FEATURE: First Aid Kit: Why Are There So Few Female Presenting Duos on Radio?

FEATURE:

 

 

First Aid Kit

PHOTO CREDIT: Skylar Kang/Pexels

Why Are There So Few Female Presenting Duos on Radio?

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I do feel radio has always had a problem…

 IMAGE CREDIT: BBC

when it came to gender equality. Many might point out that, as there are a lot of women on major stations and local radio, that there is not a big issue. Think about many of the stations where the male broadcasters outweigh women. Radio X is an example. Even Greatest Hits Radio could do with a bit more balance. BBC Radio 2 has more male presenters. Even at the weekend – where the balance tips towards the middle -, you would think that the nation’s biggest station would be more conscientious and equal! BBC Radio 1 is a lot better when it comes to equality. They have an impressive and talented array of women across the station. I will come back to them in a minute. BBC Radio 6 Music falls somewhere between BBC Radio 1 and 2 in that sense. They do need to create more balance in terms of gender, but they have made strides over the past few years. It would be nice to see some younger blood added to the roster. That being said, they have had a bit of  shake-up when it comes to their line-ups. One pleasing aspect is that, as part of the changes – which take effect from 5th June – the brilliant Deb Grant is part of the station’s line-up. Someone who has stood in for Chris Hawkins on early breakfast, she will present New Music Fix Daily, Monday-Thursdays, 7-9 p.m.

 IMAGE CREDIT: BBC

That is exciting, as she will be appearing alongside Tom Ravenscroft. That dynamic is a reason why I have written this feature. It is a positive partnership and great show, but it makes me wonder why, when it comes to pairing presenters, there are never two women. One all-male partnership that has been created and received backlash and protest from listeners is the long-term favourites Marc Riley and Gideon Coe. Each are respected and invaluable broadcasters who are responsible for bringing so much new music to people. By cutting their individual shows and reducing their overall airtime each week (they will appear together Monday-Thursday, 10 p.m.-12 a.m.). This has led to people signing a petition to get them each reinstated on their weekly shows. This article explains more:

“BBC bosses face a new battle for the “soul” of 6 Music after thousands of listeners demanded a U-turn over a schedule shake-up.

Managers are facing a backlash over a decision to slash the hours that longstanding DJs Gideon Coe and Marc Riley present on the alternative music station.

Listeners took to social media to condemn the evening schedule changes, revealed in i, with many warning that the digital station, which reaches 2.5 million people a week, was losing touch with its core audience.

Thousands of rebellious listeners have signed a Change petition calling for the BBC to reverse its move to cut Riley and Coe’s airtime from 20 hours a week to just eight, with the pair asked to share an evening slot two days a week.

 One insider said: “The 6 Music audience is very loyal and protective. Bosses have a real battle to covince listeners – and its own staff – that these changes are a natural evolution and that the soul of the station isn’t now under threat.”

Maxine Peake, the Bafta-nominated actress and music fan, who recorded a collaboration with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, was an influential voice adding her name to the petition.

Musicians who rely on 6 Music to help them reach new listeners were among the most vocal in opposing the shake-up.

American songwriter BC Camplight tweeted: “This may be biting the 6 Music hand that feeds me but I’m so saddened by this.”

Camplight objected to the BBC describing Riley and Coe as “two of our finest creators” in its official announcement.

Riley is “not a ‘curator’. He is an irreplaceable communicator, entertainer, and musical stalwart who makes many of us look forward to 7pm”, the musician wrote.

Peter Guy, editor of the leading Liverpool-based music website Getintothis, wrote: “Feels like much loved 6 Music is spiralling into the abyss. Cutting two of its best two DJ slots into one is truly rubbish.” He called it “another poor BBC decision. Hard to understand”.

There is suspicion that the changes are being introduced to make 6 Music more attractive to younger listeners”.

