Cuts at the BBC: A Rant

Television Centre to be sold off, 2,500 jobs to go, more repeats, less original programming and budgets for vital programming cut. Is this really the future for the BBC that we want?

It was a very dark day indeed when Greg Dyke left the BBC in the wake of the Whitewash, sorry Hutton, report. The BBC was weakened by Dyke’s departure – the staff protested en mass – and the media came out and said exactly what we were all thinking: Government Whitewash. Now several years later the BBC has been rocked by several scandals and the prospect of widespread cutbacks looms over the corporation like a dark cloud. To say that there’s a civil war within the BBC wouldn’t be an over-exaggeration. Morale is low, confidence is low, scandals have created a culture of fear and now the BBC is to be cut apart.

On top of that some have lost their jobs, over the scandals, which shouldn’t have. If there has been a culture of deception at the BBC, in regards to phone-ins, competitions and voting, then it is the man at the very top who should take responsibility and go. One of these men, Peter Fincham, has already departed. But what of Mark Thompson, the BBC Director General. After all he should take full responsibility for the wrong doings of the BBC. In this instance, there quite clearly have been several incidents of viewer deception. Greg Dyke lost his job for merely speaking the truth. So why is Mark Thompson staying?

Mark ThompsonHere is a man who is saying jobs need to go, budgets need to be cut, television centre needs to be sold off. Well lead by example, Mr. Thompson. If jobs need to go then maybe yours should be the first for the axe. Your pathetic vision for the future will damage the BBC forever and leave it beyond recognition. We do not pay over £100 each year in licence fees for MORE REPEATS AND LESS ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING. The paying audiences want quite the opposite. We are sick of the constant repeats on prime-time television.

On a budget of over two billion a year I find it hard to believe there simply isn’t enough money in the pot. What on earth are you wasting it on? There are many services the BBC provides which, perhaps, could be sold off to the commercial sector – like the “politically correct” BBC Asian Network. Paying its high-profile stars less is another way of cutting costs without compromising quality. More sensible scheduling. Who watches CBBC between 9 and 3? It’s target audience is at school. So why is it on at these times? Why does BBC1 have to broadcast 24 hours a day? Why doesn’t it stop at 1am? Let the commercial channels broadcast 24 hours if they wish, there is no real value in it. No public service to be provided. The only channel that should have a remit for continuous broadcast is News 24. All of these were suggested in NewsZone’s own report into BBC budget cuts.

Selling of television centre would be criminal. It has been at the heart of the BBC for decades and is an iconic landmark in London, associated with the well renowned BBC. With all these plans by Mark Thompson, which will only harm the BBC, is it any wonder his own staff are denouncing him as a government plant – to destabilise the BBC? After all the BBC revealed an inconvenient truth about Iraq – there are NO weapons of mass destruction in the country. Therefore our reason for invading the country was wrong.

Sign at TV CentreThe BBC stated this and incurred the wrath of the Government for it. The Hutton Report was widely seen as a whitewash and people stood by the BBC over the incident. And so is it any surprise people see this as an attempt to destroy the BBC. Looking at the plans it can clearly be seen they make little sense and will not deliver the quality the general public expects and wants. Putting more repeats and having less original programming is a dam right waste of tax payers money. Cutting back news and factual programming is outrageous. Selling off television centre is a crime. As someone once said, its our BBC and it’s about time we took it back and stood up for it. So if Mark Thompson wants jobs to go, let his. Bring back Greg Dyke, a man who turned around the fortunes of the BBC and wasn’t afraid to stand up the government. A man who wouldn’t allow his corporation to be so drastically cut apart and torn apart.

Do you have views on the BBC, are all these cuts just the corporation spitting out their dummy because the Government didn’t give them the fee increase they wanted? You can email us by clicking on the contact NewsZone button at the side