Would lots of angry emails make any difference?

I'm very pissed off at this news.

could some kind soul put up the details of how and where I make my protest?
Im not the biggest fan - most of it is bloody annoying, some of it essential. Im a lazy git usually but this is important.

I dont want my money spent on BBC3, or even BBC1 and BBC2. I just dont watch em.

have already sent one, but if it could make a difference then will send even more and even more angrier. Perhaps Mr H could advise whether this is it for 6 Music.
But yes very bad news, and very f****d off

is this the sort of backwards society we are heading into ? where anything decent gets cut to the bone

...I got a DAB radio - will drive me further to looking for alternatives on the net.

6 was also the reason I bought a DAB radio. I have to admit to not listening so much over the past couple of years but I always wished it well. I am listening this morning online and I now wished i'd supported it more recently.

I reckon the BBC is calling the government's bluff on this one: keep sniping at us to save money, and this is what the actual consequence will be. The fact that they've lumped the Asian Network in too is a bit suspect to me; that's the sort of thing that Auntie would be expected to keep. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the Beeb are trying to rally public opinion across to their side; after all, this is the sort of thing that would change the public's mind on the license fee debate: now we can all see that WE will lose something, whereas before it was all an abstract argument about the money we shell out for the license fee.

Personally, I'd rather the BBC lost Three. Aside from the short period several years ago, just before it well and truly became it's current E4-cloning self, I don't think it's ever really justified itself. The criticism of it being a direct, and intentional competitor with E4 is never more valid than now, and I think it would be the least missed, in comparison to top-end imports (which collectively, if not individually, are a major attraction), BBC6, and a home for the emerging Asian scene (in addition to the Beeb's existing commitment to music of a black origin).

If the BBC dilute their American content, they will lose out to C4 and Five, and Sky, which will radically change the face, and value, of it as a mainstream entertainment draw in the eyes of the public. Besides, whilst I'm thoroughly behind any move that secures spending on the future of homegrown TV magic (specifically the industry that makes it), isn't the argument about American shows being as rotting to the system as junk-food (and everything else that comes from that nation, with the exception of foreign policy!) an outmoded, somewhat xenophobic argument that should have been put to bed a decade ago?

I personally don't listen to BBC6, and do find it rather affected at times, but I'd much rather there was a home for solid journalism - as Radio 3 is to classical, so is BBC6 a contemporary home to the Baby Boomer generation, and beyond - however, I'm aware that I'm saying that from my age and standpoint. The youth market is obviously a major demographic, and, like the ethos of banks - snag 'em while they're young - the BBC has to at least pitch into the rabid commercial market. Even still, isn't Three something of an extravagance?

Beyond that, I can see that the BBC has grown a mammoth online presence, that in terms of commercialism has perhaps become somewhat excessive at the cost to the public, but if you line this up against

a) the government's supposed commitment to online (both in terms of industry, and efforts to bridge and burn up the digital divide); and,

(b)the news this week that TV indies, such as Freemantle, Tiger Aspect and North One, have recognised the inevitable and unstoppable shift of content onto the internet, in the guise of branded content, by joining forces with a company called JWT; then it all looks like they'll be cutting their nose off to spite their face. The BBC should be investing in the internet as a secure home for the next generation of content consumption; not shaving 25% of it off.

That said, if it forces those workers out into the commercial sector, and creates a new equilibrium, where they become the innovators of future online production/content consumption trends, then it may be worth it in the long-term.

...there was a guy on the Jeremy Vine show on Monday 15th Feb who was from the BBC Trust (David Liddement or summat) who spoke with forked tongue when he said 6Music was to remain but might have to become a broader church. He either knew f-all or was a f-ing shameless c**t.

Is it? Aren't they just reassigning expenditure- £600 million being diverted into programme making, if I've understood correctly. I'm not in favour of 6 being cut, but I not sure if it's a good or bad idea until we see what this money will be spent on. I don't know when that will become clear.

At my brothers house and have 6 on as we always do at our respective homes , what are we going to listen to now ? There is nothing else like 6music especially during the day .
I'm too old for Radio1 (drives me up the wall) .There's no other daytime station that plays such a variety of old & new music or caters for the likes of us that used to listen to Peel.
Lauren's just played The Verve & now we're getting Funkadelic!

what should they be? I'm wary of the "don't cut this, cut that" approach, not least because who is to say that their choice is more deserving of being spared? I never listen to 6, 1, 1Extra, 3 or 2, and never watch 3, so my instinct would be to save BBC1, 2 and 4 and Radio 4, but I'm sure many would disagree.