It is a weird decision and real travesty that two incredible broadcasters have been pushed to a very late slot and had their shows taken away. Maybe trying to shore up space for different presents and appeal to younger listeners, I do hope that the new pairings do raise an important point. Look across the all-male Gideon Coe and Marc Riley, the male-female Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant, and you will notice that there are no all-female pairings. This observation came from journalist Laura Barton. It is a good point! Even look at BBC Radio 1, and they have Sam and Danni, Saturday between 7 and 10:30 a.m. There is Matt and Mollie 1 p.m. on Saturday. Matt and Mollie are also on at 1 p.m. Sundays. The only exception of sorts happens on Sunday where Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton run down the chart at 6 p.m. It is very rare that you see an all-female pairing like this. Indeed, BBC Radio 2 doesn’t have any pairings at all. Elsewhere on BBC Radio 1, you have Dean and Vicky, Vick and Jordan, and Rickie, Melvin and Charlie. There is great diversity and equality on the station, but why the solitary female duo?! And, in fact, the chart show does not allow individual curation and a lot of chat. Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton are essentially announcing chart positions and not too much else. It is a great show, but it would be great to give them another show where they could play a range of music, conduct interviews, and have more flexibility.

 IN THIS IMAGE: Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton/IMAGE CREDIT: BBC

Looking across other stations, and the situation is broadly the same. KISS FRESH, KISS, AND KISSTORY have no all-female duos. Same goes for Heart. Radio X, shockingly, has no female partnerships. The only other exception I could see if Magic Breakfast with Kat Shoob and Nicole Appleton. Appleton seems like a temporary stand-in for Tom Price, so it is not even a permanent fixture! So, across all the most popular stations, you have one, at a push two, incidents of a female presenting duo. Compare that to the many all-male/male-female examples, and you have to wonder why this is? indeed, across every station, you could pair two women and make an incredible show. BBC Radio 1 has awesome broadcasters like Clara Amfo, Alyx Holcombe, and Sian Eleri. They could easily create a partnerships that would be very natural and popular. Their current chart show pairing would extended well beyond its limitations and confines of a Sunday. BBC Radio 2 has ample options - as does every other station I have mentioned. Taking it back to BBC Radio 6 Music and, whilst they have a couple of new pairings, you do feel that there is an opportunity for others. In new of promoting new music, what about Mary Anne Hobbs and Annie Mac (who is a temporary broadcaster on the station but should be permanent)? Emily Pilbeam has recently stood in for Chris Hawkins. She would be a wonderful half of a female duo. Eclectic shows from Jamz Supernova and Cerys Matthews could fuse and work alongside one another.

 IN THIS PHOTO: The iconic Annie Mac

I cannot get my head around why there are no (or very few) female partnerships! I titled this feature ‘First Aid Kit’, as it seems apt. There is something scarred and damaged when it comes to the current malaise and mindset. That presenting partnerships all either all-male or male-female. (First Aid Kit, by the way, are a Swedish duo of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg. The duo are often played on BBC Radio 6 Music). Like any feature relating to gender inequality, you get people coming back with excuses, cliches and untruths. The listeners are not protesting and pointing out the imbalance, so what does it matter?! It would be unnatural or ‘woke’ to put two women together, perhaps. Maybe there is a reason why you do not have female presenting duos. Are they going to go off-topic and be too chatty and not focused on the show at hand? All bollocks, of course! Yet it is the same sexist attitudes that one can see across radio, festivals, in studios, and across all areas of the industry. It would be exciting to see female pairings across the stations. A new dynamic. I suspect the male-female pairing is most popular because people think it replicates a relationship or has that range of voices. If it all-male or all-female then maybe it is homogenised or limited? It does seem very regressive that stations do not have that trust and foresight to give two incredible women airtime together. In 2023, when we have some incredible women across every major station, there should be more respect and trust. Laura Barton rightly reacted to BBC Radio 6 Music’s new shows – where Deb Grant and Tom Ravenscroft are paired; same with Marc Riley and Gideon Coe – by asking why is it the same old story. I actually think that two women presenting together would be amazing and, hopefully, start a wave of new shows. It makes me wonder why radio stations…

 PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

REFUSE to change the frequency.

Sam Liddicott