: An Appeal to the New Parliament in Defence of a British Institution

 

On the eve of BBC director general Mark Thompson’s much anticipated MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival, two leading academics have appealed directly to politicians to ignore attacks on the BBC by its competitors and to safeguard the future of this ‘unique British institution’.
 
In the latest edition of The Political Quarterly, published this week, leading media experts at the University of Westminster state how vitally important the institution is to Britain’s cultural and democratic welfare.
 
BBC services: 
 
• spend around £1.5 billion on creating programme content (excluding sport) compared to just £100 million by Sky and other pay TV operators
• are the UK’s biggest investor in British children’s programmes, spending over 75% more than ITV, Channel 4 and Five
• contribute over £7 billion to the UK economy, generating £2 of economic value for every £1 of the licence fee
• reach 240 million people outside the UK through its news services
• are the largest commissioner of new musical work in Europe, and the most important patron of orchestras in the country
• are a hugely effective ambassador for the UK – ‘A Beacon for Britain’
• are committed to ‘foreign’ news and explaining international issues
• consider a far wider agenda and audience than other broadcast organisations
 
Professor Steven Barnett, author of books on the BBC and on media policy and Professor Jean Seaton, official BBC historian and currently writing the latest volume of the BBC’s history, urge all MPs, both new and old, to be wary of the full-frontal assaults on the BBC by its self-interested rivals, who see the BBC only as a major barrier to their own commercial advancement.
 
Professor Barnett says: “The BBC, like the NHS, is a national treasure which needs to be nurtured rather than diminished. But the rising crescendo of complaints should not obscure the benefits which the BBC brings to Britain and the interests which lie behind those noisy objections.”
The professors call on Parliament to remember “the huge affection in which the BBC is held by the British public, the worldwide admiration which it attracts, and the immeasurable importance of the democratic and cultural contribution which it makes to British life.”
 
The article highlights the unique service the BBC provides in original journalism, drama, music, comedy, arts and children’s programmes as well as its underpinning of the UK’s creative economy and its long-standing commitment to high quality training.
 
Professors Barnett and Seaton argue that in simple consumerist terms, the licence fee is equivalent to the price of a pint of beer a week and represents outstanding value for money compared to the cost of cable or satellite subscriptions.
 
In response to demands by corporate rivals that the BBC should be significantly smaller, the authors argue “there is no evidence that the market would willingly embrace any of the creative dynamism and informational value provided by the BBC, and would certainly not be accountable to every sector of the British population regardless of age or income.”
 
Anticipating Mr Thompson’s speech on Friday, Professor Barnett says: “There are a lot of powerful voices against the BBC, as we saw in James Murdoch’s lecture this time last year. They will be hostile to Mr Thompson’s speech, but our politicians must be prepared to recognise and stand up for the public interest rather than vested self-interest. This article spells out why the BBC matters and must be protected.” http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/Oxford-Media-News.html
 
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