The Big British Castle

[Mikey]

I've liked Brian Cox much more when he's just on the physics and being confused by the seeming mentalness of the kerazy laws. I really enjoyed last nights I must say; the Scablands are now further up the Mikey list of places to go. Mrs Mikey will not have a word said against him for some reason 

I didn't watch the 'Are Christians being persecuted' thing. I thought that's what most of them were kind of into. Y'know, suffering and that. So, did the BBC decide they are being persecuted?

M.

[Peter Wolf]

I didn't watch the 'Are Christians being persecuted' thing. I thought that's what most of them were kind of into. Y'know, suffering and that. So, did the BBC decide they are being persecuted?

M.

I dont think that the BBC has decided that Christians are being persecuted but it was presented as a topic of discussion and it was asking the question of ARE they being persecuted ? and there is evidence that they are being persecuted to an extent.

I dont know very many Christians but all those i have known were not into suffering or persecution.I am not a Christian but i will defend their right to practice their religion in peace and talk openly about it.Not sure about Fundamentalists though..........

[Mike Gloady]

Christians probably LIKE a bit of persecution - getting closer to Jebus and all.

[Peter Wolf]

I seem to have woken up the Atheist faction.

[House of Usher]

Tut-tut, Mike Gloady - Mikey got in there first. I'm not even a Christian, but I still like a bit of persecution myself. It makes me feel special. Although I would take career success and a doubling of income in preference, feeling persecuted does at least allow me to feel I'm not entirely the architect of my own misfortune.

Hey look, we're off-topic. We've stopped talking about the BBC altogether at this point.

[Colin YNWA]

Alas it would seem it's time to resurrect this thread. Tories are really kicking the BBC this time.

[Professor Bear]

That's what happens when you roll over for bullies.  Cameron personally threatened Beeb execs before the General Election and the bias of their reporting that followed speaks for itself - though it's worth remembering their disseminating pro-Israeli lies during the Gaza massacre, too, even after those lies had been thoroughly debunked.

We've seen that American television is more than capable of surpassing the BBC's output, so the one defence the BBC could continue to offer was their independence and the assurance that they weren't shills for the university chums of their board.  Now they've lost that, they can't die soon enough for my liking.

[Colin YNWA]

We've seen that American television is more than capable of surpassing the BBC's output, so the one defence the BBC could continue to offer was their independence and the assurance that they weren't shills for the university chums of their board.  Now they've lost that, they can't die soon enough for my liking.

Arh, a line that can almost be simplified to the 'Let Murdoch Win Gambit'. There is little doubt that when it comes to long form drama, American TV networks have the resources and skilled creators, to produce stuff that surpasses the BBC. I've not watched much if any of SKYs original drama, but I suspect its not far behind either. The thing is the BBC is about far, far more than that, and to be fair still churns out its fair share of astonishingly good drama, comedy etc. Normally in a slightly shorter format. The Beeb is about the other shows as well, diversity, that otherwise wouldn't be served at all. Arts and culture, events and happening, original children's telly, things that wouldn't last on a commercial platform, or at the very least would be relegated to some cheap tat to fill time. Its about radio. Its about its still quite superb website. Its about generating British talent and so much more.

Its news is still pretty damned fine and while it stands accused of bias at times, the vast majority of the time its doing all right. The most telling for me, you get shrill cries of BBC bias from both left and right - center ground no doubt too, feeling ignored - that tells me its almost certainly doing okay.

Its not perfect and you get the impression there is still a lot of the old school network about the place. That seems to be changing over time, which needs to continue.

Even a BBC that makes mistakes is a damned powerful thing to have and needs to be there to keep Murdoch (an easy shorthand I accept) and the like in check. Get rid of the BBC what fills the void? Where its needed probably nothing, where its not maybe more big corporate media empires. Maybe FOX TV wants a bigger share of our market?

[Fungus]

Another thread that started before I was (re)born 

I'm with Colin pretty much across the board, and BBC-bashing always sounds to me a very arch line to take. Along with news, I'd emphasise radio. Listen to radio a lot and the 4 stations I rotate are all Beeb.

[Jim_Campbell]

Now they've lost that, they can't die soon enough for my liking.

Well, that's a neat demonstration of how the Tory process works: devalue/degrade a public service and then point to the sorry state it's in as proof of the desperate need to close it down or sell it off. See also: the NHS.

Oddly enough, when you talk to anyone from outside Britain, the two things they most associate with us, and admire us for, are the NHS and the BBC, both of which the Tories are hell-bent on destroying in order to provide additional profits for their already-rich-beyond-comprehension donors and supporters.

Cheers

Jim

[Professor Bear]

The most telling for me, you get shrill cries of BBC bias from both left and right - center ground no doubt too, feeling ignored - that tells me its almost certainly doing okay.

A supposition slightly undermined by independent studies showing the BBC has a conservative worldview, and the fact that the right attacks the BBC regardless on Rupert Murdoch's behalf.  To me, the BBC can only sell itself as a public service while it serves the interests of the public rather than the interests of a conservative cabal, and that means independent news rather than more Doctor Who.

Besides, if the BBC had to compete commercially, there never would have been a Mrs Brown's Boys, and I'm sorry but this trumps all other arguments.

[Colin YNWA]

The most telling for me, you get shrill cries of BBC bias from both left and right - center ground no doubt too, feeling ignored - that tells me its almost certainly doing okay.

A supposition slightly undermined by independent studies showing the BBC has a conservative worldview, and the fact that the right attacks the BBC regardless on Rupert Murdoch's behalf...

I better make an emphasis that this is a genuine request and not snark, this being the internet and all, but if you could direct me to those I'd love to read some. I consider myself fairly left wing (its all relative) and think the BBC does a pretty good job.

[Tiplodocus]

My generally positive view of the BBC did get coloured slightly by INDYREF where they seemed to me at least, to be in bed with the NO campaign; I'd love to see if there are papers that back that up.

But I'm still glad we have them.

[GordonR]

My generally positive view of the BBC did get coloured slightly by INDYREF where they seemed to me at least, to be in bed with the NO campaign; I'd love to see if there are papers that back that up.

But I'm still glad we have them.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/john-robertson/bbc-bias-and-scots-referendum-new-report

Fill your boots - study done by the University of the West of Scotland.



The idea that the BBC is an unbiased, non-partisan news source is nonsense.

[Jim_Campbell]

The idea that the BBC anyone is an unbiased, non-partisan news source is nonsense.

FTFY.

Cheers

Jim