Today tops the charts

It might not be Ben Bradshaw's favourite programme but as the Telegraph reports

BBC Radio 4's Today has been named as the ''most admired'' programme in British broadcasting by an influential viewers' group.

The programme,

topped a list of the 25 most respected shows of the past quarter century to mark the 25th anniversary of the Voice Of The Listener And Viewer.

Get on with fighting for a digital Britain-Mr Bradshaw

So it appears that our culture secretary has resorted to twitter to attack the BBC

"Another wholly feeble and biased Today programme rounded off with a fawning interview with a Tory pundit!!

was his comment earlier today.

The subject of his anger being Evan Davis' easy ride for George Osborne this morning.

According to David Blackburn writing over at Coffee House

if the Culture Secretary, who is crucial to the ongoing licence-fee debate, believes the BBC is biased, then the House of Commons would prove an effective arena to develop his argument. As you can see, Bradshaw, despite great precision and clarity of expression, has nearly exhausted his allocated character allowance without justifying his claim.

adding that

Bradshaw’s baiting is irrelevant and unfounded - time wasted that would be better spent on protecting arts funding and promoting 'Digital Britain

Today figures show a thirst for hard news

This morning's latest radio listening figures show the public's increased interest in serious news coverage following the financial crisis.

The today programme has seen a rise in audience figures with its weekly reach now at 6.6m up half a million on the previous quarter and at its highest figures since the 9/11 attacks on America.

The Guardian reports that

A strong performance by the Today programme also helped BBC Radio 4 to its biggest ever share of the audience in the three months to the end of December 2008, according to the latest Rajar listening figures published today.

Bad news though for the Virgin rebirth station Absolute whose audience has fallen by a fifth.

Again according to the Guardian

Absolute's average weekly audience fell by nearly 500,000 listeners on the previous quarter to 1.89 million in the final three months of 2008.
And Absolute was down nearly 600,000 compared with the same period in 2007,

Is Twitter the new blogger?

Much hype about the piece on the Today programme this morning with guests Robin Hamman and Kate Bevan.

The argument is that blogging has been taken over by the professional journalist and that as the internet has moved on along with people's attention spans,140 charactors are all that the average perosn can cope with.

Kate refutes that blogging is dead arguing that with as many reasons to blog as there are blogs and are driven by the needs of the blogger.

Robin argues that a blog allows you to reach the audience that you want,quickly and efficiently.

It was though remarkable that John Humphreys just found out that the Today programme has its own twitter stream.

You can listen here for the next 24 hours

Humphries lost for words

I have just heard a very strange interview on the today programme.John Humphries thought that he was going to talk to Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski about his bill to have a Polish National day in the UK.

Instead Mr Humphries as the interviewee kept calling him was blamed for the Liberal tendencies of the corporation which meant in he words of Mr Kawczynnski that they

not do stories about more controversial immigration and focused instead on the "soft touch of White Christians from Poland.

This said the MP lead to attacks on the Polish community.

A obviously taken aback Mr Humphries, cut short the interview and looked forward to hearing the evidence.

You can hear the interview here for the next 24 hours

Today now accused of being pro Cameron

During the last Conservative government,the Today programme was always being accused of anti Tory bias.

Well the tables have turned.Labour MP Dawn Butler has written to the BBC complaining that David Cameron gets a n easy ride when being interviewed.

Three line whip publishes a copy of the letter in which she claims

Government folk think that Today keep asking Mr Cameron on to talk about subjects of his choice, and fail to ask him about "topical events". They claim that DC's last five appearances have followed that cosy format, unlike Gordon Brown and his team, who are regularly beasted on air

The beeb has refuted the claims calling them rubbish and the Tory see further evidence of Gordon Brown's paranoia

Today moves closer to the Notting Hill set

Unbelievable perhaps but

The Times this morning reports the worries of Today presenter James Naughtie about the programme moving studios

Tory bias at the BBC? Surely not. But James Naughtie tells the in-house BBC magazine Ariel that moving the Today programme from Broadcasting House in Central London out west to Shepherds Bush may have brought about just that. “If you’re a Cabinet minister you can’t get back from W12 to Westminster in time to catch all the morning meetings,” he says. “Some do – and thank God it’s a Notting Hill set around [David] Cameron, because they often come in. I hate to admit it, but if you’re a chancellor of the exchequer, it’s probably not sensible to come to Shepherds Bush at 8am.” He adds: “Oddly enough, we’re all supposed to be moving back in a few years’ time. I’ll say no more.”