The writer and broadcaster Ian McIntyre, who has died aged 82, was unusual in running both BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3 and caused controversy at both. He was made controller of Radio 4 in 1976, largely as a result of his deep commitment to radio and a belief that the medium would not be vanquished by television. But as a man who, it was said, much preferred combat to compromise, he rapidly earned the nickname Mac the Knife, following cuts to key Radio 4 programmes such as Today and The World This Weekend.
He explained that he wanted such programmes to "do a little less and do it better" and saw himself in a battle against falling standards. There was trouble over an attempt to reschedule Alistair Cooke's Letter from America and moving the Archers from 7pm to 6.45pm. The rows over changes, which angered colleagues as well as listeners, reached a crescendo at the Today programme.
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