Local-ness on commercial radio
 

This time last year, Bauer closed lots of local stations and replaced them with Greatest Hits Radio. All the local programmes ended and the stations axed and they were replaced by a national network with just one weekday regional programme. The only remaining 'localness' is a centrally-produced 90 second news bulletin mixing national, international and local news, plus local travel news and localised commercials.

It's the identical situation on the former heritage ILR stations owned by Global - all the local names ditched in favour of a network - Capital, Heart or Smooth.

What are people's views on this? Should these stations be local with locally presented programmes and a proper service of local news, views and information mixed with music, as things were until only a few years ago, or should they now just be relays of national networks, which is what the situation is now?

Re: Local-ness on commercial radio
 

We need local radio stations. Otherwise it just becomes general news that you can find out anywhere.
What about local stories, local people, local news? Local guides for going out.


We need this.

Re: Local-ness on commercial radio
 

In Harlow, we had a radio station called TEN-17 (101.7fm)


But it was rebranded a few years ago to Heart FM.

Re: Local-ness on commercial radio
 

Agreed, and this is what Bauer and Global took away when the subsumed all these stations into national networks.

That said, they would probably argue that this is now found on community stations meaning that they don't need to replicate what is already available elsewhere.