In just over a week, the petition has gained more 1,250 signatures and the awareness and outrage grows.
Media Coverage
Steve Barker was interviewed in the Guardian, published online Tuesday
The Wire magazine has an update on the situation. This clarifies the BBC regard the show as 'resting' as opposed to 'axed' (whatever that means!)
Malcom Wyatt has an excellent full length feature, also including words with Steve.
OTW features on the latest episode of Feedback (Radio 4)
Musicians as diverse as David Toop, Adrian Sherwood, Richard Skelton, and Roger Robinson (to name but a few) have voiced their support online.
There's also a feature in a recent edition of the Lancashire Evening Post (print edition)
What next?
As Steve outlines in detail in the articles above, this cut is not being made in isolation. The BBC (and local radio as a whole) is ditching specialist programming in favour of a centralised/regionalised and homogenised celebrity/big name based output. This is bad for 'On the Wire' and bad for lovers of local content and shows build on passion and love and nothing else.
Steve has outlined a range of actions and a little more info on the situation in this post on the OTW blog.
Actions include:
If in Lancashire/North West, writing to your local councillor or MP, expressing concern about OTW but also about cuts to local broadcasting and the effect on local identity and creative industries and so forth.
You can find a list of Lancashire Councillors here
You can write to your MP via this link.
Finally, wherever you are based in the UK (or beyond!) you can write to the BBC Board here (this is the body that incorporates what were traditionally 'BBC Trustees') who are obliged to listen to feedback on the BBC and its use of your license fee.
Don't forget to listen to and share this weeks On the Wire
Please keep sharing this petition and the word of the show. To quote a new listener on Mixcloud:
"Just found you thanks to the Guardian piece. Fabulous, this will change my life"
Onward!