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British Government poised to take Full Control of BBC
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The BBC is experiencing one of its most delicate moments this week as tension is taking over the government-funded organization. On Thursday, it is expected that the British government makes public the contents of a White Paper in which it outlines the future it wants for the publicly-funded broadcasting company. At year end, the Royal Charter that governs over the BBC will expire and with it, the BBC, whose operations are far from being independent, might just be walking into the hands of the British government. The Royal Charter has supposedly prevented the operation of the BBC from outside influence, and it has allegedly shielded its independence from political power. In practice, however, this could not be further from the truth. The BBC lost its independence a long time ago, if it even had any. The expiration of the Royal Charter is the moment that the British government had been waiting for, as David Cameron is expected to push for drastic changes on current rules and impose greater control over editorial policy and economic management. A few leaks made from the White Paper have set off alarms among professionals and defenders of their independence at the BBC. Despite its commitment to favor the agendas of the political and corporate establishment, the BBC is still seen as the model to follow when it comes to public radio and television. Among the points that presumably will address the controversial document is the abolition of the BBC Trust, which regulates the organization. This Trust would be replaced by Ofcom, the UK communications regulator. In addition to Ofcom, the BBC would also be bound by the National Audit Office (NAO), the parliamentary watchdog of public spending, which will be given the power to audit the accounts of the corporation. BBC professionals also warn about the composition of a new board of 13 members, of which more than half would be directly appointed by the government. All this would end, he says, the self-government that has presided over the history of the network. Although the trust on the BBC has rapidly deteriorated over the last few years, insiders still believe that the status provided by the Royal Chart, had placed the BBC in a good position to be able to set targets and levy contributions from on British citizens, who were charged a fee on the purchase of TV sets, for example, to help finance BBC operations. One of the proposals in the White Paper, which was led by Culture Minister John Whittingdale, is aimed precisely at this rate. The government wants to open the door to benefit BBC rivals by sharing the monies that come from consumption fees like the one mentioned above. In other words, the BBC would not only be under the control of the government, but its budget would be reduced while rival operations would be financially strengthened. But the changes do not stop there. According to details from the White Paper, the BBC would also have to cover payments corresponding to charges that it is currently exempted from. In sum, the BBC would be controlled with tighter bureaucratic schemes, it would be given less funds and it would have to spend more to operate. The government offensive on the BBC does not end there. Those interested in changing the way the BBC operates also question the free access to its online portal as well as the production of entertainment programs for large audiences, such as The Voice. On a positive note, some of the changes intend to make public the salaries of its personalities. This initiative has been deemed by people like Gary Lineker as “idiocy”. The crisis that has invaded the BBC was the subject of criticism from professionals during the ceremony held at the Bafta awards. Among them, Peter Kosminsky, director of the award-winning historical series Wolf Hall, who defended the independent model of the BBC as a “public broadcaster”, showed his opposition to the newly presented model of “state broadcaster” where editorial decisions are made by people appointed by the government. Decisions such as this one is equated to less free models such as the ones applied in countries like Russia and North Korea. Kosminsky’s words provoked a standing ovation by the audience.
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