Rethink for R4’s Thought
The head of religion and ethics at the BBC regards Thought for the Day as bland and its contributors as occasionally platitudinous. Alan Bookbinder says that they are to be told to sharpen up their act for the two-and-a-half-minute slot, on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. More Muslims and women will be invited to contribute.
Broadcasters will continue to be from religious faiths. Mr Bookbinder so far has resisted pressure to bring in atheists and fellow agnostics. In an interview with the BBC staff magazine Ariel, Mr Bookbinder discloses his reasons for putting Thought for the Day under review by Christine Morgan, its executive producer.
“On the whole, we go for contributors who are tolerant, civilised and fairly conciliatory . . . we need to make sure that what they say is clear, sharp and well defined. At the moment, we sometimes get platitudes,” he said.
Non-believers will still not be allowed a look-in. “I don’t want to dilute Thought for the Day’s religious perspective,” he said, adding: “In my view, to have a religious oasis in the middle of three hours of politics and secular concerns is well justified.”
One of the difficulties facing contributors is that they must be pedagogic but cannot proselytise.
Thought for the Day is a platform coveted by religious leaders and commentators. The Archbishop of Canterbury-designate, Dr Rowan Williams, spoke recently, opposing military action against Iraq.
Online piracy has ravaged the music business and now it’s about to do the same to the games industry, thanks to a device the size of a thumbnail. Once known only to hackers, the R4 Revolution is currently the fifth biggest-selling electronics item on Amazon’s UK web store – priced at ?12.57