6 Music is saved. Probably.

If you’ve ever doubted the value of campaigning, arguing the just cause and fighting the good fight – and God knows I have – today’s news that the BBC Trust is not minded to accept the BBC’s proposal to close 6 Music is a bit of a restorer of faith. It goes to show that at least some of the time, and perhaps more often than might popularly be supposed, people within big institutions, even when they are men, and even when they wear grey suits, do act in good faith and can reach the right conclusions by following due process.

It also shows what is needed for an effective campaign: strength of feeling must be shown, as the online outpourings and real-world demonstrations undoubtedly did; but the arguments must also be won. The BBC Trust’s initial conclusions following its consultation note the strength of the protest, but also concentrate heavily on the arguments advanced. Much, dare I say it, as I suggested.

The campaign worked at all levels. There was the sound and fury of the two protests outside Broadcasting House: the one where it rained (which I attended), and the one where it was sunny (which I missed). There was the polite but constitutionally formal Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, which was signed by 111 MPs in an impressively short space of time, as it was tabled not long before the dissolution. There were the Facebook groups, the Twitter activism and the (at times slightly ill-advised, I felt) email-writing campaign. And, of course, there were the written responses to the consultation (you did one of them, right?) – over 37,000 of them (78% of the total) specifically mentioning 6 Music.

I was particularly pleased that quite a few people seemed to make use of the pages on this blog when responding: WordPress doesn’t give stats on repeat visitors, but conservatively it looks like about 500 people read at least one of my posts; I know 379 clicked through to the BBC consultation page from this blog. In theory (assuming everyone who clicked through submitted a response, which almost certainly didn’t happen but don’t stop me now), that’s 1% of 6 Music-specific respondents! A drop in the ocean for sure, but still – well done everyone!

But what does today’s announcement actually say, and more importantly what does it mean? Well, it does not mean that 6 Music’s future is totally secure. It is, however, looking a damn site less perilous than it did 24 hours ago. Let’s remember what the process actually was. Firstly, the proposed closure was part of a wider strategic review by the BBC. Today’s announcement is an interim response by the BBC Trust to this strategy, following a consultation by the Trust. A final response by the Trust will be published in the Autumn, though it seems unlikely that this will back-track on today’s pronouncements regarding 6 Music.

After this final response, the BBC can then make formal applications to the Trust to make service changes. It seems likely that at this stage it will formally apply to close the Asian Network, but it could in theory still apply to close 6 Music as well. The Trust has today indicated that it would probably not agree to this, but it is not a binding commitment – it could, in theory, change its mind.

Arguably, the Trust has given the BBC a set of hoops to jump through: if it succeeds, it will be allowed to close 6 Music. Here’s what the trust says:

We would be prepared to consider a formal proposal for 6 Music closure only if the Executive could present a compelling case to explain how a re-casting of music radio would fit with a broader strategy for the future of BBC radio. We would not expect to see any proposal for changes to 6 Music unless four criteria were met so that there was:

• a clear link between a new strategy for music radio and the strategy for digital development
• evidence that changes to increase the distinctiveness of Radio 1 and Radio 2 were already under way in line with our recent service reviews
• a very clear explanation of the potential for further increases in the distinctiveness of Radio 1 and Radio 2 – in particular how 6 Music content could be put into those revised schedules and what the audience impact would be
• reassurance that there would be long-term protection for the type of distinctive content currently available uniquely on 6 Music

However, these are difficult hoops – will the BBC attempt to jump through them, given that its thinking as shown thus far clearly lies in other directions? Indeed, in the paragraph above this, the Trust expresses doubt over whether it would be possible to meet its third and fourth criteria at all:

We recognise the argument that it could be possible to deliver greater public value than at present to larger audiences and in a more efficient manner, and would be willing to consider the idea that changes to 6 Music could be part of a transition in particular to a differently-constituted Radio 2. However, there are some clear risks that would need to be addressed. On the one hand, given how distinctive 6 Music’s content is, it might be marginalised and its audience value lost when subsumed into larger stations. On the other hand the incorporation of this content into Radios 1 and 2 could lead to a significant loss of value for the current audiences to those stations. Our audience research suggests that radio listeners’ loyalty is more to particular stations than to individual shows or presenters and so fundamental changes to three BBC stations may put at risk a good deal of audience goodwill.

