Maybe it’s just an old age mentality, but I find this effort to establish new terminology for existing products annoying and just unnecessarily stylistic. In an age when an organization like the BBC is pressed for revenue, it seems a waste of time and resources to engineer a whole new way of looking at what are essentially the same things. Maybe they think it makes them more attractive to younger eyes and ears (yeah, this is probably it), but I really doubt that’s true. Most of the surveys I read indicate that trying to attract younger people to traditional media ends up a loser and that many of them eventually embrace the stuff that the BBC et al are trying to sell as they mature and get older with more experience. I can’t help but perceive the chase for advertising dollars as the culprit here which only ends up confusing "public service” with the pursuit of a mass audience. They are two separate things that require separate sources of revenue if their unique missions are to be preserved, but try explaining that to the younger executives running these organizations today. Most of the people the BBC or NPR are hiring come from the commercial side and fail to recognize the subtle but real difference. ABC (Australia) Radio National seems to still get it, however.
John Figliozzi > On Jul 25, 2026, at 6:32 AM, Rob de Santos <[email protected]> wrote: > > I noticed the same thing. Initially, I thought it was confusing. I suppose, > using the same logic, book and song titles are now "brands". > > --Rob de Santos > > -----Original Message----- > From: Swprograms <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Richard > Cuff > Sent: Friday, July 24, 2026 4:32 PM > To: Internet radio discussion <[email protected]>; Shortwave > programming discussion <[email protected]> > Subject: [Swprograms] BBC Global Minds user survey: programs are called > "Brands" > > Interesting terminology -- I just went through a survey in the BBC Global > Minds community regarding my awareness of various BBC programs offered on > the World Service, Radio 4, and BBC World News. > > What I would call "programs" they called "brands". > > Welcome to the 21st century, I guess... > > Richard Cuff > _______________________________________________ > Swprograms mailing list > [email protected] > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms > > To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to > [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL > shown above. > > > _______________________________________________ > Swprograms mailing list > [email protected] > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms > > To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to > [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL > shown above. > _______________________________________________ Swprograms mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.
