Radio 3 criticised over poor presentation style

LIZ FORGAN, the managing director of BBC Radio, yesterday criticised the style of presentation on Radio 3, saying that it had not yet found the right accessible tone to attract new listeners to its wide range of music, writes Maggie Brown.

'Radio 3 should be presented by people who know what they are talking about. But Radio 3 has not found a presentation style which is energetic enough, vigorous enough,' she said.

When you turn on Radio 3, 'you know exactly where you are. For many people it is off-putting. It is so unlike any other feature of British life. It is an extraordinary enclave'.

She said she wanted to have a wider range of accents and voices on BBC Radio, including minor, and not crude adjustments to the tone of Radio 4, whose audience is sensitive to changes.

While listeners expected clear pronunciation they were enormously tolerant of accents. 'We need a changing in the sound of voices, so they don't all sound like me,' said Ms Forgan, who was educated at Benenden and Oxford University.