Betsan Powys was on Post Cyntaf this morning talking about this. Basically, she said that there were two types of morning radio, serious and in depth news (in the style of Post Cyntaf) and what she called the Radio 2 model, undemanding music, news headlines, discussion of stories at the more ‘human interest’ end of the scale. She characterised the second type of show as appealing to younger (not young) listeners. She also reminded us that we only had one national station and it was impossible to do both using traditional technology.
From my point of view, I can see how Radio Cymru has tried to solve this dilemma in the past by finishing Post Cyntaf at 8:30 and broadcasting shows such as Dafydd a Caryl (which I used to enjoy). However, this time slot is just too late in starting for a ‘breakfast show’, so it kind of fails to work in what it tries to do.The more recent alternative was to, from 8:00 onwards, ease into lighter topics and to play a few records. I have to say that I found this deeply unsatisfactory, mainly because of the need to use ‘serious’ news presenters during the transition.
So the next attempt is going to be parallel broadcasts. Obviously, the hope is not that the audience will be split, but that new (or lapsed) listeners will be attracted. I wonder if they’re thinking of bringing Dafydd a Caryl (or maybe Dafydd ac Eleri) back?
Radio 2 style programming to appeal to ‘younger’ listeners??? I’m old enough to now be the Radio 2 target audience, I still hate it! However I can see the point of providing an alternative to ‘Post Cyntaf’, a ‘today programme’ lighter alternative with morning music, but isn’t this then competing with community radio such as Radio Beca, which need all the audience they can get.
In principle, it’s a good idea if it is providing an alternative, in-parallel service. The worry is that there will not be enough resources available for it to continue. Or if it does, something else will have to suffer as a result. I’m glad they are trying new things … so long as they don’t damage the good things they already have in the process.
would you be so kind as to sign this please http://www.petitions24.com/signatures/bring_back_becca_bingo_on_radio_cymru/
That’s what 6 Music is for. And the success of 6 Music was cited some weeks ago by Betsan Powys as one of the influences behind the introduction of Rhys Mwyn’s new Monday night show. Anyone else noticed the quiet dropping of the C2 ‘brand’?
That’s not really the BBC’s problem. I have a problem with the BBC going after cheap ratings by dumbing down, but searching for a new audience who are currently not catered for (in Welsh at least) by using quality programming is a legitimate aim.
I like Radio 6, something Radio 6 like would be great! I did notice the dropping of the ‘C2’ brand, i still don’t know what ‘C2’ means. Radio these days needs to be high quality and there is good programming on Radio Cymru, radio has to compete with streaming services like Deezer and Spotify, so requires good curation. A light hearted but good quality Breakfast show could be great.
This is just my own perception of its meaning, but ‘C2’, to me, means “(Radio) Cymru 2”, or a 2nd radio station broadcast on the only existing Welsh station in its own time slots. Of course, this means it targets its own audience groups (not necessarily the young), but does focus more on new music breaking out of Wales (with Lisa Gwylim, Huw Stephens ayyb), more worldly music genres with Georgia Ruth Williams, a lighter entertainment programme with Geth a Ger, and so on.
I have said in the past that if there were ever an opportunity to bring in another Welsh language radio station, then it should be modelled on the ‘C2’ structure of programming.
Again, this is just my own perspective of what ‘C2’ means. It could be something totally different!
I think this is exactly the problem RC is facing. I like to listen to Today on R4 in the morning; others prefer the light-hearted show you describe. There isn’t one single solution that can suit everybody - but there is only one BBC Welsh-language channel. It’s a really hard balance to find.
they still have an C2 facebook page and right now they’ve got a live video stream on it, not too sure what’s going on but there are musicians practising/recording. https://www.facebook.com/c2radiocymru/
The C2 story goes back to a listener survey conducted by BBC Cymru back around the turn of the millennium. The results showed that Radio Cymru’s listenership was literally dying out. It was demographically quite elderly, and new listeners were not being added as the older listeners passed away.
The response to this, in the early years of the millenium, was to extend Radio Cymru’s hours (it used to finish at 8:00pm, would you believe?) and to create a second strand of programming, C2, during the new hours of 8 till 1 in the morning. This started with a couple of hours of Radio 1-style pop radio hosted by Daf Du, followed by a slightly more ‘alternative’ hour with Huw Stephens and then something a bit more relaxed around the midnight hour with Lisa Gwilym. Other DJs featured, but this was the basic pattern.
Things changed over the years guided by several factors, one of which I trust was listener response, but the biggest change was quite recently when the start of C2 was moved forward to 7:00pm and it ended at 10 - giving way to horrible Radio 2 style mush until midnight.
And now it’s gone as a programming strand, presumably because Radio Cymru recognises that not only young people are interested in ‘pop’ music, but it still exists on the Radio Cymru web site as a kind of clearing house for ‘things young people might be interested in’.
Sesiwn Unnos - the latest one is taking place overnight tonight.
Facebook link has died. Youtube stream is still up.
Since that was a live feed, it also died on Friday morning.
However, the results of the session are now up, including this rather lovely song.
BBC Radio Cymru - Gwasg Gomer
Gari Wyn’s business programme last Monday (31.10.16) was part 1 of a 2 part series about the well-known Gomer Press, based in LLandysul (also of course, one of the two “nerve centres” of SSiW).
Available on iPlayer for ~23 days at the time of writing.
Part 2 will be broadcast today (7.11.16) and then available for ~28 days on iPlayer:
(also available as podcasts)
Beti George interviewing Dr Carl Clowes, one of the key people behind the founding of Nant Gwrtheyrn:
(while I can’t pretend that I understood everything, I do now have a better idea of how to pronounce the tricky “Nant Gwrtheyrn” ! )
John Walter yn holi Efa Gruffudd Jones, Prif Weithredwr y Ganolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Genedlaethol. An interview with Efa Gruffudd Jones of the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
At some points, John Walter seems to be giving Efa Gruffudd Jones a bit of a hard time, but she seems to acquit herself well.
SSiW gets a mention at about 23 minutes in (tagging @aran ).
Although she is quite a rapid speaker, she’s very clear, and is therefore a bit easier to understand than might otherwise be the case.
Bringing it down a peg (in a nice way):
I was listening to the celeb quiz thing on Penwythnos Geth tonight (Ger is taking a break). I found that strangely, I could understand almost every single word. Although I still didn’t manage to guess the celeb. It’s at around 43min on this link:
Well I know we don’t talk politics on here, and I’m sure most of us are already electioned-out, but if anyone wants to listen to an election debate yn yr iaith nefoedd, there’s one here:
(similar to “Any Questions” but yn y Gymraeg).
…and of course, there’s the regular “O’r Bae” today at midday:
.
(and thanks to Dewi Llwyd, I now realise that I was pronouncing “amgueddfa” completely wrong!)
I’d just like to give another shout-out to this series of programmes:
Only 5 minutes per programme, each concentrating on one Welsh word, or sometimes a group of words, and explaining their origins.
I think these may be being repeated from an earlier broadcast, but none the worse for that.
At the time of writing (31.07.2017) there are 14 episodes available.
Is the vocab on Radio Cymru deliberately tuned down for new speakers/learners? If not, I am scaring myself with how much I understand now. I sometimes have to check if I’m on Radio Cymru or Radio Wales (the English language sibling)
On the minus side, have I been fooling myself into thinking that it isn’t as full of jargon as English stations? Then - today I heard a politician referring to “y elifffant yn y ystafell byw” (the elephant in the [living] room) 
Edit: One last question:
Did I hear Boris being mutated into Foris?