Howes Fishing B.B.C. Radio Newcastle.

sam harris

Well-known member
The acting Managing Editor of B.B.C.Radio Newcastle has decided that the angling programme which is broadcast every week is to end. The show has been going out weekly for almost 35 years, For the first 4 years I put the programme together and presented it myself, covering freshwater and sea. The programme was then extended to a half hour show and Railton Howes became the producer. Matthew Barraclough the acting managing editor is to "pull the plug" on the show from the end of December. His reason is that Railton Howes is retiring at the end of December.
B.B.C. rules are that when you retire you are still allowed to work for the "Beeb" as a freelance but there must be a three month gap between leaving and starting again. Mr.Barraclough in his wisdom has decided that a three month gap is no good even though Railton has offered to still produce the show for that period.
The loss of the show means no more news on competitions, club results, interviews etc,. etc. By the way none of us involved in the programme get paid for our contributions apart from Railton who is a B.B.C. employee, we do it because we enjoy doing it.
A letter to Mathew Barraclough, Acting Managing Editor, B.B.C. Radio Newcastle, Barrack Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne,NE2 4NS, Telephone 0191 2324141. might help to try and change his mind if you want the progamme to continue.
A qoute from his letter to those of us involved in the show says "Angling is still a hugely popular pastime but anglers now have an abundance of media to cater for their needs", "It's difficult to justify serving a single community of interest at a time when we face tough decisions about how we spend our budget".
For his information angling is NOT a pastime it's a SPORT. Sea anglers alone generate over one billion pounds for the British economy each year, that's not counting the freshwater side of our sport.
We have England lady's, youth and senior teams representing this country in competitions all over the world, surely that's not a "pastime".
Some years ago the Angling Times carried out a survey to see which area of the country had the biggest concentration of anglers, both fresh and sea, guess which it was, that's right the North East of England. We have some of the best shore anglers up here than anywhere else in this country, many of them have represented England in international competitions.
Sorry to go on lads but I'm a little annoyed.
Sam.
 
A qoute from his letter to those of us involved in the show says "Angling is still a hugely popular pastime but anglers now have an abundance of media to cater for their needs", "It's difficult to justify serving a single community of interest at a time when we face tough decisions about how we spend our budget".

could that not be said for any sport including football
 
Sorry to read this Sam, I like to listen to the reports on the radio, ( when i'm not away on an early one ) I will send an E/M anyway in hope. Keep us posted via NESA mate.

regards Jim
 
Railton And Sam BBC Radio Newcastle to dispense with Very Popular Fishing Show.

Railton And Sam BBC Radio Newcastle to dispense with Very Popular Fishing Show.

Letter on it's way Sam..And a letter to the Chron' will give it more coverage and promote debate.

Any folk's reading this could you all follow suite ..DONT FORGET LAD'S. Just An Email or a message by whatever Media, might tip the scales ..Sorry... !

And Thanks To you Sam.. Sir.. for all the years of endeavour and informative discussion over the years. You Made/make it worth listening to.

A Blue chip Show in my opinion. Has a bit of Class about it ..Can Mr Barraclough not see that ?

No Nonsense and something in this climate you can actually let your Children Listen to without fear of Innuendo of all kinds, and filthy language.

Its A wholesome Show fit for ALL ! the family Mr Barraclough.

Its Probably one of the best show's In terms of professional Broadcasting..
 
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I must admit i listen to radio Newcastle a lot,appeared on a few shows as well.
But i did not know this show was on,still it seems a little high handed to say the least.
Don't the listening figures show the show is liked?
 
Sam like Lowrider I wasn't aware of the show if I had known I would certainly tune in. Could you give the times of when it is to be next broadcast. if enough of us send an email/letter we might be able to save the show perhaps a petition via the Chronicle:yltype:
 
The angling show is broadcast every saturday morning at 6 a.m. but from then on it is on the internet on B.B.C. Radio Newcastles web site. The programme is called Howes Fishing.
 
the bbc really gets my back up...i pay my license fee and have been listening to howes fishing since it started....i now catch up on the net....strong words will be sent...
 
Sam, This program is a what local radio is about, giving information to local people and interacting with the community, reading your post this closure has nothing to do with BBC cutbacks ? is it purely a matter of the rules do not fit the circumstances and Anglers as a community are not worth spending budget on and as a result, game coarse and sea anglers will lose yet another resource. For you guys that have not listened to the show this link is for the podcast BBC - Podcasts - Howes Fishing E-mail on the way from a licence payer and angler I guess sky sports think it a pastime that's why they waste money on it.
 
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