Of Beatification - Massacre of the Innocents - and the Beeb

OF BEATIFICATION, MASSACRE of the INNOCENTS, and the BEEB

It cannot have escaped the attention of even the most casual listener to BBC Radio 2, in the course of the last 24 hours, that a process of beatification is well under way for Pudsey’s primary accomplice. Of course the way has to be carefully prepared for subsequent canonisation of the noble knight.

Every news bulletin reader, continuity announcer and programme presenter was contractually obliged to “Go Tel(l) it on the Mountain” that Terry’s woes have gone.

Each pre-recorded programme, broadcast yesterday, was preceded by a pre-emptive apology that their presenter, and production team, lacked foreknowledge of Sir Terry’s passing before the shows’ due transmission date.

Meanwhile, the slaughter of innocents (some of which is ejaculatorily supported by our own dear government ministers) continues unabated around the globe whilst, at home, the Tories persecution of society’s most vulnerable old, young, poor, sick and/or disabled, alongside their dismantling of the NHS, continues apace, only to pass unacknowledged by the Beeb’s department of navel-gazing news and current affairs.

RIP Sir Terry. RIP the welfare state’s compassion and humanitarian concern. RIP decency at the heart of Government. 

BBC CONSULTATION - Government plans to rip out the heart of the BBC

Have a look at this: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bbc-consultation-thankyou

It just took me just a few minutes to fill in the official survey about the future of the BBC.

Government plans to rip out the heart of the BBC are taking shape. Imagine a BBC where newsnight is riddled with adverts. Or a BBC so underfunded that independent news becomes a thing of the past and the airwaves are dominated by Rupert Murdoch’s media. This is what the Government wants - we need to stop them.

Just before the summer break, the government snuck out a ‘public consultation’ on the future of the BBC. It’s full of gobbledegook questions - they were obviously hoping that nobody would respond! So the 38 Degrees staff team has ‘translated’ the questions into plain English, and the time’s come to make sure they hear our voices.

Without our voices, the government can claim that people don’t care about the future of the BBC, opening the doors to Murdoch. So can you add your voice and stand up for the BBC? Just click this link to fill out the survey now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bbc-consultation-thankyou

I’ve included my responses to the survey questions below:

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How well is the BBC serving its national and international audiences?

The BBC, despite the shortfall in its income (and costs for world service being wrongly charged to them instead of the government), provides a prestigious and excellent service. I regularly listen to Radio 2, 3, 4, 4extra and 6 music, and the majority of my TV viewing is on BBC One, Two, Four and occasionally BBC Three. The catch-up and other i-player functions are proving indispensable. Natural History is a particular strength.

Which elements of universality are most important for the BBC?

Drama, Documentaries and entertainment provided by the BBC are generally of a very high standard and must be maintained alongside their news and current affairs coverage. Sport, which is nowadays very commercialized, would be best handed over to the commercial channels.

Is the BBC’s content sufficiently high quality and distinctive from that of other broadcasters? What could improve it?

Improvement is difficult to contemplate as the BBC's content generally stands head & shoulders above other media providers.

Where does the evidence suggest the BBC has a positive or negative wider impact on the market?

The BBC has always been a provider of quality programmes, whilst many of the commercial providers seem to revel in catering to the lowest denominator.

Is the expansion of the BBC’s services justified in the context of increased choice for audiences? Is the BBC crowding out commercial competition and, if so, is this justified?

I value the range of services provided by the BBC and, I consider that any well managed commercial organization has only itself to blame if it cannot stand up to the competition! Only the weak fear competition!

Has the BBC been doing enough to deliver value for money? How could it go further?

Excellent value for money. It could however stop paying exorbitant salaries / fees to presenters such as Wogan, Evans, and the unlamented Clarkson.

How should we pay for the BBC and how should the licence fee be modernised?

 

I would be happy to pay more for the current arrangement but with welfare benefits paid (toward the cost) for the less well off

hazed out days

Just a vague dull irritating ache throughout torso and limbs, feeling as if a detached “I” was looking on pityingly. For the past couple of days this seems to have been my exhaustingly shattered state of being, an exhaustion of mind and body, almost as if it’s payback for forcing myself out of bed after a mere 11 hours of intermittent unrefreshing sleep.

 I expect, and reluctantly accept, those cloying nausea inducing aches and pains, seemingly emanating from cervical and axillary lymph nodes. Familiarity has also enabled me to accept the more erratically intermittent acute pains in joints and muscles, which pain-killers can control to some degree.  Even the gnawing, discomforting, symptoms of IBS never seem quite as disconcerting as this seepage of hollow ache which seemed to embrace both psyche and soma.

Today, I at least feel awake and, I’ve managed to prepare a kedgeree for our main meal as well as a gently peppered chicken, peppers and mushroom casserole for Sunday and Monday’s lunch time. My halo has been polished once more. I’ve got to admit though that the slightly warmer weather does me no favours in terms of stamina; I only wish its enervating effect could be transformed into true relaxation, serving to ensure some long needed refreshing sleep.

At least I’ve managed in recent weeks to enjoy BBC4’s excellent coverage of Cardiff Singer of the Year, and by way of contrast, mentally grooving to ‘Jungle’ and Mark Ronson, amongst others, transmitted to our sitting room courtesy of the BBC. The sound of each event has been much enhanced via the SoundStage (a sound bar with built in sub-woofer) bought by my beloved for my recent 71^st birthday.

