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BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen...

In an alternative universe the BBC would make damn sure the tory skeletons all fall out of the closet, but their management are all bought and paid for.
 
I believe that Jo Maugham of the Good Law Project is well-respected around these parts, so this might give some members pause for thought:

https://waitingfortax.com/2018/03/19/the-bbc-and-jeremy-corbyn/

Personally, I think he's talking nonsense; there is no evidence that the BBC coded negative messages about Corbyn into its imagery:


On the substantive question, like many others, I have mixed feelings. I have become disillusioned with BBC News over the years (my very first doubts arose when watching its coverage of the miners' strike, as a teenager). But I do believe in public service broadcasting, as free as it possibly can be from political interference. Like much of the UK's crumbling democracy and social sphere is is in desperate need of renewal. There are lots of ideas about how to accomplish that - for example:

https://bbcandbeyond.net/#manifesto

But neither the government nor the opposition are interested in revitalising democratic debate anymore, so I don't know where we go from here.
 
If I was going to influence the Electorate, my first choice would not be at 23:15 over the end credits of a programme that less than 1% of the population watches (probably less with many switching off before the credits roll) of which most probably have a pretty definite view on politics unlikely to be swayed by such things.
 
Seeker_UK said:
If I was going to influence the Electorate, my first choice would not be at 23:15 over the end credits of a programme that less than 1% of the population watches (probably less with many switching off before the credits roll) of which most probably have a pretty definite view on politics unlikely to be swayed by such things.
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Sure it’ll be no loss then, if it matters so little to the public conversation.
 
Thatcher used to moan about the BBC a lot. In fact it felt like at times as if the BBC was the only organisation holding her Government to account during the 80s. The tone of the recent attacks on the BBC from Dorrines etc appear to come from the same place so they must be continuing to do something right. They still make some of the best programs especially for Radios 3 and 4. I don't begrudge paying the licence for the quality of their output but the wages of their presenters are outrageous.
 
Spraggons Den said:
Thatcher used to moan about the BBC a lot. In fact it felt like at times as if the BBC was the only organisation holding her Government to account during the 80s. The tone of the recent attacks on the BBC from Dorrines etc appear to come from the same place so they must be continuing to do something right.
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It is just more of the same Trump/Bannon playbook we’ve been seeing throughout this Johnson/ERG term. Don’t confuse the current Conservative Party with anything that existed in the 1970s or 80s, they are a whole other thing. Any remaining people from that era or mindset have been purged or exited of their own accord and what is left is so far off the map they describe any scrutiny of their corruption and criminality as ‘fake news’ and seek to place far-right propagandists such as Murdoch, Dacre in charge of the media.

Nadine Dorries is Marjory Taylor-Green. Exactly the same mindset/level of batshit crazy.
 
Some excellent frothing in here. Anyway, regardless of political persuasion it is harder to make a case for the current funding settlement, things have moved on & it is perfectly possible not to pay a license fee.

Some kind of subscription model will happen with core funding for news & arts. Media can always tilt in favour of whose paying the bills.

The beeb is facing a demographic cliff which no end of pontificating can avert. If it helps, this is also the case for many of your favourite print titles like the Daily Mail.
 
droodzilla said:
The BBC News website is quite decent though, as long as you ignore the comment pieces.
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Yes, but that's exactly the problem isn't it? I deleted the BBC news app from my devices for that very reason. C4 news is pretty even handed in my view.
 
Seanm said:
Sure it’ll be no loss then, if it matters so little to the public conversation.
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Do you think that episode of Newsnight, and in particular Jeremy Corbyn as a Voldemort, was an enduring topic of conversation beyond those who watched it that night? Probably not. I mean, f**k my tall hat, it's only taken 6 years to come to light, even here in PFM and on Twitter. Not really burnt into anyone's psyche, that one, not like the 'hat' picture.

It all builds a narrative I'm sure but we're talking about one (relatively) minor interest programme that makes up a tiny part of BBC output and ISTM that, it's being credited with too much influence on the UK (and by inference, the Electorate) and just adds further support to justify efforts to neuter a national broadcaster.

Given how the BBC works now, I would suggest that reform to the wider privately-owned media, where most of the -ve press was generated is the first task and the BBC would change in line as as a lot of what it does seems to reflect what is going on in that wider press (often not being as critical as it should be). However, that's not as easy to achieve as making a simple decision as 'denationalising'.

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I find it amazing that the same people on PFM (and probably more widely) who have strong views on nationalisation / privitisation are happy for exactly that to happen to the BBC because some parts of one part of it service isn't to their liking. It's like saying that it was OK to privatise British Rail because Casey Jones' burgers tasted of a*se or privatising British Telecom because trimphones are naff.

If its news service needs reform, then push for reform. Taking the funding away and / or allowing for commercialization and introducing the risk for (more) vested interest and undie influence.
 
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Just as a point of order, has this policy been announced in the house? Does it need to be? I imagine Mr Speaker will be apoplectic if so?
 
Seeker_UK said:
Do you think that episode of Newsnight, and in particular Jeremy Corbyn as a Voldemort, was an enduring topic of conversation beyond those who watched it that night? Probably not. I mean, f**k my tall hat, it's only taken 6 years to come to light, even here in PFM and on Twitter. Not really burnt into anyone's psyche, that one, not like the 'hat' picture.

It all builds a narrative I'm sure but ISTM that, too much influence is being credited to a (relatively) minor interest TV programme and just adds further support to justify efforts to neuter a national broadcaster.
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I think for me the relevant point is that the BBC thought to broadcast that clip at all, when the person featured in it was Leader of the Opposition. It's the sort of meme that does the rounds on social media, but why the BBC thought it newsworthy so as to actually broadcast it on their flagship politics programme is the interesting question.
 
TBH, as a news broadcaster, I haven't got much time for the BBC, but as a music broadcaster, well, that's a different thing. When the pirate radio stations were banned, the BBC stepped in and supported alternative and pop music. They gave John Peel a job for all those years, though TBH, I hardly listen at all to the BBC now.
 
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