Editing BBC Three (section)

==Criticism==
The channel came in for criticism from several corners, the most prominent of which came from some of the BBC's long-standing presenters. These included [[John Humphrys]], who argued that BBC Three and BBC Four should be shut down in the face of budget cuts to [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today programme]]'', which he presents, as well as [[Jeremy Paxman]].<ref name="jhumphrys">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/humphrys-bbc-costcutters-should-axe-new-channels-401269.html|title=Humphrys: BBC cost-cutters should axe new channels|first=Ian|last=Burrell|access-date=8 May 2008|newspaper=The Independent|date=3 September 2007|archive-date=27 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227012015/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/humphrys-bbc-costcutters-should-axe-new-channels-401269.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="times">{{cite news|url=https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/camilla_cavendish/article2028767.ece|title=BBC Three and Four, your number's up |last=Cavendish |first=Camilla |access-date=8 May 2008 |newspaper=The Times |date=5 July 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080708200946/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/camilla_cavendish/article2028767.ece| archive-date= 8 July 2008 | url-status= dead}}</ref>

In July 2010 a UK music magazine printed a letter from the pressure group Friends of Radio 3 that criticised BBC Three for having 'comedies, game shows, films and documentaries, but no arts programming at all'.<ref>Letter from Sarah Spilsbury, ''Musical Opinion'', July–August 2010, p. 56</ref> In a later issue another correspondent endorsed this assessment on the basis of a search through issues of the ''[[Radio Times]]'', and cast doubt on the BBC's claim (in the document ''Performance Against Public Commitments 2009/10'') that the channel broadcast '54 hours of new music and arts programming' in that year.<ref>Letter from Mark Doran, ''Musical Opinion'', November–December 2010, p. 3</ref> Two months later the same correspondent wrote in to inform readers that the BBC had refused his '[[Freedom of Information Act 2000|Freedom of Information]]' request concerning the titles of the programmes used in calculating the '54 hours' total.<ref>Letter from Mark Doran, ''Musical Opinion'', January–February 2011, p. 4</ref>