What should the criteria be for sparing from the axe? Viewing/listening figures? The broadcasting of content not available elsewhere? The volume of support?

Whilst I agree that BBC3 is fairly loathesome I'm not sure how helpful it is to play one off against the other. I don't direct that at people on here, or any other 'forum', but they were barely able to contain their resentment of BBC3 on the Today programme.

Which is, as I say, understandable as much of 3's content is poor but it makes it sound like a minority (and I suspect it'll be percieved as an ever-unfashionable, middle-class minority at that) going "Don't cut things we like, cut a (popular) thing that we don't like".

Always a joy to hear Peter Bazallgate (sp?) spouting drivel like a whale full of twaddle though. Imagine how much better the world would be if he made all the programs.

when that Mark Thompson fellow can't even afford a razor. Perhaps that's the only cut needed...

is popular amongst any demographic. If you want salatious or shocking then other channels (ITV2, Five) probably do it better. If you want late teen/young aldult drama than E4 would be a better stop. BBC3 has turned into a bbc me too channel that they just cannot get right.

The remarkable thing is that I probably first invested in digital TV about 6 years ago on the basis of the programming on BBC3! it seems inconcievable now that anybody would do such a thing (and in fact was at the time as well, it seemed a lot better when I didnt have it then when I did and realised that the Mighty Boosh was not the best thing on it, rather the only thing on it, oh and 15 Stories High.

To those asking about where to protest - by all means sign as many petitions as you can find but the most effective course of action is to email - trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk

You will get an auto response at best but as this is the BBC Trust they have an obligation to at least register your complaint and the more they have to deal with the more impact they will have.

There are other moves afoot but this is the way to go for now.

..might the BBC feel obliged to be seen overall to continue to serve the music audience and so look to invest in more content for other radio stations or TV that would appeal to a 6 Music audience.

Personally sounds better than a station with '30+'-somethings shouting about indie &/or Ian Dury

Will miss Maconie's Freak Zone though

So we can't have Feakzone and Jarvis' Sunday Service, but we can have "I'm Hotter Than My Daughter" and "My Big Gypsy Wedding."

Aa Alan Partridge would say: "This Country!"

I confess of course to a little "side" as a 6Music listener, I would be very sad to see the station go.

6Music at its best is like a good local radio station for people who share a mindset rather than a physical location. There have been other BBC Radio stations like this - early Radio 5, GLR, Matthew Bannister's beautifully ruined post-DLT Radio 1. They never survive for very long. They don't make sense to management by committee and it's hard to quickly build an audience outside the core constituency of the kind of people who read The Word!

If you have to cut the BBC on draconian lines, Radio 1 goes as it offers very little that isn't covered by the commercial sector. It's a pop station. Same for 1Xtra. Radio 2 keeps people in a vast age bracket amply entertained, I don't see where that would go. The home service, the second and third programmes are probably going to survive in perpetuity.

I'm not sure about 5Live!

On TV you merge the arts/lifestyle output of BBCs 2 and 4 and put news, current affairs and sport on Three. The BBC doesn't need a rolling news channel, there are half a dozen commercial alternatives (and as shows like Newswipe or The Daily Show amply demonstrate, rolling news is a deeply flawed format anyway).

I feel some pity for the private sector because the BBC has become enormous. But the response of the private sector enterprises, particularly in radio, has been to render their product blander and more generic. Exposure to most local radio is reason enough to nail your ears up.

6Music wasn't just the alternative: too often if you wanted music it felt like the only option.

For example, on the way into work this morning, even without the excitement-free zone that is Chris Evans we had Radio Two playing the likes of The Mavericks amid much waffle, and, as usual, Chris Moyles was not playing any music at all on Radio One, but talking his utter shite.

Well played BBC. Now if I want to wake to music in the morning and face the day with equanimity it had better be my own stuff. I will be investing in new technology, and it won't be a DAB radio.

Andrew Harrison of this parish, beautifully arguing the case for keeping 6 music on BBC NEWS

"The BBC shouldn't be muscling in on stuff the commercial sector already does" says Mark Thompson (I paraphrase)

Fine - a perfectly valid point, which I would agree with to a limited extent.

So what does he propose?
a) cut the only specialist music station which is not served by the commercial sector (those who cite xfm need to remember that it is even less accessible than 6Music)
b) cut the Asian network which provides specialist broadcasting to a particular minority group. (I'm no expert on Asian culture but I do know that no all "Asians" speak Punjabi so even if there is a Punjabi commercial station it won't cover all the potential Asian listeners)

Or am I missing something?

