

'Today' remains an appointment to listen, and its position as an agenda-setting start to the day is unlikely to wane

Jim Naughtie (front), who left the show last month, with ‘Today’ presenters past and present (PA/BBC)

The Radio 4 Today programme is a rare rock of stability, even as tremors shake all parts of the world it inhabits. The future of its parent body, the BBC, remains in doubt. Cynicism and despair have tainted the public’s appetite for the domestic politics and global news that are a big part of its offering. Other serious political programmes from Newsnight to Channel 4 News face existential threat.

Yet Today remains an appointment to listen. Its audience is a solid 6.76m, slightly up on last year. With this year’s elections for the US Presidency, the Scottish Parliament, local authorities in England and Wales and, quite probably, a referendum on the UK’s European Union membership, the position of Today as an agenda-setting start to the day is unlikely to wane.

After changes to its presenting line-up, it has hopefully hit upon a lasting formula. Jim Naughtie has sadly left after 21 years to be replaced by former BBC political editor Nick Robinson, who realised ambitions he had as a teenager when the great Today presenter Brian Redhead was his mentor.

Robinson, croaky and still recovering from damage to his vocal cords during treatment for cancer, must now show he is more than a Westminster nerd. He has an engaging personality and a hinterland that ranges from the stage to Manchester United’s Theatre of Dreams. Within the five-strong team, Macclesfield-born Robinson will be encouraged to be a voice for the North.

Gender bias on the presenting roster has been a lasting criticism. The balance now is two women (Mishal Husain and Sarah Montague) to three men (Robinson, John Humphrys and Justin Webb). Expect the next appointment to be a woman. Going back to a four-to-one male bias is not an option when BBC regional stations have been told to show gender equality.

Husain, incisive without being aggressive, has had a significant impact on the tone of Today since joining in 2013, shortly before the arrival of current editor Jamie Angus.The programme long ago recognised that hectoring and interrupting guests did not make good radio, nor did it inform listeners seeking a news briefing.

Interview pitches to politicians are now based on the message that Today – with 17 hours on air every week, including three hours each weekday – offers a platform in which ideas can be put forward in detail and discussed at length. Ministers know they will not be subjected to cheap shots asking the price of a pint of milk, or set a quick-fire multiplication test to make them look stupid. It’s this approach that helped Husain to deliver the scoop of a first interview with a serving head of MI5 when Andrew Parker visited the studio in September.

Where once Today was seen as bullying and revelling in “empty chairing” Government departments, it now confidently expects engagement from senior politicians. Prime Minister David Cameron appears on the programme far more regularly than his predecessors. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn came on in September, although he was cornered by Montague over his use of a nuclear “red button”. Then there is Humphrys. Following the withdrawal from the field of longstanding Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman in 2014, the Welshman can rightfully claim to be the most senior daily news journalist at the BBC.

When Evan Davis left Today to replace Paxo on the BBC2 show it was suggested it was time to ditch the adversarial political interview for a more discursive approach. Davis was encouraged to use a more softly-softly style to coax truths from media-trained politicians. Humphrys indicated then that he was in no hurry to hang up his boxing gloves. “The message I get from [listeners] is that they are distinctly unenthusiastic about the idea that we engage conversationally. If anything I suspect people want more persistence,” he told me. “I don’t know of any politician – a serious politician in a serious interview – who doesn’t want to be pressed. Politicians are fighters, without exception, that’s what they do.”

But within the studio, he is not regarded as a political rottweiler. That popular reputation is seen as a relic of some of his livelier exchanges soon after joining Today in the late 1980s. Either way, politicians should remain on their guard as there’s every sign that Humphrys, 72, will mark his 30th anniversary on the programme next year.

His interview with the Prime Minister on the eve of polling day at Crickhowell in Wales last year was seen as Humphrys in his prime, letting Mr Cameron speak but also chiding him over his “reckless” policies in Scotland and Europe. Today does face challenges. In the eyes of BBC news chief James Harding and head of newsgathering Jonathan Munro, the News at Ten bulletin is the news family’s favourite child. Super-serving it and making it a platform for the BBC’s finest TV performers – from Fergal Keane and Gavin Hewitt to Lucy Manning – is the priority, putting a relaunched ITV show in its place and creating a symbol of the value of the licence fee.

But Today is still a draw for much of the BBC’s best reporting talent, notably Jeremy Bowen, Lyse Doucet and radio specialist Kevin Connolly, all experts in covering the Middle East. Naughtie retains a relationship with Today, not just as BBC books editor but with a desk nearby and a leading part to play in the programme’s coverage of the Scottish and US elections. Webb is another American politics specialist, while the programme’s first chief reporter, Matthew Price, is its go-to journalist for covering breaking stories, sent to the Bataclan massacre scene in Paris and to the floods.

There is a clear recognition that Today needs to up its game on social media to reach a younger audience via the internet, but most of its adherents are over 55 and loyal. There’s little chance of the audience disintegrating anytime soon. With that security comes a recognition that Today should not neglect the issues which loom large in the lives of those listeners. Ageing, bereavement and dementia are unfashionable stories elsewhere, but Today plans to enhance its coverage of these subjects.

Like Humphrys, Today itself has a big anniversary next year – its 60th birthday. Less shouty these days, it’s growing old gracefully.

Twitter: @iburrell