Scud FM

Infobox Radio Station
name = Radio 4 News FM


area = UK - National FM
airdate = 17 January - 2 March 1991
frequency = FM - 92 MHz - 95 MHz
format = Rolling news
owner = BBC
website =

Scud FM was the nickname [cite book |last=Elmes |first=Simon |title=And Now On Radio 4 |origyear=2007 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781905211531 |pages=117] given by the journalists to the BBC radio rolling news service that was on air during the first Gulf War from 16 January until 2 March 1991. It used BBC Radio 4's FM frequencies, whilst their regular scheduled service continued on long wave. [cite web | url = http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/stunt_up/ |title=Dictionary definition of 'stunt up'| accessdate = 2007-01-14 refers Sheena McDonald, "Scud-FM goes critical—BBC gears up for round-the-clock news service", page 25, The Guardian 17 August 1992] [cite book| first = Bob| last = Franklin| title = Key Concepts in Journalism Studies| date = 31 March 2005| publisher = Sage| isbn = 0761944826] This service was also broadcast on BBC World Service.

The service was also referred to as Radio 4's News FM network, [cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/running/executive/eb_jenny_abramsky.shtml| title = Executive Board: Jenny Abramsky: Audio & Music| work = BBC |month=October | year=2005| accessdate = 2007-01-17] and formally [cite book |last=Elmes |first=Simon |title=And Now On Radio 4 |origyear=2007 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781905211531 |pages=174] known as Radio 4 Gulf FM. Journalists working on the service called it 'Scud FM' after the Scud missiles operated by Iraq which were a major talking point during the war.

Radio 4 News FM was seen as evidence that a rolling news service was required. In response, BBC Radio Five Live was launched in 1994.cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/newswatch/history/noflash/html/1990s.stm
title = Radio 5 launches non-stop news | work = BBC 'Newswatch' | authorlink = BBC | accessdate = 2007-01-20]

History

When Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1991 the BBC discontinued broadcasting the usual mixed schedule on BBC Radio 4's FM frequency and replaced it with a rolling news service, known by the emergency staff as "Scud FM", named after "Saddam Hussein's most notorious weapon" [cite book | author = Starkey, Guy | editor = Crisell, Andrew |chapter= Extending Choice: BBC Radio Five Live| title = More Than A Music Box: Radio In A Multi-media World | year = 2004 | pages = p. 26 | publisher = Berghahn Books | isbn = 1571814736] the Russian-made Scud missile which was being used to bomb Tel Aviv.

BBC staff had managed to launch a 17 hours-a-day rolling news channel (without time to concoct an official name) with less than 24 hours notice and provided the listener with "access to the raw material, the events as they unfolded, from the daily military press conferences, the Presidential briefings to what it was like living in Baghdad, in Tel Aviv, with the troops in Saudi Arabia".cite speech
title = Sound Matters - Five Live - the War of Broadcasting House - a morality story
last = Abramsky
first = Jenny
authorlink = Jenny Abramsky
date = 31 January 2002
location = Exeter College, University of Oxford
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/abramsky_oxford2.shtml
accessdate = 2007-01-14]

The service was run by Jenny Abramsky and produced by volunteers, working on their days off: Brian Redhead, John Humphrys, Nick Clarke, Robin Lustig, Nicholas Witchell, Bob Simpson and Nick Ross. [cite web
url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2006/07/28/db2802.xml
title = Bob Simpson
author = The Daily Telegraph
authorlink = The Daily Telegraph
date = 28 July 2006
accessdate = 2007-01-17]

The continuation of Radio 4's rolling news service on the FM frequency has created friction at the BBC. Radio news and current affairs have the backing of the deputy director-general John Birt to keep it running for the duration of the war. But others see it as another example of empire-building by the expanding News and current affairs directorate. And there is concern about other Radio 4 programmes which are now only being heard on poorer quality long wave. Michael Green, controller of Radio, is resigned to being unable to reclaim FM until September (unless war ends sooner) when it becomes Radio 4's dominant frequency. But, to reinforce the point that FM is not superseding his main service, most Radio 4 news and current affairs programs are banned from the FM schedule. [cite news
first = Georgina
last = Henry
title = Mediafile
publisher = The Guardian
page = 27
date = 18 January 1991]

However, many BBC radio executives and Radio 4 listeners were unhappy about the loss of the FM stereo service, so when the conflict ended on 2 March 1991 the rolling news service stopped.

Internal BBC politics lies behind the decision to abruptly close Radio 4's FM news service last Saturday with so much still to report in the aftermath of the war. It appears that a move by the top brass John Birt and Michael Checkland to appease senior radio executives, less than happy with the rolling news services that took away their Radio 4 FM frequency for the duration of the war. If the frequency immediately reverted to the regular Radio 4 service, it was argued, tempers would be calmed and the way smoothed to more reasoned discussions about whether the BBC should have a permanent radio news service. Those who have become addicted hope that it will: audience research shows that it has attracted new listeners to Radio 4, although the BBC has a problem over what frequency it could allocated in the long term. It can't be FM, due to become Radio 4's main frequency in September, but long-wave listening is diminishing among the BBC's target audience for such a service. [cite news
first = Georgina
last = Henry
title = Mediafile
publisher = The Guardian
page = 29
date = 4 March 1991]

Despite this, 29% of all radio listeners and 68% of Radio 4 listeners heard it and an extra 1.5 million people listened to Radio 4 on both longwave and FM frequencies.

Impact on the BBC's radio structure

Listeners wrote in "saying the new service was a lifeline". The success of Radio 4 News FM convinced the BBC that a national radio rolling news network was required. However, Radio 4 listeners marched on Broadcasting House to preserve their FM and AM frequencies.

In the "Daily Telegraph", Gillian Reynolds suggested: "Now that the BBC has created, instantly and effectively, an all-news network, would it not be a tremendous waste to un-invent it? The answer is obvious... the bold plan would be to collapse Radio 5, put its schools programmes onto a subscriber cassette service, and bring news and sport together in a new service".

The corporation replaced the "improvised and disjointed" BBC Radio 5, which had been launched in 1990, with BBC Radio Five Live, "a coherent and cohesive... service of intelligent news and sport for a younger audience". The new station launched on 28 March 1994.

References

Further reading

*cite web
url = http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2004/03/bbc-used-to-have-fifth-network.html
title = The BBC used to have a fifth network... What was its name?
accessdate = 2007-01-17
*cite web
url = http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/newsdesk/bbc50.php
title = From Newsreel to News 24
first = Kirk | last = Northrop
date = 11 September 2005
accessdate = 2007-01-17
*cite web
url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030408/ai_n12692215
title = Media: On the right wavelength
last = Jury
first = Louise
publisher = The Independent
date = 8 April 2003
accessdate = 2007-01-17