Moreover, the BBC Trust clearly indicates that it has accepted the arguments put forward in defence of 6 Music, as set out on this blog and in many other places, in a fairly lengthy exploration of the issue – reproduced below, emphasis added.

The Trust has not been convinced by the case for the closure of 6 Music

[...] In the meantime, 6 Music is making an overall contribution to digital radio listening similar to other BBC digital-only services. We are not convinced that removing the service, and reallocating its budget (around £9m per year) to spend on other aspects of digital radio, will make a decisive difference to digital take-up.

The idea of moving 6 Music content into a new ‘2 Extra’ station, a concept raised in public debate since the publication of the Executive proposals, prompted consultation responses arguing that this would not constitute ‘doing fewer things better’ and could in fact have a negative market impact.

[...] We agree that BBC Radio needs to take its market impact seriously but that of 6 Music is currently minimal and likely to remain so.

In our review of this service earlier this year we concluded that it was both well-liked by its listeners, was highly distinctive and made an important contribution to the public purposes. At the time of review it had a reach of 600,000 listeners which was comparable with that of other BBC digital radio stations and we concluded that in terms of value for money it was also comparable with them. We concluded that there was scope to increase its reach whilst at the same time staying within the constraints of both its distinctive remit and current budget and we challenged the station’s management to do this.

Since the publication of Putting Quality First in March and the announcement of the Executive’s plan to close the service there has been a significant show of public support for the service. 78% of the 47,933 online consultation responses place specific focus on 6 Music as do more than 25,054 separate emails and 242 letters – in each case the great majority of responses oppose any plans for closure.

The service’s reach has also risen substantially since then to 1 million listeners a week. We think it is likely that the next quarter’s figures (April to June) which will be published in August will also show strong reach. This suggests that it may be possible to grow the audience without losing any distinctiveness, although we will need to look at longer-term trends before being absolutely sure of that.

Arguments advanced by respondents to our consultation who oppose the service’s closure include the view that its programming is unavailable elsewhere and that the commercial sector would be unlikely to fill the space vacated by it; the difficulty of transferring its programming onto other BBC networks; the removal of an outlet for new and emerging artists to get their music heard; and the station’s potential role in driving digital, particularly given the recent increase in its reach.

We recognise that any proposal to close a BBC service is unlikely to be popular with those who use it. However, we do need to consider the question of whether the future growth of the service would significantly impact the market. We note that throughout the period of our consultation we have received no evidence from the commercial radio sector to suggest that 6 Music presents any kind of threat either now or in the future so long as it remains true to its distinctive remit. We also note the strong view expressed by many in the music industry that 6 Music plays a very valuable role in the cultural life of the UK that would not be easily replaced and that would not be filled by the commercial sector.

We do not think that the station is a threat to the commercial sector so long as it remains true to its remit, but we do acknowledge that the risk – identified by the BBC Executive – that in the absence of effective safeguards efforts to broaden the station’s appeal could cause it to drift closer to the mainstream. For this reason we set out a number of such safeguards in our review and as with all our recommendations, we will monitor them both for their implementation and effectiveness.

Recent discussions with the Executive have focused on plans to further enhance the distinctiveness of the BBC’s popular music portfolio.

The Executive has suggested to the Trust, in discussions following the publication of the Strategy Review, that moving 6 Music’s distinctive programming on to Radio 1 and Radio 2 would be the best way of enhancing the overall distinctiveness of BBC music radio. The Executive also argues that the revised portfolio would be more efficient by virtue of the reduction in scale of the pop music portfolio.

