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Its existence was controversial from the start, partly because of perceived "elitism" - it was sometimes criticised for programmes of "two [[Academia|dons]] talking" and also for the costs of output relative to a small listener [[Reach|reach]]. In actuality its existence went against Reithian principles, as [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|Reith]] himself had, during his time at the BBC, been against segmenting audiences by splitting programming genres across different networks. From the first it did have some prominent supporters; the [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills|Education Secretary]] in the [[Clement Attlee|Attlee]] government, [[Ellen Wilkinson]], spoke rather optimistically of creating a "third programme nation." When it faced cuts in 1957, The Third Programme Defense Society was formed and its leaders included [[TS_Eliot|T. S. Eliot]], [[Albert_Camus|Albert Camus]], and [[Laurence_Olivier|Sir Laurence Olivier]].
The network was dedicated to the discerning or "high-brow" listener providing serious classical music, concerts and plays as well as room for modern composers, and jazz. Speech formed a much higher proportion of output than the later Radio 3. Particularly notable in its drama productions were the radio plays of [[Samuel Beckett]] and the [[Hilda Tablet]] plays by [[Henry Reed]]. [[Martin Esslin]] was particularly associated with the
The Third Programme is still much missed by older listeners, who often assert that its replacement by Radio 3 was a retrograde step. Some of its high-minded mission has arguably been taken up on television by [[BBC_4|BBC Four]], which fittingly commissioned and broadcast a documentary about the programme's rise and fall.
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