Editing The Archers (section)

==Themes==
The programme has tackled many serious, contemporary social issues: rural [[drug addiction]]; rape, including [[rape in marriage]]; inter-racial relationships; [[direct action]] against [[genetically modified crops]] and badger culling; family break-ups; and [[civil partnership in the United Kingdom|civil partnerships]], and a family being threatened by a gang of farm thieves. There has been criticism from conservative commentators, such as [[Peter Hitchens]] in 1999<ref>Peter Hitchens (2000) [1999], ''[[The Abolition of Britain]]'', pp. 262–64, Quartet (revised edition)</ref> that the series has become a vehicle for liberal and left-wing values and agendas, with characters behaving out of character to achieve those goals. However, one of the show's charms is to make much out of everyday, small concerns, such as the possible closure of the village shop, the loss and rediscovery of a pair of spectacles,<ref>{{cite episode |title= 7 June 2005 |series= The Archers |network= BBC Radio 4 |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20050605&day=2 |access-date= 7 June 2012 |archive-date= 4 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053052/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20050605&day=2 |url-status= live}}</ref> competitive [[marmalade]]-making, or nonsense such as a '[[spile]] [[wikt:trosh|troshing]]' competition,<ref>{{cite episode|title= 11 August 2000|series= The Archers |network= BBC Radio 4}}</ref> rather than the large-scale and improbable events that form the plots of many soap operas.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mahoney|first=Elisabeth|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/16/radio.tvandradioarts|title=Radio review: The Archers|work=The Guardian|date=16 April 2008|access-date=16 April 2008|location=London|archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104195913/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/16/radio.tvandradioarts|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9445689/Archers-loses-400000-listeners-amid-controversy-over-sexed-up-storylines.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Archers loses 400,000 listeners amid controversy over sexed-up storylines | date=2 August 2012 | access-date=2 April 2018 | archive-date=3 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203142036/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9445689/Archers-loses-400000-listeners-amid-controversy-over-sexed-up-storylines.html | url-status=live}}</ref> Godfrey Baseley was quoted in ''[[The Independent]]'' as objecting to the homosexuality in the programme, saying "It is disgusting ... It is distasteful because being gay is such a minority interest. Country folk don't do that kind of thing. They have sex the proper way."<ref name="bedell">{{cite news |last1=Bedell |first1=Geraldine |title=No improper sex please, we're the Archers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/no-improper-sex-please-we-re-the-archers-1468455.html |access-date=20 August 2021 |work=The Independent |date=23 October 2011 |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812215924/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/no-improper-sex-please-we-re-the-archers-1468455.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to some of the actors, and confirmed in the writings of Godfrey Baseley, in its early days the show was used as a conduit for educational announcements from the [[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Agriculture]], one actor reading an announcement almost verbatim to another. Direct involvement of the government ended in 1972.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Salute to The Archers|journal=Agriculture: The Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture|volume=79|year=1972|page=43}}</ref> The show has reacted within a day to agricultural emergencies such as outbreaks of [[foot and mouth disease]] which affect farmers nationwide when livestock movements are restricted.