Praise indeed - from one media outlet in support of another:
Boris Johnson’s special adviser Dominic Cummings has expressed a desire to “whack” the BBC. Nicky Morgan, until recently the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, compared the broadcaster to the defunct video rental chain Blockbuster and has spoken wistfully about the possibility of the BBC moving towards a Netflix-style voluntary subscription funding model. A combination of Johnson’s large majority and widespread disquiet about the BBC’s recent political coverage seemed to open a clear route towards the creation of a radically different, significantly diminished public broadcaster.Amen to that!
But we have arrived abruptly in a different era. From our new perspective, adrift in the most significant public health crisis of our age, those days feel suddenly distant. There are new, more urgent questions. Would market forces offer religious services on local radio stations across the country? Or virtual gallery tours and musical and comedy performances? Would Netflix launch extensive additional educational programming to help children unable to attend school to keep up with their studies? Would Amazon dig into its massive archive of sport, arts and drama content to offer prime cuts to a quarantined population?
The BBC is proposing all this and more – including everything from home exercise classes for older people to dietary advice in a time of potentially scarce supplies. There is a name for such initiatives: public service broadcasting. And we may soon realise how much we missed it if we lost it.
Austin Powers agrees...
Thank God for Auntie, and I'm an atheist!
ReplyDeleteEveryone needs a reassuring old Auntie in a time of need... Jx
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God bless Auntie. Really grateful for the BBC now.
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It is definitely a lifeline! Jx
DeleteThere was an article in the New Yorker praising Desert Island Discs
ReplyDeleteI was always a supporter of the BBC, but in recent times it seemed to have lost its way, telling the majority of people in the UK that what they thought was wrong, and pushing "woke" agendas from every direction (what they did to Poirot with John Malkovich was frankly criminal, and don't even get me started on Dr Who). But now it's as if they've woken up and suddenly remembered what their job is - to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. And they've certainly proved themselves to be up to the task. Hopefully, after this is all over, they don't lose their way again. Here's to Auntie Beeb!!
ReplyDeleteShe's coming up trumps at the moment... Jx
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