About six hours after discussing current BBC expenses news with Howard this morning, I decided to write down some of the thoughts. I then went about trying to find the article which prompted the whole discussion about the role of public broadcasting service, “Yentob’s £1,600 BBC dinner claim”. ‘Naturally’ I searched ‘UK’ section of the BBC online news but I had no luck. With reservation, I restarted a broader search in ‘England’ and then ‘Business’ section. Unsurprisingly, I could not find the article. So, I decided to go and view my ‘History’ where I found the article, under the ‘Entertainment’ section of BBC online news. ‘Entertainment’? Have Howard and I wasted an hour of our morning discussing about entertainment news?
This is a serious social and political issue. BBC is funded by the TV licence fee. By law, even if you do not watch BBC channels, the mere act of watching and recording any live television programmes, you are obliged to pay the fee. We hear about the various BBC expense claims for example, “…in 2006, BBC Vision director Balraj Samra bought a £827.02 dinner for the then Culture Minister Tessa Jowell and BBC managers.” Such claims cause us to contemplate the moral and ethical implications of the whole concept of public broadcasting service, operating as it does in the free market. It also reminds us of our (the general public) role in co-constructing the current shape of BBC. It is easy to criticise BBC for their conduct but is it not also time for us, the general viewing public to think about how our 'demands' are making BBC to behave like that of a commercial broadcasting company?
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