F**king Guardian readers And I am glad to see that Pete got his swivel-eyed catchphrase in. At least with a newspaper you get to choose whether you buy it or not.
There is a thing called a 'remote control'. It has these things called buttons and you can use it to switch over. :tongue: There is also another thing called 'making your own mind up'. Although I believe that the paper of your choice has already done that for you. :tongue: And my cat avatar is better than your cat avatar. (although he/she is cute) Another :tongue:
Yes my TV does have a remote control and I can switch over but I still have to help fund the BBC upon pain of prosecution. Sell if off is what I say
So enlighten us John; whom would you prefer to control the BBC when its independence is destroyed? Rupert Murdoch? The banks? The Conservative Party? An Arab or Russian oligarch? And how exactly would any of them be in any way an improvement? In case you haven't noticed, all taxes are payable on pain of prosecution - income tax, VAT, duties - and the TV Licence is exactly the same. So are you saying payment of all taxes should be optional, or just that one? Optional for everybody, or just for you?
just a thought our taxes are collected and redistributed through an elected government by the people. the bbc is not elected by us and we have little say in how the money is spent. it is effectively a for profit organisation which uses repeated threats through its distanced private partner capita, on people who may not need a licence without justification.
OK, in what sense is the BBC a "for profit organisation" according to you - given that it has never made any profits, nor does it have powers to make any, nor does it have any shareholders or owners?
Try refusing to pay your income tax, or council tax, or car tax, and you will soon have 'repeated threats' made to you. These are taxes - TAXES - and payment of them is obligatory, not optional. So tell me, why are you picking on the BBC among all public sector institutions?
OK, I will. I have just worked out that what you wrote was a wind-up, since it was obvious rubbish which you cannot begin to justify. Very funny.
^ What Phil said. Whenever I hear the word independent I think 'yeah right'. If the luvie left wish to fund a TV channel then let then get on with it, they are not exactly short of a bob or two. As Phil says we elect governments, we do not elect the BBC. I see no reason why politics should be funded out of taxation. If you, Pete, can't see the systemic bias within the BBC then maybe it is because you are not as objective as you think you are.
The BBC is much more likely to add a caveat such 'from a right wing think tank' than 'from a left wing think tank' or 'funded by the Trades Unions' to any piece. That UKIP has gained support is no thanks to the BBC as any reporting has, until recently at least, been pejorative. Cuts are presented in terms of hospitals, nurses, schools and teachers rather than unelected quangos.
I think there is some misapprehension that the BBC is some kind of tax. Sure we all have to pay for it. Yes you have to pay for it if you have a telly. Last time I looked you had to pay for Sky, Virgin, BT etc. But wait its not compulsory to have to pay for it if you have a TV like you do the BBC. But yes you do otherwise you cant have it can you? The Thick of It was worth 5yrs license fee on its own. There is some kind of programming that you simply do not get elsewhere. They are world renowned and acknowledged as such. Yes there is some programming I do not like. The Beeb has to cater for as many diverse and varied types as is humanly possible on its current fee. A fee restricted by the current Government. So that variety will undoubtedly be compromised. I understand that not all the programming is for me. But I appreciate what i do get and what it has given me in the past. Frankly its cheap. Even the website is good. The news and current affairs are the most balanced to be found anywhere on the planet as far as I can see. You get both sides as best as can be demonstrated. I do not read any paper. Guardian included. I wish to make my own mind up. Sure the Beeb isn't perfect and I do not take it as read that what is reported is factually unbiased in any way. There is always a bias. In all things. Anything with a human involvement will have a bias as a consequence of the humans involved. Subjectivity by its very nature cannot be reproduced. One has a mind and one uses it. Sometimes I choose not to. Choice. I can choose not to own a television and have no television license. I can also make my own mind up and I am also free to review and modify that opinion in light of new evidence. TV Licensing - How to tell us you don't watch TV People read some papers because the opinions shown are more likely to reflect their own. Thus reinforcing opinions whether the opinion is correct or misguided. I simply find this unchallenging. I found it rich that young Murdoch complained about potential media monopoly by the BBC. News Corp owns everything and you only have to watch Fox news once to realise where the likes of Sarah Palin originated. The irony was lost on the self obsessed oaf.
the fact is today in 2013 - the bbc is irrelevant. their funding is archaic from a time when there was no advertising or competition and only 1 channel they should be self sufficient and ran like any other business. they should generate their income like any other business. the fact is they are imposed on anyone with a tv which is wrong wrong wrong
im well aware of that and dont see your point. other free to air channels create top programing from revenues created like any other business...itv ch4 etc etc today the bbc and the way it is funded is archaic from a different era and irrelevant in the way business are meant to be run through being dynamic and creating worked for profits - and not handed to on a plate 'just cos you own a tv ' as some think
The whole point of the BBC is that it isn't a business, it's a service - if you can remember what one of those are. It's owned by everyone and doesn't have to cow-tow to business to make a profit from dodgy advertising and product placement. The independent channels are just unwatchable, with their constant soap-power, cosmetics and chocolate bar crap. I really can't see what the beef with the BBC is. You get the most amazing programming - the best in the world - for a not very huge licence fee. So you don't like the news because you think it has a left bias. What is a left bias in any case? I have by now assumed that right-wing people just want power for the rich, the corporations and the freedom to do as they choose with their money. It has no truck with anyone who has no money, or who feel that some things are fair and some just unfair. It seems to me that the BBC is about as balanced as you are likely to get. On the internet, I go for news to the BBC, not the Guardian, the Mail or the Telegraph. It might not be perfect, but it's about as balanced an opinion as you are likely to get in media land. If someone want to point me to a more unbiased source of news, I am all ears. In my view the BBC would be worth the licence fee for Test Match Special alone - the best thing to come out of the UK.
You make some good points bootsam the BBC does make some excellent program's, The Thick of It was brilliant, but that doesn't excuse it's political bias. Phill is spot on when he says that it's funding is archaic.
its a service people should be allowed to choose to pay toward if they choose to use it. to say that if you watch any tv other than the bbc...even solely receive sattelite broadcasts from poland you must pay the bbc is wrong in 2013
Have you been to America and seen what commercial TV is like? One half hour viewing is enough to convince you of the value of the BBC. No thats incorrect. 5 mins of viewing would be 5 times more than you would need. Thus you would freely and gladly sell your soul to the ad man. Our adverts are bad enough. Multiply that tenfold. Dynamic and working for profits? Profit isn't the be all and end all of all things. Money isnt everything. Forgive me if I am wrong but it appears to me that you want it for nothing. You wish to have the BBC yet not pay for it. Advertising cannot provide the funds without becoming overbearing and too frequent. A must for a profit making organisation. For it seems that profit is all that matters for this course of business plan. Look at ITV. QEfuckingD mate. :smile: Ive attempted to watch the TV in many countries and by some margin ours is better. Even bloody ITV. The BBC is fucking extraordinary by comparison. French TV. OMG! Italian? German. Jeezus. You try watching some of the state sponsored TV in other countries and you may reconsider. No one likes to pay money for anything but honestly you're getting a bargain.
