“Don’t it always seems to go,” asked the legendary songstress, Joni Mitchell, “that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” I don’t think she was talking about the BBC, but she might as well have been.
In a few short years, shows like Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) will be no more. Nor will Strictly Come Dancing. Huge shared national experiences on the telly are few and far between these days. The fragmentation of television and the explosion of the internet have meant we watch things either alone or in small numbers. And no one, apart from the BBC, shows programmes uninterrupted by adverts. The production standards remain immense, unchallenged by media outlets throughout the world.
David Cameron, doubtless at the behest of his political paymaster Rupert Murdoch, is presiding over the destruction of the BBC. It is part of the deal. His chancellor George Osborne met Murdoch on countless occasions before the government announced its review of the BBC. I wonder what they talked about? The foul smelling Sun newspaper does Murdoch’s anti-BBC bidding on a daily basis, they’re cutting our BBC to ribbons. And why? Because they don’t believe in it. They don’t believe in any aspect of life should be in public hands. least of all anything to do with the media. Regardless of the fact that the BBC is a world class broadcaster, ideology means it cannot continue. It will be weakened firstly by stealth and then closed down altogether following castration. The rest of the world thinks we are absolutely mad.
Have you ever watched TV abroad? If you have, then tell me, with a straight face, that it’s far better than anything we have. I am not one to throw around insults, but you are an idiot if you do.
It is hard to justify the license fee system, I know that. It exists because we all, as a society, value public service broadcasting. Collectively, we believe the BBC provides something for everyone. It may not all be perfect, but I cannot imagine life without the BBC. How could I get through the day without 5 Live, Radio 2 and 6 music? How would I cope without David Attenborough and Brian Cox? Whose news would I trust? All that original drama and comedy and the unrivalled sports coverage. And SPOTY, Strictly and many, many other things, like Bake Off. No one else does this stuff, no one will.
The BBC makes stuff that makes money, it makes stuff that doesn’t. It makes shows for minority audiences, it makes shows for majority audiences. To this day, I have never seen a single show on Sky 1, the last thing I saw on ITV was Broadchurch, I am not interested in stuff that is constantly interrupted by ads.
Lose the BBC at your peril. Cameron, make no mistake, is trying to run the BBC down, as he is trying to run down the NHS. We are at a major turning point in media history.
The BBC is cheap as chips to the punter. I pay far more to Murdoch and Branson who exist to make as much money as possible with the least possible quality. Imagine what Murdoch can charge when the BBC is no more.
Celebrate SPOTY and all the unique services the BBC provides. Do not let Cameron and Murdoch take it away. It has its faults but less than most other media outlets.
