NewsBreakingOnline

The station has had to prove its worth since it was threatened with closure a year ago. A jump in listeners suggests it has The news started to spread almost as soon as Andy Parfitt, the controller of the BBC Asian Network, began to speak to staff on Monday afternoon. Asian music artists started the party by announcing that they had heard, via some indiscreet DJs perhaps, that the station was being saved and that Bhangra, Bollywood and all the other manifestations of the Asian sound would continue to be championed by the BBC Asian Network. In the midst of all this euphoria some people had missed the comment about this being an update not an announcement. This is not a done deal and the BBC Asian Network has not been saved – it is still ultimately in the hands of the BBC Trust, which will make its final decision towards the end of this year. For the many people who work for the BBC Asian Network in Birmingham, Leicester and London it was a statement of intent, that someone, somewhere, in the upper echelons of the BBC felt that the station was worth saving. For the staff and broadcasters this was a vindication of the huge effort that had been put into turning the station around, from one that was perceived to be failing, to one that has increased its listening figures by 33% in one year . It was over a year ago that I wrote an article here outlining how absurd I found the idea of closing the Asian Network down was. I can only assume that, try as they might, the BBC has still not managed to find a way to serve the large and influential British Asian audience that is better than the way the Asian Network currently does it. Each and every day my show asks questions that many other radio stations would shy away from asking. It was my show that inquired whether there was a cultural dimension to the rape gangs operating in the north of England before the mainstream were brave enough to do so. The BBC Asian Network provides a place for British Asian people of all ages to experience high quality broadcasting that is free of commercial pressures while understanding that it has to justify why it spends the public money that it does. The news coverage is of a very high standard, the unique experiences offered to our listeners such as the audiences with stars of music and cinema, and the commitment to specialist music at night with Bobby Friction’s Sony award winning show , proves that our audience values what we do and is being drawn to us in increasing numbers. In the year that has passed since I wrote that article, with a cloud permanently hanging over us all, it is a testament to the vision for the network and the strength of my friends and colleagues that there are more people listening in. The BBC Asian Network did not have the benefit of being able to draw on powerful friends in the media to put its case across. It had to rely on quiet diplomacy and getting the right schedule in place while reaching out to its audience and asking them to spread the word. There are those who feel that the station is not value for money , and a year ago it would have been an argument that would have carried some weight, but the considerable increase in audience figure proves it has found its place. If, as is being reported, the Asian Network will remain but with half the budget, then that is what we will be given. Why should the Asian Network be immune from the cuts that both public and privately funded bodies are being subjected to? The answer is of course that it shouldn’t. On Saturday afternoon while watching my three-year-old son play toddler football I got into a conversation with another dad, a non-Asian hedge fund manager. When I mentioned that I was a Radio 1 DJ he looked impressed; when I mentioned that I also presented a show on the BBC Asian Network a look of pity spread across his face as he said: “Aren’t you closing down?” This is what we have had to contend with for the past year. For now there seems to have been a change of heart from up on high, and there is a glimmer of hope that the BBC Asian Network may survive as a national digital radio station, though with a much reduced budget. The listeners have spoken and told the BBC that this is a station worth saving and one that is relevant to their life experience. The BBC is not Midsomer; there are many stories to be told emanating from the diverse communities that make up this country, and the BBC Asian Network plays a big part in helping to articulate them. Asian Network BBC Radio industry Nihal Arthanayake guardian.co.uk