We note the RadioCentre’s support for this approach in their submission to the Trust’s consultation. The Trust itself strongly supports a push towards increasing the distinctiveness of Radio 1 and Radio 2, though we note there are a variety of ways to do that, and the importing of 6 Music content and presenters may not be the most effective.

So the ball is in the BBC’s court: it does still have the option of formally requesting the closure of 6 Music, possibly as part of the wider strategic review of digital radio requested by the Trust, although today’s announcement makes it a greater challenge. Does the BBC want to close the station so much that it will steel itself and try? It seems more likely that it won’t, but we must remain vigilant in case it does.

The news was less positive today for the Asian Network, although reports that the Trust has agreed to its closure are, strictly speaking, wide of the mark. The process is the same as with 6 Music: the Trust has indicated it would probably accept such a proposal if the BBC were to make it, with one major proviso. The next move is for the BBC formally to make the proposal.

The initial conclusions observe:

Although clearly of value to some audiences, Asian Network has had performance difficulties for some time.

… and…

We have noted in successive Annual Reports that the Asian Network’s performance has been a disappointing one. The service’s reach has declined from 18% of Asian adults to 12% in 2009, which amounts to around 300,000 a week.

… however…

As part of our consultation we received 1,572 online responses, 1,437 email responses and 42 letters about the Asian Network. A key theme that emerges is that of how Asian Network nurtures the idea of being a British Asian – rather than just a member of a local community – as well as recognising the diversity within British Asian communities. There is clearly a risk that this would be lost if it were to be closed as a national service.

One issue not addressed here is that the Asian Network is essentially secular, while community-based stations are often religion-based. While I’m not an Asian Network listener, with my British Humanist Association membership hat on I lament the probable loss of a secular service of this sort.

Back to the report…

While the station is clearly a distinctive offering and thus consistent with the strategy we are setting for the BBC we nonetheless acknowledge that it has some long-running performance difficulties. If, therefore, the Executive has concluded that that station’s problems are such that they cannot be addressed effectively then we expect them to come forward with a different proposition for meeting the needs of this audience in more effective ways, although we stress the importance of any such proposal taking account of those aspects of Asian Network that are of undoubted value and that its closure would put at risk.

The defenders of the Asian Network now have a campaigning opportunity to ensure that, if nothing else, the BBC does a thorough job of meeting the Trust’s challenge that it must continue to cater for the Network’s audience in some way. Good luck to them.

My own response to the consultation was not 100% about 6 Music, and in particular I wrote a bit about the BBC’s daytime TV schedules and the utterly lamentable drivel that for the most part populates them, as well as the mainstream natures of Radios 1 and 2. The Trust repeatedly expresses concern over these points,  for instance:

We recognise that audiences see no genre of programming as off-limits for the BBC. Nonetheless, our service reviews have identified some parts of the BBC radio and television schedules that could do more to fulfil the BBC’s public purposes – including some peak time output on Radios 1 and 2 and some daytime programming on television, particularly in the lifestyle and factual genres. While it remains in the schedule, the emphasis should be on ensuring this content is as distinctive as possible.

Let’s hope the BBC responds positively to both points, and that it accepts the Trust’s counsel against the closure of 6 Music. I hope this is the last post I ever write on the subject, but let’s not take that entirely for granted just yet.

6 Music is saved!

I’ll do a more detailed post later when I’ve had chance to read the report, but it seems 6 Music is saved. Well done everyone who played a part!

Jon Richardson’s gone, 6 Music’s under threat, but here’s a new podcast

It may be scant consolation, but I’ve finally put together a new edition of John Kell Vs Satan, with music by The Pipettes, Captain Hotknives, Kathryn Calder, The New Pornographers and more – plus this edition’s robot-related song, by Frankie Machine.

Click here to download: JKVS20100313

6 Music: consultation response and policy briefings

Here are PDFs of my consultation response to the BBC and revised versions of the one-side briefing and full-length one. Feel free to borrow / circulate.

