Ben Cooper is a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, radio producer and media executive. He was the final Controller of Radio 1,

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

and

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...

from 2011 to 2020, replacing

Andy Parfitt Andrew John Parfitt (born 24 September 1958) is a British radio administrator, who is the executive director of talent for ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. He was the Controller of BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, and held that role from 1998 to ...

, after which the position was abolished and replaced by Heads of Stations. He was replaced at Radio 1 by

Aled Haydn Jones Aled Haydn Jones (born 9 August 1976) is a Welsh radio executive, former presenter and former radio producer. In June 2020, he was appointed head of BBC Radio 1, succeeding Ben Cooper. From 2004 until 2012, he worked on ''The Chris Moyles Sho ...

Career

Cooper started his career at

BBC Hereford & Worcester BBC Hereford & Worcester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which were one county from 1974 to 1998. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and online via BBC Sounds from studios on Hylt ...

. He also worked as a journalist at Three Counties Radio before becoming a producer at Radio 1. After a brief stint at

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

as an executive producer, Cooper returned to Radio 1 where he became Head of Mainstream, then later Head of Programmes between 2006 and 2009, where he brought

Vernon Kay Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English broadcaster and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' (2006–2015), ''Ju ...

to the network. He was appointed the station's Deputy Controller in 2009 and oversaw a major restructuring of programming, which included introducing

Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...

and

Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English broadcaster and author. He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 1 since 2007, hosting shows including his old drive-time show and the station's flagship breakfast show. Since 201 ...

as weekday presenters. He became Acting Controller in July 2011 following Andy Parfitt's decision to step down as Controller, and was appointed as Controller with immediate effect on 28 October 2011. As controller of Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network, Cooper has overseen the development of Live Lounge, Radio 1's Teen Awards and Radio 1's Big Weekend. He is responsible for the overall leadership and editorial content of the three stations, whose reach is a combined weekly audience of over 12 million on radio, 10 million social users, and 14 million weekly video viewers. Cooper was instrumental in the removal of

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012 ...

from the station and the installation of

Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), nicknamed "Grimmy", is an English broadcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a television presenter for his Channel 4 rol ...

in the breakfast slot as part of Radio 1's move towards a younger listenership and the ultimate shedding of over a million listeners In April 2013, Cooper banned the single "

Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is a song in the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz''. It is the centerpiece of several individual songs in an extended set-piece performed by the Munchkins, Glinda (Billie Burke) and Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) highlight ...

" from being played in full on Radio 1, once it had achieved number 2 status in the British pop charts, following the death of former PM,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. Cooper joined

Bauer Radio Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of Bauer Media Group owning brands; Absolute Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Jazz FM, Hits Radio, KISS, Planet Rock, Magic, Kerrang! Radio and Heat Radio. History In early 2008, German ma ...

in 2020, and was promoted to chief content and music office in 2021. His arrival coincided with a number of high-profile personnel moves from BBC Radio to Bauer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ben BBC Radio 1 controllers Living people British radio journalists British radio personalities Year of birth missing (living people)

Career

See also

References