Why the BBC matters
- Thread starter AB22 Easy Tiger
- Start date
Speak for yourself. Most of the BBC shows i listen to are from great talented broadcasters. BBC Sounds alone is well worth 50p a day.
Redandwhitedust
Winger
Personally I think its time the BBC underwent massive reform, and scaled back a lot. Theres way too much dross on there, way too much pointless content, and way too many over-inflated salaries. I'd like to see it focus on what it does best, and stop trying to please everyone all of the time. Stick to straightforward news, radio and the like. Its going to struggle to compete in other areas, such as drama, where commercial producers can do so much better on higher budget.
But I wouldn't get rid of it. It has a place, provided it can be apolitical. Which at times has been questioned, but also it has been called "too right wing" by the left, and "too left wing" by the right, which suggests its somewhere in the middle.
But I wouldn't get rid of it. It has a place, provided it can be apolitical. Which at times has been questioned, but also it has been called "too right wing" by the left, and "too left wing" by the right, which suggests its somewhere in the middle.
cosmicchris00
Striker
The way to really judge the Beeb is not to ask indigenous British folks, who genuinely lack the required perspective, but to ask recent arrivals.
Depending which country they've arrived from they'll either be fans of the Beeb or massive fans of the Beeb
D
Deleted member 14766
Guest
JonMc
Striker
Yeah but I just don't think that the BBC reflect the values of this country anymore. The BBC was ceated in a time when this country 'thought' we had somethig to say. When we had standards and we had a (diminishing) influence. The BBC was more an arm of the government. It educated, it had weight. I started school being able to tell the time, I knew basic geometery and basic writing skills. All from my aunty Beeb.
Now at a time when it's more important to be able to download the latest CGI superhero movie and kids aged 16 leave school with fewer literary skills than I started with. The focus now is getting school starters out of nappies and learnig to wipe their own backsides.
Let the BBC become a subscription service, let the public choose the way it will and let it die gracefully. Our standards are different now.
cosmicchris00
Striker
I would argue with much of what you say about our changed society.
The Beeb provides a benchmark. If that benchmark is removed the quality will fall off quite quickly.
One of the other posters on this thread has already pointed out what we don't want (the US drivel stream)
Read the article
The Albanian
Winger
This.
If it’s as good as people say it is, it’ll be well funded by people paying their subscription
I person haven’t watched anything other than HIGNFY in the last decade so not really arsed either way what happens to it
JonMc
Striker
That's down to choice whether people want that benchmark or not.
The same with the US drivel streams. I've always argued that people should have quality thrusted on them but now I believe if people want drivel they should be allowed to choose that. A subscription service will do that. Let the stones fall where they will. Let the people decide.
An example from the article from a former head of MI6
John Sawers
Every week around the world, hundreds of millions of people living under populist or oppressive regimes turn to the BBC for news they can rely on.
I saw this first as a young diplomat in Damascus in 1982, following the unfolding horrors of the massacres in Sabra and Chatila on the BBC World Service. Going for a breath of fresh air between bulletins, I realised that many gatherings in shops and cafes were tuned into the BBC Arabic Service to get objective information on what was happening in Beirut.
In South Africa at the end of apartheid, I saw how the BBC was a source of trusted news that couldn’t be slanted by the authorities. After the Cold War, we learnt just how important the BBC’s vernacular services were to those in central Europe striving for the end of Soviet domination.
In the 2000s, the BBC started to broadcast a Farsi TV channel into Iran that became immensely popular because it was trusted. The channel helped to level the playing field in the 2009 Iranian elections, which were won by the opposition candidates before the results were brutally overturned.
Today, the regimes in Russia and China do all they can to suppress the BBC’s broadcasts and websites as they don’t want their people to access reliable news. Russia has forced BBC journalists to leave. Beijing has banned all BBC World TV services and forced the Hong Kong broadcasters to cease carrying World Service radio.
All this is a testament to the BBC’s standing and influence. For most people around the world, the BBC is their first experience of Britain. As a broadcaster it is genuinely independent and is not trying to project a political line. And people discovering they could trust the BBC meant they also learned to trust Britain.
That trust contributes to our national security. As head of MI6, I talked to some of the brave people who work with us inside terrorist groups or states that threaten the UK. A recurrent theme was that they were willing to put their trust in MI6 in part because they had developed a trust in Britain from listening, often covertly, to the BBC.
None of this would be possible without the secure base the BBC has enjoyed—until now—at home. We British are going through a period of change. As we seek a new role in the world, it would be folly of the first order to undermine Britain’s biggest global brand and a wellspring of people’s trust in our country.
Lefty Frizzell
Striker
I get your point about the horrific American model of broadcast TV. The adverts are non stop and they are utterly shite. I would like to keep the bbc, and on another thread a couple of weeks ago there was some really good discussion of how it can adapt to still be publicly funded, but in a fairer and more modern way.
Peoples habits of consuming entertainment are changing, even more so with people who are aged under 21. Streaming services for box sets and then online live content on YouTube, Twitch etc are becoming more and more popular. I would think that if the licence fee remains as it is now (where you are required by law to have one to watch ANY live programming on any tv channel or online platform), there will be a larger number of people who will call for it to be completely scrapped.
I think the sensible thing to do is make changes now that will sustain the bbc in the same/or in a slightly different way for the next 20/30yrs, or risk a big backlash.
Select coaches
Winger
Well worth the £13.37 per month I pay. In fact I’m struggling to think of any other service I pay for that gives me better value.
rudd
Striker
The 4 year was able to read before she started school, almost exclusively down to Cbeebies and the education it offers in amongst the entertainment.
The education it offers preschoolers is on another level to any other broadcaster or streaming service available in the UK.
It'd be a sad day if those opportunities were moved into another subscription service. I would've thought those people remarking about kids watching superhero films on Netflix would appreciate opportunities the BBC gives for development of basic skills.
The education it offers preschoolers is on another level to any other broadcaster or streaming service available in the UK.
It'd be a sad day if those opportunities were moved into another subscription service. I would've thought those people remarking about kids watching superhero films on Netflix would appreciate opportunities the BBC gives for development of basic skills.
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cosmicchris00
Striker
First of all, we shouldn't encourage people to watch drivel. Quite the opposite.
With regards the benchmark, the government decides whether we have it or not. That's why we elect them
