THE BACKGROUND:

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (The DCMS) are currently in a process of deciding what the BBC will look like in a few years time. This is because every ten years, the BBC's Royal Charter comes up for renewal. As the BBC is a public service, the government has to decide which direction the BBC should go in. In this process, the government can tell the BBC to make changes they deem necessary and can even change the way of and even restrict/cut the BBC's funding.


THE CAUSE FOR CONCERN:

The BBC, with its huge amount of resources has the ability to probe the government on all aspects of its performance, policies etc. No other UK broadcaster has the resources and the amount of output to be able to do this. Clearly, governments want to retain a good rapport with voters; however this is often difficult when its pitfalls are brought to public attention by the media, namely the BBC. It is my opinion that the Charter review process could allow the government a great opportunity to make fundamental changes to the BBC which could make it far more difficult for the BBC to probe it in the way it currently does by a) reducing the BBC's independence from the government by appointing its own choices of people for the role of Chairman, Director General and other senior roles within the BBC's managerial structure and b) by threatening the BBC with damaging changes or legal action in the case of an investigative news report into the government's affairs (which introduces an element of fear into the newsroom and hence prevents the general public from seeing or hearing such reports). This clearly raises questions about the notion of free speech and free press and news reporting.


THE ARGUMENT FOR KEEPING THE BBC THE WAY IT IS:

The main argument that many people have against the BBC is their unwillingness to pay for their TV licence (a £112 'fee' that is paid annually by each person owning one or more television sets - all the proceeds going to the BBC). However, many people also complain about paying tax on the purchase of fuel for their cars, or paying VAT on so-called 'luxury' goods. Of course, if you want great public services, you have to pay the tax.

In an age where most of the public services in Britain are falling apart (due to mismanagement and lack of funding), the BBC is flourishing. Its Web services are the most popular in Europe, it has greatly aided the uptake of free-to-air digital television, it is the largest newsgathering organisation in the world and its flagship channel BBC ONE was the most watched in 2003. That aside, it offers programming for minority groups (that commercial broadcasters would not deem 'commercially viable' and hence not broadcast), has the largest and most listen to radio network in the world and has the most powerful and loved broadcasting brands in the world.

The argument to introduce advertising is flawed... introducing advertising on the two oldest and most popular channels in the country will mean that advertising revenues will have to be shared which will result in lower profits for all broadcasters across the board. Added to the fact that all of the other broadcasters in the UK have grown up around the BBC (not before but after it) and have all found their own stable position in the market (for example, the BBC's chief rival, ITV plc is the largest commercial broadcaster in Europe thus showing that the BBC hasn't stunted its growth or success one bit), there is no argument that the BBC is unfairly preventing the growth of the other broadcasters. Also, having a publicly funded BBC means that whatever the economic or political conditions are, we can at least rely upon the BBC to provide a consistent, high quality service.

I use the BBC's services a great deal. The BBC is an important part of my life, as it is with millions of people across the UK and the world. I want to BBC to stay as it is.

Please show your support for the BBC and show that you want the BBC to stay as it is now and for forever.

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