They rallied a million people to topple Simon Cowell’s media machine last Christmas earning themselves the title of ‘digital renegades’, but this time Essex parents of three Jon and Tracy Morter believe people must rage against the machine in a different way if they’re to save 6 Music.
Mike catches up with the couple to find out more …
Will they pull another chart stunt? Call a mass demonstration? Maybe a giant street gig. Or how about a boycott of the licence fee?
There are already 160,000 people in their Save 6 Music Facebook group, and speculation, just like its membership, is growing fast.
Although Jon and Tracy don’t rule any of these ideas out, they are convinced the most important thing people can do is get on their computers … and write. Protestors, in short, should form an orderly queue.
“We have had certain people come to us, quite high up within the BBC, and the key thing they’ve said is we need to get the consultation form filled in by every single person.” Jon tells me.
“Petitions and demonstrations will help – but the trust consultation form is the real killer to get behind.” That’s right ladies and gents: it’s time to get radical and write to the BBC Trust.
The avid 6 Music listeners oversee the Facebook group, but they were not the people to initiate the campaign. Rather, it seems, they were ‘chosen’ to take up the cause because of their reputation for success on the social networks.
Jon explains what happened: “We’ve got an idea that maybe an insider started it. It was quite early on – about January time – I got invited to a small group. When I read into the original description it was about the review. I thought I’d join and keep and eye on it … then there were 600 or 800 people.
“I checked back into the group a month or so later and I was the admin – whoever the original admin was had gone – and we were left holding the baby.”
It’s a comforting thought – started by BBC insiders, now the leading rebels in the fight to save 6 Music are not firebrands, but two busy parents. Welcome to 2010.
They marched on the American Embassy in the sixties, battled the National Front in the seventies, supported the miners in the eighties – but by the teenies, the new face of radicalism is…
…signing up to a Facebook group and sending polite letters. Told you the revolution would not be televised. Now, back to my online organic shopping.
You can keep up to date with the Facebook campaign here
and fill in the BBC Trust consultation form here