Who knows why the axe falls (this particular way)? - an impromptu rant

Seems like the Director-General of the BBC is determined to get rid of 6 Music and the Asian Network but, I'm still trying to get my head around the logic of these cuts. For a start, the cost of running 6 Music could all be covered by a couple of years of the kind of salary that the Beeb (over)paid certain self-important presenters. Perhaps some of these could be made to work for rather less obscene salaries.

If the argument is that they've to leave some leeway for the commercial stations then, it's strange that they decide to cut stations that are nowhere duplicated by the standard commercial station fare. Of course, if the BBC were to cut its more populist programmes that would provide fodder for those who've always resented the beeb, "just look, this poptastic commercial station is getting more listeners than R1/R2, why should we license payers be providing this less popular service?" At the same time, I suspect that most of the moguls (and would be moguls) in the commercial broadcasting field are only in favour of the kind of competition that leaves the public service broadcasters hands tied; they're all for competition as long as it's on their own terms! 

One can't help feeling that much of the "mainstream" music output is little more than a promotional audio for the giant corporations of the music industry. Who decides to plug such and such "record of the week" or "album of the week"?

There is a suggestion that some of the "best" of 6  Music's output can be slotted into the Radio 2 schedule; is this a way of saying that there's a fair bit of dross to be cut out of Radio 2? What about Radio 3, after all Classic FM produces a (very) diluted version of much of it's music output, no suggestion of cutting that station though. I listen frequently to Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, occasionally to 6 Music and Radio 7, so I've no particular axe to grind, I also frequently watch BBC2, BBC4, BBC1 and occasionally BBC3 and, I feel that an argument could be made for merging much of the output of BBC4 & BBC2 and even parts of BBC3 & BBC1 but, somehow television seems to be something of a sacred cow.

Come to think of it, much of the non-music output of Radio 3 would be equally at home on Radio 4 but, somehow, their demographic is of a social standing that the beeb's hierarchs are afraid of upsetting. Most of the musical output of Radios 1 & 2 is difficult to distinguish from that emanating from a plethora of commercial stations but, 6 Music rings the changes; there's a message here, "if you don't conform you're for the chop", a definite air of conservatism.

Hypocrisy Runs Riot - a little rant

Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve not been feeling particularly well for the past few days or, it could quite simply be that I’ve rediscovered my sceptical roots; whatever is the case, the news has left me with little to rejoice about.

Superficially, the nuclear weapons non-proliferation agreement at the UN should be a cause for rejoicing but, as one who has constantly campaigned for unilateral disarmament, I find little to celebrate in the agreement. Hypocrisy runs riot.

We offer a meaningless reduction in our arsenal and, simultaneously, threaten further sanctions against Iran (though not by name) should it continue to develop these “weapons of mass destruction”. It seems so strange that our politicians, in defending our nuclear weapons, have always referred to them as a “deterrent” but, should anyone else want them they become weapons of mass destruction.

If they are a deterrent, we should urge every nation to stockpile them; if every nation has a deterrent then, surely, there’s even less chance of a war. But, of course, the argument goes on to wonder what would happen if tactical nuclear devices should fall into the hands of “terrorists”; mind you there’s rarely a mention of the terrorist state of Israel having these same weapons. However we look at it, the admission has been made that they offer no deterrence to terrorism, indeed – they pose perhaps an even greater terrorist threat.

We are constantly being told that “terrorism” is the biggest threat we face yet, we insist on maintaining and enhancing our useless nuclear defence systems at a cost of untold billions of pounds. The more nuclear devices that are in existence, the greater the chance of a terrorist getting hold of them. It may be Obama’s greatest dream to have a nuclear free-world, why not make a start by destroying the existing stockpiles; I have no time for dreamers when they could be doing something practical!

Another news item is the American military’s development of a vaccine against AIDS. It comes as no real surprise that the military are working on this; in fact I’ve always suspected that the disease began as a germ warfare experiment that somehow got out of control!

There’s currently a fuss about sexist ageism at the BBC and a call being made for some female newsreaders over the age of 50 to be employed. I’ve yet to see a newsreader that is severely facially disfigured, or who has a speech impediment; come to that, do we have any newsreaders who suffer visibly from a major physical handicap? Where are the calls for these people to be represented? It would be good to have a newsreader who doesn’t sound like a representative of (that mythical) middle-England for that matter!

All the male newsreaders appear to be compulsive tie-wearers; where is the outcry? Surely there should be demands for a member of the non tie-wearing culture to be permitted to perform this hallowed duty!

Gosh; I feel much better now.

Editorial: Why the BBC is wrong over the Gaza appeal | Comment is free | The Observer

“That the population of Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian crisis is a matter of fact, not political hypothesis. That the crisis follows directly as a result of action by the Israeli Defence Force is also hardly a matter for speculation. What grounds then, might the BBC judge a charitable appeal on behalf of the people of Gaza to be politically partisan?”

I’m still in a state of disbelief over the BBC’s exceedingly partial decision against the citizens of Gaza!

There should never have been a need for editorials such as this.

Editorial: Why the BBC is wrong over the Gaza appeal | Comment is free | The Observer

BBC Conspiracy

 

Much as I can be fascinated by conspiracy theories, I don’t always have much time for them. The BBC’s refusal to broadcast an appeal, supported by such subversive organizations as Christian Aid, Red Cross, Oxfam etc., for humanitarian aid for Gaza, on the grounds that it might demonstrate bias is almost beyond belief.

 

There must have been considerable pressure applied, from Zionist / Pro-Israeli pressure groups, to help the BBC reach such a ridiculous decision. Interestingly, a caller to BBC Radio 4’s “Any Answers” programme who dared to hint at such collusion was immediately and rudely disconnected by the programmes presenter.

 

Methinks there’s something rotten in the state of Broadcasting House.