Classical radio

Up until just over ten years ago, if you wanted to listen to classical music on the radio here in the U.K., you basically had only one choice - B.B.C. Radio 3 (formerly known as the Third Programme). Like most monopolies, over time Radio 3 had become very introverted and disinterested in what its listeners wanted - it decided what they should have, and in the case of Radio 3 this tended to be complete works either of the established "great" composers, or of the more way-out modern composers. Anything even vaguely tuneful written since about 1920 had little chance of being played.
Then along came Classic FM - a commercial station, whose mission statement was to give the average lover of classical music what he or she wanted to listen to - which, at least during the day, they felt was relatively short pieces, or excerpts, of - above all - tuneful music. One of their first successes was to introduce the listening public to Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 (the so-called "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs") - the sort of thing Radio 3 wouldn't touch with a barge-pole. Most people (including, I have to say, me - though I desperately hoped I was wrong) didn't give this new station much of a chance of survival, but, not only did it survive, it became the biggest commercial station in the country, and, more to the point, as its ratings went up, Radio 3's came down.
So - panic stations at Radio 3. What to do? There were letters in "The Times" decrying the "populist" approach of Classic FM and suggesting that it would produce a generation of semi-literate listeners, with an attention span of no more than five minutes, who would never have heard a complete performance of anything, and counter-letters saying that this was simply snobbishness, and that Classic FM had introduced thousands of listeners to classical music who would never have gone anywhere near Radio 3.
Me - I think the argument is pointless. Radio 3 and Classic FM are addressing different audiences, and there is nothing to be gained by suggesting that one is "better" than the other. To the extent that it has forced Radio 3 to consider the views of its listeners, the competition from Classic FM has been a good thing, but I think the worst thing that Radio 3 could do is to try and imitate Classic FM in the hope of regaining its lost listeners. As a non-commercial station, it doesn't have to chase ratings, and should concentrate on providing what its core audience want - as Classic FM do.
I'm a devoted Classic FM listener, but I wouldn't want to see Radio 3 go to the wall, and equally I wouldn't want to see it become a Classic FM clone. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and more than one way to listen to classical music.