Save 6 Music Briefing – One Side

Save 6 Music Briefing Full

20100310 BBC Consultation Response

How to save BBC 6 Music (5) – winning the argument

It annoys me that people are tending to refer to “the decision” to close 6 Music – it’s not a decision, it’s a proposal. What we have to do now is ensure the BBC Trust is in a position where it cannot accept that proposal. This means demonstrating the strength of feeling, certainly, but it also means undermining the arguments – such as they are – in favour of closure.

So, below are two draft documents. One is a one-sider that can (after the election) go to MPs or other people to influence; the second is a fuller briefing which can also be used for that, but is also my response to the relevant question in the consultation. I’ll submit it without the numbering and formatting, and add separate answers to all the other questions, not all of which will pertain to 6 Music.

I’m putting these here for two reasons: firstly, to get comments and suggestions on how to improve them; and secondly, as a resource for anyone who wants to make use of the arguments and analysis.

So, here they are – thoughts please.

Full-length response.

One-side briefing.

How to save BBC 6Music (4) – after the election

As promised, more comment about MPs.

There is currently an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, with a modest 33 signatures (for EDMs anything over 100 is decent, over 150 good, over 200 very good – but this is clearly a very new one, so let’s not judge it by this yet). EDMs are effectively just statements with which the MPs who signs them wish to agree; they carry no formal weight (most are never debated) but can in practice bring a certain amount of political pressure to bear, depending on the issue.

But there will be a general election between now and May 25th, when the BBC Trust’s consultation closes. The current EDM will fall when Parliament is dissolved for the election around the end of this month – so it will only actually be around for another few weeks. Many of the MPs who sign it will not be in Parliament after the election.

It will be more important to have a well-supported EDM in Parliament immediately after the next election: this can provide a focus for the political debate as the BBC Trust undertakes its deliberations from late May onwards. It may be a challenge to find an MP to table this motion and to identify who will be the best MPs to target to sign it (at least one party is bound to be undergoing a post-election period of strife), but new MPs, of whom there will be over 200, may well be willing to sign it (before they’ve had chance to become cynical).

It’s doubly important that the campaign continues strongly at this later stage, as the initial burst of activity we’ve seen over the last couple of days will undoubtedly slacken to some extent. But pressure must be kept up throughout.

The value of engaging MPs will be to make it uncomfortable politically for the Trust to take the decision to close the two stations down. MPs cannot force the Trust not to do this; nor can ministers; but both can add to the Trust’s incentives to reach a sensible decision.

How to save BBC 6Music (3) – respond to the consultation

There is a public consultation exercise on the proposed reforms to the BBC. It is open until May 25th, and can be found online here.

At the time of writing the page was running slow and unreliably. But in any case it is worth taking a bit of time to consider responses to the questions before diving in.

To save you ploughing through the survey for a dummy run, here is the questionnaire in full. A free-text box follows all questions.

The BBC’s strategic principles
The Director-General has proposed five high level principles which would set the future direction of the BBC. These are:

• putting quality first, including five areas of editorial focus for all BBC services
• doing fewer things better – including stopping activities in some areas
• guaranteeing access for all licence fee payers to BBC services
• making the licence fee work harder – being efficient and offering better value for money
• setting new boundaries

The Trust agrees that the BBC should have a set of published principles and, when these are agreed, we will ensure that the BBC is held to account for acheiving them.

Some of the proposed principles are in response to challenges the Trust has set the BBC – such as focussing on high quality programmes and considering whether the current range of services is too large. We endorse these five principles, although we have not agreed to specific proposals in each area.

Do you think these are the right principles?

Should the BBC have any other strategic principles?

Proposed principle: Putting Quality First
We know that you have very high expectations of BBC programmes and services.  We also know that most BBC programmes and services meet audience expectations, but that some do not.  The Trust will always push the BBC to do better in this respect and we’re keen to know what you think.

Which BBC output do you think could be higher quality?

Offering you something special
The Trust believes that the BBC needs to do more than offer high quality programmes and services.

