In common with a (very) large number of other UK (and international) bloggers, I’m very concerned about the future of the BBC. The importance of the BBC to Britain (and, to some extent, the wider world) cannot be understated – on a cultural level, it has provided some of the best, most interesting and entertaining media output in living memory; but more significantly, its freedom from state control and lack of dependence upon corporate sponsorship means that it can operate as one of the few free and independent voices in today’s media.

The BBC has made mistakes in the past; doubtless, it will make mistakes in the future, too. It should obviously be help accountable for these mistakes, apologise for them, and make the necessary changes to ensure that such mistakes don’t happen again; however, it is important not to punish an entire organisation as huge and diverse as the BBC because of the actions of a few individuals – and, even more, it is utterly vital that the actions of these few do not mean that the independence and freedom of the corporation are compromised.

I’m happy to pay my license fee. Even when there’s nothing on the TV worth watching and when I’m complaining about the decline in the quality of the music on the radio, I will still continue to pay it; because the BBC is about more than just providing entertainment and some music whilst I drive to and from work. It’s about providing a wide base of media and information for the public, free from corporate and government pressures and interventions. And less than 50p a day is a small price to pay for that.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2004 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.