Richard Buckham defends the station saying alleged changes to Classic FM are “baseless”.

Richard Buckham has denied there are any plans to remove Classic FM from the airwaves or to move to an entirely digital radio or online service. In an exclusive interview with Limelight Magazine, the Station Manager of ABC Classic FM said that any such rumours were entirely unfounded.

Concerns over the future of the station were raised last week by senior ABC journalist Quentin Dempster in a statement published on the Friends of the ABC website. An article subsequently published on the Limelight website on Friday, reporting Dempster’s concerns, provoked an outcry on social media. Classic FM listeners unanimously voiced their horror at the alleged proposal, with some threatening to petition the ABC if such a plan was implemented.

Buckham is keen to silence the rumours, all of which he flatly denies. “I wrote to the Classic FM staff on Friday, firstly to reassure them that the rumours were baseless, that they were without foundation and not sourced within the ABC, and secondly to say that ABC Radio has no plans to do what was described: to take Classic FM off FM transmission,” said Buckham in...