We know that your expectations of the BBC are that it offers something special to you – something distinctive and better than other broadcasters. For example, the BBC should offer you thoroughly independent and impartial news, it should introduce you to new talent in drama and comedy, and its radio stations should play pop music that other radio stations don’t.

The Trust knows that you think the BBC could do more to be original and different in some areas.

Which areas should the BBC make more distinctive from other broadcasters and media?

The Five Editorial Priorities
The Director-General has proposed that all BBC services should be focussed on some or all of five editorial priorities.

The Director-General’s proposed editorial priorities are:

• The best journalism in the world
• Inspiring knowledge, music and culture
• Ambitious UK drama and comedy
• Outstanding children’s content
• Events that bring communities and the nation together

The Trust thinks that the proposed editorial priorities fit well with those things you have told us are important to you in our previous research, but we want to consider how these priorities should be delivered to you in the future.

Do these priorities fit with your expectations of BBC TV, radio and online services?

Proposed principle: Doing fewer things and doing them better
The Trust believes that BBC must offer the highest quality programming. We have previously told the Director-General that we think that the pursuit of higher quality may mean doing less overall.

The Director-General has proposed a number of areas where the BBC could reduce or stop activities altogether. The suggestions are to:

• Close Radio 6 Music and focusing the BBC’s pop music output on Radio 1 and Radio 2
• Close Asian Network as a national service and aiming to serve Asian audiences better in other ways on other BBC services
• Change BBC local radio stations, by investing more in breakfast, morning and drivetime shows, but share content across local stations at other times of the day
• Close the BBC’s teen zone, BBC Switch
• Close the teenage learning offer Blast!
• Make the BBC’s website smaller, with fewer sections. (We do not yet have the details of what will be cut)

We can assure you that decisions have not yet been taken on any of these areas and that we will consider each area very carefully before doing so.

We welcome your views on these areas.

Proposed principle: Guaranteeing access to BBC services
The growth of digital technologies and platforms has led to greater choice and convenience for many people in terms of how they receive and consume TV and radio programmes.

Many of the BBC’s TV, radio and online services are now delivered to you in several ways. For example, many BBC radio services are available on AM, FM and DAB radio, digital television and online devices. However, the Trust recognises that some BBC services are still unavailable on the main platforms, such as FM or DAB, in parts of the UK.

The Trust believes that there is a fine balance to be struck here – between giving you the chance to receive BBC services in all the ways and devices you may have and making sure that the BBC doesn’t spend too much on delivering BBC content to you, rather than on the content itself.

If you have particular views on how you expect BBC services to be available to you, please let us know.

The BBC archive
The BBC is always considering ways in which it can make its programmes available to you at no cost. For example, recent TV and radio programmes are already available to you soon after broadcast on the BBC iPlayer.

The Trust is not considering specific proposals from the Director-General in this area at this point, but welcome any views you may have on having access to recently broadcast and to older BBC programming.

Please tell us if you have views on this area.

Proposed principle: Making the licence fee work harder
One of the Trust’s priorities is to ensure that the BBC offers excellent value for money, by being efficient and by making effective use of its income. We think that it is right that you expect this of the BBC.

The Trust welcomes the Director-General’s proposals to ensure that the BBC offers value for money and, specifically, we support the aim to maximise the proportion of the licence fee that is spent on programming. However, we know that there will be more do to, in order to achieve this.

If you are concerned about the BBC’s value for money, please tell us why.

Proposed principle: Setting new boundaries for the BBC
The Trust has asked the Director-General to consider where the BBC could be clearer about the limits to its activities as we know there is considerable demand for this from other broadcasters and media companies and the BBC has a responsibility to consider its competitive impact on others.

The Director-General has set out a list of proposed limits to BBC activity. These are:

• Reducing the BBC offer in pop music radio by closing 6 Music
• Closing niche services for teenagers: BBC Switch and Blast!
• Reducing BBC expenditure on programmes bought from abroad  - for example,  American films and dramas
• Limiting BBC expenditure on sports rights
• Not offering any more localised services than the BBC already does – for example, new services for individual towns or cities
• Making the BBC website more focussed on particular areas.

