Let's cut to the chase. The only way you'll save local radio folk programmes is if enough of us convince the BBC Trust and managers that folk is a minority interest which reflects local communities that can't be served by just having Mike Hardin on Radio 2 with his clutch of the big name artists' CDs. The folk clubs need the events guides and talk ups that they do. Artists need local platforms to nurture them into the wider world, and even the big names need more exposure than just one play on Mike H. That queue is going to get a lot longer if you kill off BBC Local Radio shows like The Drift, Durbervilles, Guiniveve etc.... There is a SMALL chance that these shows could be taken up by more stations if the management can be convinced that they are part of diversity, a unique reflection of Englishness and other such buzz words.

What can we do?
1/Listen to the folk shows regularly...all of them! use the i-player to listen to those not in your patch. The more hits they get the more popular they are seen to be.

2/Contact the BBC Trust with your views. Those links again:

http://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/bbc/dqf/.

And the mailing address is:
Delivering Quality First
BBC Trust
180 Great Portland Street
London W1W 5QZ