What about Big L ditching the presenters and just doing non-stop themed music- like Gold and the new Caroline Flashback are doing now? Is this the future direction? Even Alec loves it!!

I much prefer DJs but they must have a good radio personality. Lets face it any one can play music and call themselves a DJ.
When I used to listen to Big L they had people like Mike Read , Steve Garlick and Randall Lee Rose, DJ`s with a good radio voice and personality.

If a station has bland and boring voices they might as well be juke-box stations.
But then again we all have mp3`s on our electronic devices so who needs DJs anyway.

With my general radio listers hat on:

Personally, non-stop juke-box does very little for me. I may well like a lot of the music, and it's fine for background listening.

For me, what makes radio special is the right blend and variety of music, coupled with a decent presenter and, most important, listener interraction. That's what always made Big L shows like Mike Read, Ray Anderson, David Hamilton etc. and later Chirpy really stand out. A tradition that continues today. Indeed, my own shows would be very flat without that element and I'm always so grateful so many listeners get involved. Even the pre-recorded shows will be reading out emails and playing requests, providing that audience link.

I think the reason so many presenters sound bland and boring today is due to the way mainstream stations have excluded the listener, instead opting for a safe formula to please the ad agencies. No requests, narrow, computer generated playlists, no emails etc. The DJ just provides short links between the music, that he or she probably has very little interest in, reading out the travel etc. at the appropriate time. Maybe a comment about last nights soaps (yawn). Lots of VT. No wonder the poor presenter sounds bored. It's a job, but how many must yearn for the freedom of the unpaid internet presenter?

That said, I know a lot of people love the juke-box format. But imho, radio done well can be so much more engaging. The difference between nice background sound and radio that makes you stop and pay attention. Both have their place.

As for Caroline Flashback, I'm sure they will be adding more presenter led shows in time.

To be honest-I used to think like that too Cookie-but I was very surprised by the popularity of the new Gold non-stop music concept. There have been howls of protest when it was taken off DAB up here in the Yorkshire region.

Hmm a difficult one, since many changes and factors come into play. Several things happened at the same time. Firstly, what had become a presented but pale reflection of used to be Capital Gold and Classic Gold, was downgraded further into a presenterless jukebox, but as most of it's output had long since ceased to be engaging, was that much of a loss? Secondly, at the same time it lost much of it's DAB and AM outlets. Thirdly, it was replaced in many areas by a different station, with a significantly different output - Smooth. So, many who liked Gold, were probably none too happy about having it taken away and replaced with something alien to what they had come to like.

Incidentally, slightly off topic, but imho, Smooth was a good station. I used to listen regularly on 102.2FM, but it was ruined within a week of Global getting their hands on it. So, maybe their was a double back-lash against Smooth? Ex. Smooth listeners who hated the changes and ex Gold listeners who hated the loss of their station and having Smooth foisted on them. Just a thought.

Agree with you there Ian re-Smooth used to listen all the time on DAB but ceased pretty quickly in March 2014 when Global got there daggers in and out went the likes of Simon Bates and Lynn Parsons and in came the more music less chat repetitive playlists and the TV personalities. Current day Magic has improved and the playlist has certainly been widened and enlarged its getting to sound more like pre-Global Smooth I hope it continues to improve in RAJAR. As for Gold its a shadow of its former self almost just an internet station. Amazingly its getting reasonable ratings given all the competition from on-line stations although I have to say I rarely listen to it since we lost it from DAB and all the presenters bar breakfast were chopped.
I'm not particularly keen on jukebox stations but I do like Radio Caroline Flashback it seems to have an excellent library with a super mix of tracks. Like you I understand that presenters will be added as it grows. I also like Decades Radio which features the ex-Gold presenter Dean Martin on weekday breakfast & has Diddy David Hamilton on in the afternoons.