The Trust has carried out work in some of these areas already and we support some aspects to these limits: making the BBC’s website focussed and distinctive and setting limits to the BBC’s local media offer.

In many other areas, we recognise there are trade-offs. For example, buying a US drama can mean that viewers are offered a high quality programme at lower cost than would be possible with a new British programme.

The Trust has not taken decisions in any of these areas and we will consider each one very carefully before doing so.

Do you think that the BBC should limit its activities in these areas?

Should any other areas be on this list?

How to save BBC 6Music (2) – the process and what happens next

It’s vitally important to work with the grain of the BBC’s own process. Kicking up a fuss online is all well and good – and important to show that there is strength of feeling – but the BBC must not be left the opportunity to say that this strength of feeling was not reflected in its formal consultations.

The first stage in the process appears to be a 12-week consultation, starting today and ending on May 25th. This is not a consultation on the specifics of the closure plans, but on the principles of the strategic review presented by Mark Thompson. Nonetheless, supporters of 6Music and the Asian Network should respond to it:

• politely – no abuse towards Mark Thompson or the BBC, and no childish threats to withold the licence fee
• responding to the questions asked, and making the link between the strategic principles and 6Music /the Asian Network – there’s nothing wrong with mentioning them specifically, but this will be most effective if you make clear you understand it is not a formal consultation on shutting them down.

The Trust’s review is due to publish a provisional report on the BBC’s strategy by the summer and a final strategy in the autumn. Only then is the BBC expected to put formal proposals before the Trust to close 6Music and the Asian Network (it may be that the idea can be killed off even before then).

At that point, further lobbying of the Trust, the Government and MPs must take place.

If the Trust still decides to take th decision to close the stations, it may be possible to take it to judicial review (this will either need c. £100,000 of funding to do it effectively, or some 6Music / Asian Network listeners with legal training an a willingness to do the work pro bono).

If that fails, then will be the time for civil disobedience. But we’re a long way from that yet – this argument is clearly winnable without that.

How to save BBC 6Music (1) – the campaign starts now

The proposal to close BBC 6Music and the Asian Network can undoubtedly be stopped by a sustained and sensible campaign. It is manifestly wrong-headed and unjustified, and rational argument backed by sound evidence can show this. The process for shutting the stations will be a long one, so time is on our side.

Here are the key things that, in my view, the campaign needs to do in order to succeed.

1. Concerted grass-roots action
This is well in-hand, with Twitter campaigning, emails to the BBC Trust, the excellent Facebook group and the online petition. The latter will endure, and is the most important of them all: the existing petition should be supported, and the temptation to set up rival petitions must be resisted, as it will split support and undermine all of them (you can’t add up 15,000 supporters on one and 5,000 supporters on another, as it risks doubel-counting and is not credible for that reason).

2. Contact everyone, all at once
The decision will be taken by the Trust, but will be taken in a political context. Trustees, ministers and MPs all need to be contacted, and all need to know that the others are being contacted – everyone with influence must know that if thy don’t do anything, another group is likely to push them into doing something. More on MPs in a separate post.

3. KEEP IT CIVIL!
This is so important. Nobody likes being shouted at, and the people we need to persuade are no different. If they feel they’re on the receiving end of abuse, they will be antagonised and take the calls for 6Music and the Asian Network to be saved far less seriously. Remember the BBC created these stations in the first place: the aim of the campaign is not to beat the BBC about the head, but to save it from making a mistake: the campaign must present itself as supporting the BBC to deliver the high quality public service broadcasting it says it wants to.

Now is not the time to start talking about not paying the licence fee or other civil disobedience: it can seem a powerful threat, but in the eyes of Trustees will almost certainly make you look like a tosser.

4. Make the arguments clearly and rationally, and back them up with evidence
There are only a few key arguments here, perhaps only two.

