Just A Minute

 
<<<<   7451   >>>>

Re: Is the BBC our friend?

Messages in this topic: 17 View All
DavidAug 30, 2012
 

 
Thanks for the replies. Just to add my perspective:

1 - I love the BBC. As I live in South Korea I mainly access the BBC through the website - which in my view is second to none. Sunday morning I check the football results, it has fantastic resources for my students, of course I listen to radio shows etc etc.

2 - Yes the BBC is a business........but I suspect it is a special kind of business. Not all of its shows are made because they are big money earners. There are sometimes educational issues, symbolic things. What I means is that there are more concerns than say CNN or Fox News. Sometimes (and for me this is strange) things are not done because we are told that this should be done by a commercial enterprise. Stopping something because it is too popular is still very strange to me.

3 - My feeling is the BBC is BIG and so therefore there will be contradictions between different decisions and different departments.

4 - The BBC changes through time. I too am still waiting for the release of the BBC digital archive. Things like the Desert Island Disc Archive is fantastic - I just hope that there are more things like that to come.

5 - I hate controversy but here goes. It could be argued that as a state broadcaster the BBC is owned by the British people. It is not like paying a subscription service to a commercial venture. This is a possible area where people can argue about recording and distributing shows. Personally I grew up recording pop songs from my little portable radio and then I started doing the same with comedy shows. To be fair I feel that the BBC has been very tolerant of people like us sharing shows. However, something deep inside me tells me that this may change

6 - Finally I feel that maybe the BBC is like the university where I work. At my university there are the professors and the administrators. The professors have great ideas and then the administrators tell you why there is not the money to do it. You have to work within the constraints imposed upon you. This can make you more creative and it can also make you very frustrated. However, if you do something newsworthy on your own they love the reflected glory. Maybe this is a common structure of many large organizations.

Anyway, thanks for your comments. I hope that the BBC continues in its current format even though I know that change is inevitable.

Love as always, David

--- In just-a-minute@..., Steve Kenrick <steve.kenrick@...> wrote:
>
> Firstly, there are a couple of things that some people (none here, I hope) seem to forget sometimes.
>
> 1. The BBC is a business.
>
> 2. Paying the license fee only gives one the right to watch tv programmes as they are broadcast. The money buys the individual the "ownership" of nothing.
>
> Government interference leading to a freeze of the license fee was stupid and has led to the BBC's main competitor getting stronger. Personally, I think the fee is fantastic value for money, when I consider how much output from the BBC goes to entertaining me each day, without the adverts (most of which are moronic) oozing from my equipment courtesy of the commercial wallahs. That of course includes radio, which although can be heard live without a license, is funded directly and indirectly from the license fee pot.
>
> Although I agree with the criticism of the BBC for wiping so many tapes, it would have taken a wiser man than me to have made a different decision regarding those now lost "gems". At the time, it must have seemed the correct thing to do, after all they had every right to think that only a handful of people would have been interested in watching/hearing the lost "gems" after so many years had passed. They were wrong, but we only know that with hindsight. Additionally, the BBC were not alone in wiping or ditching tapes, other broadcasters like ITV did the same.
>
> As Dean points out, peoples' tastes change. I no longer laugh at all the things I used to. What's popular with me and my associates need not be the same for the majority of people. Most of the younger generation I know do not listen to speech radio of any kind. That's a lot of lugholes, which could if they were attached to wiser brains, be boosting the BBC's listening figures.
>
> It's hard to imagine programmes like JAM and Clue carrying on for another 40 years, which is a shame as the format of both programmes is such that they could continue indefinitely, with topical tweaks and not sound old or tired. The sad truth is that the vast majority of listeners to these programme are baby boomers, with most of them in the autumn of their lives. Hence, when enough of those have gone to the big theatre in the sky, alternative programmes will replace these and other favourites.
>
> Is the BBC our friend? Yes, over the past 50 odd years, it has been more of a friend to me than any other company I can think of.
>
> A more appropriate question may be - is BSkyB our friend?
>
>
>
>
> To: just-a-minute@...
> From: dbedford@...
> Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:45:01 +0000
> Subject: [just-a-minute] Re: Is the BBC our friend?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> I was hoping someone from Britain might respond to your interesting post. As no-one has done, I am writing a few lines, so that you at least know I read and thought about your post.
>
>
>
> I work for the public non-commercial broadcaster here in New Zealand so some of what you say strikes chords with me.
>
>
>
> Some random thoughts
>
>
>
> * whatever the media, one of the things that is always difficult for us who work in them is that there is never a good time to change. People's media habits are habits and they are always used to what they are hearing/reading/viewing and are averse to change. Nevertheless there will come a time when any programme or schedule does need to change.
>
>
>
> * although pleasing the public is a vitally important matter for a public broadcaster, it can't be the only goal. A public broadcaster has a responsibility to aspire to produce something better. That does involve having some freedom to experiment and that involves the risk of mistakes.
>
>
>
> * we tend to talk about the BBC as if it was one monolithic organisation when it's actually the product of tens of thousands of people making (often) individual decisions.
>
>
>
> * a couple of years ago the BBC Director-General talked about opening up all the archives. I haven't heard anything more about it but it seemed like the sort of goal a public broadcaster should aspite to. The US public service broadcaster C-Span has done it, and now has 30 years of political news programmes up for anyone to look at, for free, so it can be done.
>
>
>
> This doesn't go anywhere near answering your great question - hopefully some of our British peeps will pitch in.
>
>
>
> --- In just-a-minute@..., "David" <drling0@> wrote:
>
> >
>
> > This may seem a strange question - but is something I have mixed feelings about.
>
> >
>
> > They supply a lot of shows that I really like. (JAM, ISIHAC, Dr Who)
>
> > They don't always look after those shows very well. (Where are the archives? Why do seemingly popular things get cancelled?)
>
> >
>
> > They have been very liberal in the past about fan recordings and preservation. (Please donate any "lost shows")
>
> > Then they can get tough.
>
> >
>
> > Individuals within the BBC can be very accommodating to fans.
>
> > Official policy can seem to contradict this.
>
> >
>
> > Specialist and minority show can be made under government sponsorship.
>
> > There can be official interference even though things are very popular (Check what happened to the BBC Cult section on the website which seemed to be closed because it was too popular)
>
> >
>
> > So once again I wonder - do you feel the BBC is our friend?
>
> >
>
> > Love as always
>
> >
>

 
<<<<   7451   >>>>

Back to the Top