From the Guardian website.
"The BBC has given the first hint of a U-turn over plans to close its digital radio station BBC 6 Music, after a furious backlash from listeners, trade unions and some of its own staff."

From the BBC Trust Chairman.
"If we find that... there's massive public concern that we need to take account of then we will go back to the director general to rethink the strategy before it's approved."

Its too soon to give up on 6Music. Keep those protests going to the BBC trust if you feel strongly about it.

But I think out of all the BBC radio stations, 6Music must be among the cheapest - I'd guess only the archive-reliant Radio 7 is cheaper. I think it's also true that the per listener cost is by far the highest for Radio Three. Yet it is thought we should keep Radio 3 because it's a Good Thing. I just can't understand the thinking that says we should keep Radio 3 but not 6 Music if the idea is to save money to invest in more quality programming. (But that's not really the idea, is it?)

Not that I think Radio 3 should be cut either. Both networks perform services for new music (in different genres) not provided by the commercial sector.

David/Fraser

How about The Word facilitating a petition or some such to present to the BBC about the 6Music closure?

All in the name of choice too. I bore my wife senseless with my railing about how there are more channels than ever, but you're scratching around to find one decent programme per evening!

gets around 2 million listeners with digital, on-line and FM formats.

6 music gets around 700,000 with digitel and on-line formats only, missing the format most likely to bringin the new and the mobile listener

Therefore, the obvious thing to do is to keep it, keeping tight control over the costs (as they should be doing in all areas anywhere) and then split some FM band width away from either radio 3 or 4, both of whom have clear reception in my area on at least 4 different frequencies.

This would enable 6 to reach at least the figures attained by 3 and thus secure its long term future as a popular alternative to the mainstream.

...but am nonetheless saddened by the decision to close it down. I am firmly of the view that if it was on FM, it would have much better listening figures. Like many people who work long hours, most of my listening is in the car and I can't really listen at work on iPlayer either. We only have one DAB radio at home (in the kitchen) and I've never got the leisure time to listen to much radio at home. If it was on FM, I'm sure I'd listen in the car.

If the Tories get into power in May, I'm pretty sure the BBC model as it exists now will be on borrowed time - today's announcement smacks of trying to head off worse cuts at the pass by getting in first.

Maybe some kind of public subscription model will be the future. I don't actually agree with it - have you ever listened to public radio in the States? They are forever begging for subscribers and donations to stay afloat and in many ways that is worse than the moronic advertisements you get on commercial radio.

I've read the comments about Radio 1 and I think that its day time output isn't much different from many commercial stations, whereas the nighttime output is more adventurous. Why not drop the big name DJs on daytime Radio 1 and put out something more eclectic and interesting on FM day and night? Let the masses tune into Galaxy or Virgin!

I figured it wouldnt be quite that simple and thought that it would be likely designed to give each area at least one strong signal, however I drive up and down the country week in week out, from the London area to the Edinburgh-Glasgow corridor and I guarantee that if i scroll throught the FM dial it will stop at least three times each for radios 1, 2, 3 and 4! do they really need such a safety level to ensure coverage?

This...is the consultation. Hardly accessible but fill it in and make your voice heard.

https://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/departments/bbc/bbc-strategy-re...

Join the save 6 Music Facebook group which is nearlly 100,000 strong now.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=278123313911

http://www.love6music.com/

Fraser, would it be possible for The Word website to add add a "Save 6 Music" ad linking to the campaign page?

Just a quick one to say that music has been targeted elsewhere at the BBC, specifically on Radio 2.
Lamarr's 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' is in a will they/won't they stage at the moment and his brilliant 'Alternate 60s' programme appears to have just been quietly laid to rest.

the Facebook group has added 16,000 names overnight...

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=278123313911&ref=ts

don't impinge on another series of "The Persuasionists" I'm happy.

Now THATS what I pay my licence fee for...

tells me that they do not listen/register twitter or facebook

use the official complaint form because it has to be officially logged.

You can now download Steve Davis's excellent show, making it available to listeners outside the Billericay area: http://www.phoenixfm.com/story/3638.php

The link is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/consultations/departments/bbc/bbc-strategy...

A great shame indeed. One of the few things the BBC has done recently of any worth was to launch 6 Music and is regualrly on my DAB radio. But what to expect really, as Auntie is rapidly losing/has lost touch with the public at large and seems to be concerned primarily with paying her executives fat salaries!!