Archives for September 2011

The redesigned Radio 1 homepage

There are three posts you might be interested in on the BBC Internet blog covering the recent redesign of the Radio 1 and 1Xtra homepages.

Senior producer Chris Johnson introduces the ideas and principles behind the new design in Building the Radio 1 and 1Xtra Home Pages; senior software engineer Patrick Sinclair goes Under the Hood of the Radio 1 Homepage: the technical low-down and last but not least senior creative director Yasser Rashid tells the design and user experience side of things in Redesigning the Radio 1 and 1Xtra User Experience online.

Paul Murphy is the editor of the Radio blog

• Leave your comments about the new homepages on the BBC Internet blog

Editor's note: On the BBC Internet blog there's news of a new test version of the BBC Radio homepage for you to try and out and submit your feedback - PM.

A screenshot of the Radio 1 Labs release

Today marks an important (if relatively modest) step for BBC radio on digital platforms, as we release a Labs version of the new BBC Radio homepage.

I'm an Executive Product Manager in BBC Future Media working on what will eventually (sometime during 2012) become the Radio and Music product, in line with the BBC's strategy for a small number of cross platform products, as outlined by Director of FM Ralph Rivera and previous Director Erik Huggers.

Today is the very first step on the ladder, as we have spent recent months building the foundations and are now keen to start to get feedback from users on this release of the Radio homepage.

Read the rest of the post, try our the Labs version of the BBC Radio homepage and submit your feedback on the Internet blog.

On the 5 live blog station controller Adrian Van-Klaveren has written a post detailing 5 live's coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. He recalls where he was at the time (as I'm sure we've all done in the last few days):

At the time I was Head of BBC Newsgathering. I remember catching up with the breakfast news and then setting off for some meetings at the BBC's Washington office. It seemed an entirely unremarkable news day. After 15 minutes walk, I arrived in the office to find an extraordinary amount of activity for that time of the morning. The first plane had struck the Twin Towers.

Within the coverage Peter Allen and Stephen Nolan will be reporting and presenting from the United States, including special programmes from Florida where President Bush heard the news and Victoria Derbyshire will have rare access to Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, presenting her Friday programme from there. You can find more details and leave a comment on the 5 live blog.

On Monday night Radio 1's Mike Davies presented a musical history of 9/11 and its aftermath, featuring interviews, archive and the sounds of the likes of Moby, My Chemical Romance and the Beastie Boys.

Radio 2 marks the anniversary with Faith and 9/11. Journalist and Pause For Thought contributor, Abdul-Rehman Malik guides listeners through a reflective anthology combining personal reflections - past and present - with news archive including an interview given to the BBC by the Archbishop Of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, shortly after the terrorist attacks.

A Guernica for Gotham on Radio 3 investigates how New York artists have responded to the destruction of the Twin Towers. Interviewees include composer Steve Reich and writer Meg Wolitzer.

Radio 4 is currently broadcasting the second half of this year's Reith Lectures under the title Securing Freedom and you can download the first of Eliza Manningham-Buller's lectures, Terror, from the website.

There are details of Radio 4's other coverage on this page 9/11 - Ten Years On including The Saturday Play Washington, 9/11 and The Day before 9/11, a portrait of New York, America and the wider world as it was - the day before.

Gwyneth Williams, the controller of Radio 4, has written about Radio 4's coverage of 9/11 on the blog, where you can find out more and leave a comment.

Paul Murphy is editor of the Radio blog