Scrap the TV licence, the BBC should just stick to the national news February 15, 2020 It is good that the BBC model is being disrupted by social media — allowing isolated individuals threatened by brown envelopes and sinister demands to be united in their opposition to the multi-billion pound media enterprise. Essentially, the broadcaster needs to be radically stripped down to just one channel: BBC News and Weather. All other [...]
Top BBC boss apologises over £12,000 banking conference fee February 11, 2020 The BBC’s editorial director Kamal Ahmed has apologised to staff for accepting £12,000 to speak at a banking conference last week. Ahmed, who was previously the broadcaster’s economics editor, accepted the fee for a 40-minute appearance at Aberdeen Standard Investments’ Investing for the Future event. In an email to staff, shared with the Financial Times, [...]
BBC calls for ‘demonstrable resilience’ as it launches search for new boss February 10, 2020 The BBC has fired the starting pistol on its search for a new director general, calling for applicants with “demonstrable resilience” as it tries to head off fierce political pressure. The broadcaster today published a job advert for its top position after current director general Tony Hall announced plans to step down in the summer. [...]
Culture secretary denies attack on BBC as she hints at wider broadcaster review February 5, 2020 Culture secretary Nicky Morgan has denied the government is launching an attack on the BBC as she hinted at a wider review of public service broadcasters. Morgan today launched a public consultation on whether to decriminalise non-payment of the TV licence fee amid a shift in viewing habits fuelled by the rise of streaming services [...]
Government opens consultation into licence fee decriminalisation February 5, 2020 Culture secretary Nicky Morgan will today launch a public consultation on whether to decriminalise non-payment of the TV licence fee, ramping up political pressure on the BBC. Under current laws anyone who uses a TV or watches BBC iPlayer without paying the licence fee is guilty of a criminal offence. Those who refuse to pay [...]
BBC licence fee to increase by £3 from April February 3, 2020 The annual cost of the TV licence fee increase from £154.50 to £157.50 from 1 April, the BBC confirmed today. The fee is set by the government, which announced in 2016 that it would rise in line with inflation for five years from April 2017. The new charge equates to £3.02 per week or £13.13 [...]
The BBC keeps scoring own goals with its internal comms January 30, 2020 Like the perfect colour for a cup of tea (green, in my case), it seems that everyone in the UK must have an opinion on the BBC. Auntie, age 97, has become loathed in some quarters of the right-wing press, with omnipresent claims of BBC bias, and equally hated in sections of the left-wing media, [...]
BBC ‘faces existential threat’ as it slashes 450 jobs January 29, 2020 The BBC has been warned it is facing an “existential threat” after the broadcaster announced it will cut roughly 450 jobs. The corporation today said it will slash the roles from its news output as it looks to save £80m by 2022 and counteract declining viewing figures. The cuts are set to impact Newsnight, which [...]
Culture secretary Nicky Morgan warns BBC not to ignore licence fee row January 23, 2020 The culture secretary has warned the BBC it would be making a “big mistake” if it thought the row over the licence fee was not an issue of public concern. Baroness Nicky Morgan dismissed the notion that the broadcaster’s funding model was only relevant to those in Westminster, arguing instead that it affect the wider [...]
BBC ‘set to slash jobs’ as it revamps news output in cost-cutting plan January 22, 2020 The BBC is said to be on the brink of announcing a wave of job cuts in its news division as it looks to revamp its output before the next director general takes the reins. The cuts are likely to affect popular news programmes such as Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Two and Radio 4’s Word [...]