Freeview & Freesat (Ch. 704), Sky, Virgin and on line via BBC Sounds. BBC World Service, which uses BBC Radio 4 FM & DAB frequencies between 01:00 and 05:20, is in stereo, but only on Radio 4 FM & DAB and not on its own dedicated DAB channel. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts in mono on DAB, but has always been in stereo on Digital TV (Freeview / Freesat Ch 708), Sky, Virgin and online. Notable continuity announcers and newsreaders Announcers carry out the following duties from Broadcasting House: Provide links (or junctions) between programmes Read trails for programmes Provide reassurance to listeners during a programme breakdown Read the Shipping Forecast (except the 05:20 broadcast, which is covered by BBC Weather) Read the BBC Radio 3 news summaries at 13:00, 17:00 and 18:00 on weekdays Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House. In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten. BBC Alan Smith John Hammond Caroline Nicholls Tom Sandars Jane Steel Freelance Chris Aldridge Andrew Crawford Mark Forrest Jim Lee Andrew Peach Susan Rae Neil Nunes Former Alice Arnold (1994–2012) Carolyn Brown (left 2015) Harriet Cass (left 2013) Corrie Corfield (1988–2021) Peter Donaldson (1973–2012) Charlotte Green (1988–2013) Peter Jefferson (left 2009) Astley Jones (left 2006) Laurie Macmillan (died 2001) Rory Morrison (died 2013) Charles Nove (left 2019; now with Scala Radio) Jamie Owen Brian Perkins Iain Purdon (retired from BBC World Service in 2016) Vaughan Savidge (left 2018) Neil Sleat (1998-2021) Zeb Soanes (left 2022) Moira Stuart (left 1981 to move to TV; now with Classic FM) Frequencies and other means of reception Criticisms Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues, as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly "socially and culturally conservative" approach. There has been criticism of Today in particular for a lack of female broadcasters. In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints. In addition, there has been long-running