Post by Teddy Bear on Oct 19, 2009 20:08:49 GMT
Note the tack the BBC takes when threatened recently by the Tory Minister Jeremy Hunt to scrap their charter:
A BBC Trust spokesman said: “Jeremy Hunt’s position is well-known. The BBC Trust is getting on with the job set out for it in the Charter of protecting the interests of licence fee payers, defending the independence of the BBC, and reshaping the BBC to meet the challenges ahead.”
“The point of having a Charter that runs for ten years is to give the BBC stability and keep it at arms length from the political process. This Charter was drawn up after lengthy, detailed and intense debate about the BBC’s mission. It still has seven years to run. It establishes the Trust as the way of protecting the independence of the BBC. Let’s respect that.”
As you see from the repetition of "protecting the independence" it's trying to appeal to the populace that the Conservatives are intending to punish the BBC for not toeing the Tory party line.
However, the BBC is required to be independent ONLY in following a fair, balanced and impartial manner of broadcasting. The BBC interprets being independent as following it's own leftwing liberal course in defiance of any other poiint of view.
High time it was axed - COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY.
A BBC Trust spokesman said: “Jeremy Hunt’s position is well-known. The BBC Trust is getting on with the job set out for it in the Charter of protecting the interests of licence fee payers, defending the independence of the BBC, and reshaping the BBC to meet the challenges ahead.”
“The point of having a Charter that runs for ten years is to give the BBC stability and keep it at arms length from the political process. This Charter was drawn up after lengthy, detailed and intense debate about the BBC’s mission. It still has seven years to run. It establishes the Trust as the way of protecting the independence of the BBC. Let’s respect that.”
As you see from the repetition of "protecting the independence" it's trying to appeal to the populace that the Conservatives are intending to punish the BBC for not toeing the Tory party line.
However, the BBC is required to be independent ONLY in following a fair, balanced and impartial manner of broadcasting. The BBC interprets being independent as following it's own leftwing liberal course in defiance of any other poiint of view.
High time it was axed - COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY.
Tories would rip up BBC royal charter
The Conservatives have threatened to tear up the BBC’s royal charter as the shadow minister pledges to scrap the 50p broadband tax.
By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent
Published: 12:37PM BST 19 Oct 2009
Two of the main proposals in the Government's Digital Britain Bill concerning broadband rollout and sharing the BBC licence fee with other broadcasters would also be reversed, according to Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary.
Mr Hunt signalled major change for the BBC, accusing bosses of being out of touch with the public mood with the "hard times" by allowing high management salaries.
He said in particular he would change the way the BBC was governed, replacing the current BBC Trust which he said acted as both cheerleader and regulator.
"We haven't made a decision on the timing of (changes in the governance structure), but we do think the structure... has failed," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
"We are looking into whether it would be appropriate to rip up the charter in the middle of it, or whether one should wait," he said.
The current royal charter allowing the BBC to charge a licence fee expires in 2016.
Mr Hunt said the Tories would scrap proposals to add a 50p-a-month tax on all telephone lines to help pay for superfast broadband access across the country.
The Tories would axe proposals that would force the BBC to share £130 million of the licence fee with other broadcasters when the current royal charter expires at the end of 2016, he said.
He added that he wants to improve the conditions for commercial TV in the UK by deregulation, rather than spending taxpayer funds.
"(We will have) a very fundamental root-and-branch discussion with the BBC about all its activities," he said.
Mr Hunt cited last year's incident in which DJs Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left obscene messages on the voicemail of actor Andrew Sachs and high salaries as evidence of the corporation being "out of touch".
"That is clearly out of touch with the hard times the rest of the electorate is going through," he said.
Mr Hunt also echoed concerns raised earlier this month by the BBC Trust that the BBC's expansion of its online service risked crushing all the competition.
"It might sound well and good for them to have, say, an angling website but if it drove out of business every angling magazine in the country, you would have to question if it was the right sort of thing to do," he said.
A BBC Trust spokesman said: “Jeremy Hunt’s position is well-known. The BBC Trust is getting on with the job set out for it in the Charter of protecting the interests of licence fee payers, defending the independence of the BBC, and reshaping the BBC to meet the challenges ahead.”
“The point of having a Charter that runs for ten years is to give the BBC stability and keep it at arms length from the political process. This Charter was drawn up after lengthy, detailed and intense debate about the BBC’s mission. It still has seven years to run. It establishes the Trust as the way of protecting the independence of the BBC. Let’s respect that.”
The Conservatives have threatened to tear up the BBC’s royal charter as the shadow minister pledges to scrap the 50p broadband tax.
By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent
Published: 12:37PM BST 19 Oct 2009
Two of the main proposals in the Government's Digital Britain Bill concerning broadband rollout and sharing the BBC licence fee with other broadcasters would also be reversed, according to Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary.
Mr Hunt signalled major change for the BBC, accusing bosses of being out of touch with the public mood with the "hard times" by allowing high management salaries.
He said in particular he would change the way the BBC was governed, replacing the current BBC Trust which he said acted as both cheerleader and regulator.
"We haven't made a decision on the timing of (changes in the governance structure), but we do think the structure... has failed," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
"We are looking into whether it would be appropriate to rip up the charter in the middle of it, or whether one should wait," he said.
The current royal charter allowing the BBC to charge a licence fee expires in 2016.
Mr Hunt said the Tories would scrap proposals to add a 50p-a-month tax on all telephone lines to help pay for superfast broadband access across the country.
The Tories would axe proposals that would force the BBC to share £130 million of the licence fee with other broadcasters when the current royal charter expires at the end of 2016, he said.
He added that he wants to improve the conditions for commercial TV in the UK by deregulation, rather than spending taxpayer funds.
"(We will have) a very fundamental root-and-branch discussion with the BBC about all its activities," he said.
Mr Hunt cited last year's incident in which DJs Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left obscene messages on the voicemail of actor Andrew Sachs and high salaries as evidence of the corporation being "out of touch".
"That is clearly out of touch with the hard times the rest of the electorate is going through," he said.
Mr Hunt also echoed concerns raised earlier this month by the BBC Trust that the BBC's expansion of its online service risked crushing all the competition.
"It might sound well and good for them to have, say, an angling website but if it drove out of business every angling magazine in the country, you would have to question if it was the right sort of thing to do," he said.
A BBC Trust spokesman said: “Jeremy Hunt’s position is well-known. The BBC Trust is getting on with the job set out for it in the Charter of protecting the interests of licence fee payers, defending the independence of the BBC, and reshaping the BBC to meet the challenges ahead.”
“The point of having a Charter that runs for ten years is to give the BBC stability and keep it at arms length from the political process. This Charter was drawn up after lengthy, detailed and intense debate about the BBC’s mission. It still has seven years to run. It establishes the Trust as the way of protecting the independence of the BBC. Let’s respect that.”