The first is that no commercial broadcaster caters for, or ever will cater for, the 6Music and Asian Network audiences. This needs to be backed up: playlist comparisons between 6Music on the one hand and Absolute and XFM on the other (these are the most likely stations to be said to be catering for this audience by supporters of the scrapping proposals) – I’ll have a go at this myself later if nobody’s already done it.

The second is that 6Music and the Asian Network are unjustifiably expensive for the audiences they serve. This can easily be rebutted: while their audiences might not be huge, nor are their budgets. Someone on the Facebook group has already calculated that in terms of annual budget spent compared to weekly listener reach, 6Music is considerably cheaper than 1Xtra and Radio 3, and slightly cheaper than Radios 4 and 5Live.

More posts, with more specifics, to follow.

Jon Richardson is leaving 6Music – sad to hear it

At the end of his 6Music show this morning, Jon Richardson announced that when he leaves these shores for the Melbourne Comedy Festival in a few weeks’ time, he will have broadcast his final show on 6Music and will not be returning. This was a bit of a shock – he’d mentioned the festival in passing before, but I’d presumed (or at least hoped) that there would be a stand-in for a few shows, and then he’d be back.

Richardson’s show, and before it the show he co-presented with Russell Howard, has been appointment radio for me since soon after it started. Howard was brought into 6Music as a replacement for Russell Brand, who had just moved to Radio 2 (the rest of that story, you know), and initially had two co-presenters: Jon, and Sam Thomas (curious they all had first names as, or in, their surnames), but soon they settled down into a duo. Their arrival coincided almost to the week with me moving into my own flat for the first time, and also buying my first digital radio. The show was the first I really latched on to, particularly for Jon: as a pedantic, sarcastic man from the North West of England he inexplicably struck some sort of chord with me. I must have listened to the show on the majority of Sunday mornings since.

It’s often said that the trick of presenting radio is to speak as if you’re talking to one person, not many; Jon seems to be able to do that fairly instinctively, and whenever he would get into an argument with Russell, it always felt as though he and the listeners were – in the nicest way possible – ganging up on Mr Howard. As well as a fairly reasonable pedantry, Jon also showcased his other traits to good effect: a love of cooking, delight in small pleasures such as Dyson Airblades, and significant but endearing social awkwardness.

He also comes across as a man who in many respects is pretty sorted and comfortable with himself, and has a good perspective on the world: his “good deeds” feature sprung out of his own propensity for doing small but helpful deeds, and he can regularly be heard giving gifts to guests and colleagues on the show. I still have one of his dictums as a favourite quote on my Facebook profile: “When the lights go off and you’re on your own, that’s who you are.” Far from being the pedantic misanthrope Russell Howard would occasionally – jokingly – paint him as, he seems like a genuinely nice bloke who would be deeply embarrassed to read or hear anything of the sort being said about him.

Jon’s now been presenting the show on his own for well over 18 months, since Russell moved on, albeit with support each week from Matt Forde. So after three and a half years in total, it’s understandable that he has decided to move on and do other things – much as I’d have liked to have a few more years of shows to look forward to, I can certainly understand the decision. Perhaps the sitcom he was writing has been picked up – certainly his career trajectory has been going the right way, with appearances on Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You last year, a regular slot as a team captain on Radio 4 quiz Act Your Age, plus a nomination for the used-to-be-the-Perrier award in Edinburgh.

Whatever he does, I hope he has some channel available for us to keep in touch with him. It’s always a pleasure to spend a few hours in his company on a Sunday morning, and I’ll miss hearing what’s been going on in his world. Moreover, if he’s looking at things from a career perspective, I hope he’ll see value in maintaining a line of communication with his existing fan-base, rather than allowing the support he’s deservedly gathered on 6Music to wither and fade. He has resisted having a website or blog up to now, and left both MySpace and Twitter after short spells on each.

So I wish him well in whatever he does next, look forward to the remaining shows he has on 6Music, and hope that in some form or other he’ll stay in touch.