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Farewell Mike Harding

 
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mark occomore



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:02 pm    Post subject: Farewell Mike Harding Reply with quote

Another one bites the dust at Radio 2

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/mike-harding-axed-by-radio-2.1350481631

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/mark-radcliffe-adds-folk-to-radio-2-roster.html
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littlepieces



Joined: 10 Jan 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

erm hi my name is erm Mark and i erm like erm folk music ha ha ha erm yeah

Have to admit MR'S books are good but his presenting style is poor
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ruddlescat



Joined: 16 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 7:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

interesting they used the word 'axed' - now where have I heard that before Mad

I think Mike Harding has a really good laid back style of presentation and I shall miss his shows on Radio 2 - it's just about the only thing I ever listen to after 7pm unless there is something special on

Whilst at heart I'm a rock fan I do enjoy hearing folk and acoustic music and that genre is already considerably underrepresented on mainstream radio Sad
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R2Icon



Joined: 10 Sep 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr Grumpy's coming back- oh joy! Rolling Eyes Still, we can't have everything our own way, you have to take the rough with the smooth. Arrow this way out.
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Angela W



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a shame, ageism rears its ugly head again. It could have been worse I suppose, with yet another so called celebrity added to the schedules.
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SantaFefan



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PostPosted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sweet and sour news for me.... I really like Mark Radcliffe Razz but I hate Folk music! Evil or Very Mad another programme I have to switch off...
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mark occomore



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 4:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aled Jones now Mike Harding. Either not renewing contracts or trying to cut back.
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R2Icon



Joined: 10 Sep 2009
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mark occomore wrote:
Aled Jones now Mike Harding. Either not renewing contracts or trying to cut back.


Mark, they'd only be cutting back if they replaced a presenter with "closedown" or perhaps two hours of non-stop sombre music: all they're doing is changing one poor presenter ( in the case of Aled Jones) for a better one, and one pretty good presenter, with Mr Grumpy-guts.
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becky sharp



Joined: 01 Dec 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

R2Icon wrote:
mark occomore wrote:
Aled Jones now Mike Harding. Either not renewing contracts or trying to cut back.


Mark, they'd only be cutting back if they replaced a presenter with "closedown" or perhaps two hours of non-stop sombre music: all they're doing is changing one poor presenter ( in the case of Aled Jones) for a better one, and one pretty good presenter, with Mr Grumpy-guts.

It could be a cut back in the sense that Mark is already an employee of the BBC so the rise in his salary for stepping in for Mike could be a reduction overall for the BBC to pay.

I like Mark Radcliffe but feel sorry for Mike Harding as this is an enforced removal of him from the Radio 2 waves...he says himself in one of the articles that Mark O has posted that he was "not leaving the show of my own volition".
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R2Icon



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fair point, Becky. The management would call it efficiency.
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Fred



Joined: 04 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think its so much that they're "cutting back" or trying to reduce costs; rather trying to attract a different audience.

I quite like Mark Radcliffe, and think he'd attract a perhaps slightly younger audience for the folk show. I wouldn't however associate Radcliffe with folk music, and I don't think his knowledge on folk is as good as Mike Harding's.

Mike Harding wrote yesterday on his Facebook page "I think I have to point out that this release makes it look as though I chose to go - I did not choose to go – was told I was going."
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that Ratcliffe has presented the Cambridge Folk Festival coverage on television, hasn't he? That always strikes me as being more mainstream and cosmopolitan, and there is an inference (in fact the Telegraph comes straight out and says it) that they wish to take the show more mainstream to attract an even bigger listenership.

Well, if the Saw Doctors, Kate Rusby, Bellowhead and Bob Dylan aren't mainstream enough already I fear we may be in for a diet of Fairport, Steeleye, Mumford & Sons and Ed Sheeran.

I was never that fussed about Mike Harding as a presenter - preferred him when he was funny - and I don't often get to hear it - but the prospect of old Grumpy Guts erming his way through the show doesn't fill me with glee.
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John W



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PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

it says,

Quote:
Mike Harding, spent 15 years at the top of his game, delighting fans with his expertise and rooting out the very best folk music. On his watch, folk has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity and Mike has been key in supporting the genre and introducing Radio 2 listeners to a broad range of new artists.


So, Mike is great, so why change?

Harding said that he was "not leaving the show of my own volition".

Never an honest explanation from the BBC.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Radcliffe is a member of a folk band, so had credentials... but I don't see the point. Mike Harding's a fine presenter.

The biggest problem, really, is the placing of the specialist shows. They should be later in the night, where presenters like Harding, Harris and Jones can have a more intimate relationship with the listeners.

If I were scheduling, I'd put a half-hour show at 7 (such as a comedy or panel show) then Jo Whiley -if we must- until 9, then bring in the specialist shows.
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unclebuck



Joined: 19 Apr 2010
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Location: Warwickshire

PostPosted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 2:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Full page article about this in the Saturday Telegraph...
Apparently Mike took a call earlier this week on his mobile from Bob Shennan - it was the first time that he had ever spoken to him. The call was to tell him that he was being dropped at Christmas.
Real piece of work, this Shennan. Unpleasant as well as inept.
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Helen May



Joined: 10 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like tonight is to be Mike's last show as Mark Radcliffe is billed in RT as the presenter from 2nd Jan.

Shame, too many people being replaced for no good reason IMHO.

H
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ruddlescat



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No Helen - his last show is actually on Boxing Day when he is apparently playing a whole hour of his favourite tracks of the last 40 years or so Smile
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Lord Evan Elpuss



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've nothing whatsoever against Mark Radcliffe, but I agree with Helen's assertion that too many presenters are being replaced for seemingly no good reason.
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ruddlescat



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree - Mike Harding is a long standing expert on folk music and there's absolutely no good reason to replace him Sad
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Helen May



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Embarassed I missed that listing.

H
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nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ruddlescat wrote:
I agree - Mike Harding is a long standing expert on folk music and there's absolutely no good reason to replace him Sad


I totally agree, a sad loss to R2 Crying or Very sad
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

His final show was excellent. No idea why he's been dropped.
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