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UK govt to cut funding for BBC

November, the government launched negotiations to agree how much the TV licence would cost, part of a five-year funding settlement due to begin in April 2022…reports Asian Lite News

Britain’s government will cut the BBC’s funding by ordering a two-year freeze on the fee that people pay to watch the broadcaster, the Mail on Sunday reported.

The future of the licence-payer funded British Broadcasting Corporation is a perpetual topic of political debate, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government most recently suggesting its funding needs to be reformed.

Set against an inflation rate expected to reach a 30-year high of 6% or more in April, freezing the licence cost at its current 159 pounds would provide some relief to consumers battling sharply rising costs of living.

But it would also be a large blow to the BBC’s finances as it tries to compete with privately funded news outlets and the likes of Netflix and other entertainment streaming services funded by consumer subscriptions.

In November, the government launched negotiations to agree on how much the TV licence would cost, part of a five-year funding settlement due to begin in April 2022.

The Digital, Media, Culture and Sports department declined to comment when asked about the Mail on Sunday report.

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said that the licence fee settlement would be the last such agreement and tweeted a link to the Mail on Sunday article.

“Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content,” she said on Twitter.

The BBC declined to comment on Dorries’ tweet or the Mail on Sunday report.

The opposition Labour Party said the funding cut was politically motivated.

“The Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary seem hell-bent on attacking this great British institution because they don’t like its journalism,” said Lucy Powell, Labour lawmaker and culture policy chief.

The BBC’s news output is regularly criticised by UK political parties. Its coverage of Brexit issues – central to Johnson’s government – has long been seen as overly critical by supporters of leaving the European Union.

Last week, one Conservative lawmaker said BBC coverage relating to parties in Johnson’s Downing Street residence during coronavirus lockdowns amounted to a “coup attempt” against the prime minister.

ALSO READ-BBC temporarily halts reporting in Russia

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BBC temporarily halts reporting in Russia

The BBC has temporarily suspended its journalists’ work in Russia, in response to a new law which threatens to jail anyone Russia deems to have spread “fake” news on the armed forces.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie said the legislation “appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism”.

The BBC said its news in Russian will still be produced from outside the country.

Later on Friday, Canada’s public broadcaster and Bloomberg News said they too had temporarily halted reporting from Russia, and news channel CNN said it would stop broadcasting in the country, the BBC reported.

Earlier in the day, Russia blocked access to BBC website and the media outlet resorted to broadcasting news bulletins over shortwave radio in the country.

(Credit: Twitter/ DefenceU)

According to a report in The Guardian, the BBC said it was bringing back the WWII-era broadcasting technology in the region, just hours before its sites were banned.

“It’s often said truth is the first casualty of war. In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda is rife, there is a clear need for factual and independent news people can trust – and in a significant development, millions more Russians are turning to the BBC,” said Tim Davie, BBC Director-General.

“We will continue giving the Russian people access to the truth, however we can.”

As part of its resilience operation to ensure news is available in Ukraine and Russia, the BBC has also stepped up services on other platforms.

It launched two new shortwave frequencies in the region for four hours of World Service English news a day. These frequencies can be received clearly in Kyiv and parts of Russia.

Shortwave radio uses frequencies that carry over long-distances and are accessible on portable sets.

The BBC said its shortwave broadcasts will be available on frequencies of 15735 kHz from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 5875 kHz from midnight to 2 a.m., Ukraine time.

News will be read in English, which the BBC says will be available in Kyiv as well as “parts of Russia”.

Shortwave radio has a long history of wartime broadcasts.

Destroyed russian tank company on T-72B3 in Chernigiv region.

The Guardian reports that its usage peaked during the Cold War, but that it was also used throughout WWII to broadcast propaganda.

The BBC World Service ended its use of the technology in Europe in 2008 after 76 years.

The Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor has also restricted access to the US government-funded Radio Liberty, Voice of America, Meduza (a Russian and English-language news site based in Latvia), and German state-owned broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

The audience for the BBC’s Russian language news website more than tripled its year-to-date weekly average, with a record reach of 10.7 million people in the last week (compared to 3.1 million).

In English, bbc.com visitors in Russia were up 252 per cent to 423,000 last week, the media outlet announced in a statement.

The live page in Russian covering the invasion was the most visited site across the whole of the BBC World Service’s non-English language services, with 5.3 million views.

Audiences for the Ukrainian language site more than doubled year-to-date, with a reach of 3.9 million in the past week (compared to 1.7 million) and the audience for bbc.com increased 154 per cent in Ukraine.

ALSO READ: Russia declares partial ceasefire in Ukraine

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UK govt to cut funding for BBC

In November, the government launched negotiations to agree how much the TV licence would cost, part of a five-year funding settlement due to begin in April 2022…reports Asian Lite News

Britain’s government will cut the BBC’s funding by ordering a two-year freeze on the fee that people pay to watch the broadcaster, the Mail on Sunday reported.

The future of the licence-payer funded British Broadcasting Corporation is a perpetual topic of political debate, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government most recently suggesting its funding needs to be reformed.

Set against an inflation rate expected to reach a 30-year high of 6% or more in April, freezing the licence cost at its current 159 pounds would provide some relief to consumers battling sharply rising costs of living.

But it would also be a large blow to the BBC’s finances as it tries to compete with privately funded news outlets and the likes of Netflix and other entertainment streaming services funded by consumer subscriptions.

In November, the government launched negotiations to agree how much the TV licence would cost, part of a five-year funding settlement due to begin in April 2022.

The Digital, Media, Culture and Sport department declined to comment when asked about the Mail on Sunday report.

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said that the licence fee settlement would be the last such agreement and tweeted a link to the Mail on Sunday article.

“Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content,” she said on Twitter.

The BBC declined to comment on Dorries’ tweet or the Mail on Sunday report.

The opposition Labour Party said the funding cut was politically motivated.

“The Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary seem hell-bent on attacking this great British institution because they don’t like its journalism,” said Lucy Powell, Labour lawmaker and culture policy chief.

The BBC’s news output is regularly criticised by UK political parties. Its coverage of Brexit issues – central to Johnson’s government – has long been seen as overly critical by supporters of leaving the European Union.

Last week, one Conservative lawmaker said BBC coverage relating to parties in Johnson’s Downing Street residence during coronavirus lockdowns amounted to a “coup attempt” against the prime minister.

ALSO READ-Royals attack BBC documentary in rare joint statement

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BBC under fire after shutting down scholar over Pak comments

It is a fact Pakistan supports Taliban, the Taliban leaders have Pakistani passports & work with ISI,” Mariam Amini said…reports Asian Lite News.

The BBC has come under fire after the network shot down C. Christine Fair, a scholar on South Asia, for speaking about Pakistan’s jihad policy in Afghanistan during a programme.

“Really disappointing. @BBCWorld shutting down @CChristineFair as she tries to advance a cogent critique of Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan. This is poor journalism; not what you expect from the Beeb,” said Theo Farrell on Twitter.

“Shame on @bbcworldservice for not letting Georgetown University Prof. @CChristineFair finish answering the question. This is an example how if BBC censors Afghanistan analysis. It is a fact Pakistan supports Taliban, the Taliban leaders have Pakistani passports & work with ISI,” Mariam Amini said.

https://twitter.com/mariamamini/status/1434331744858251265

“Quite gross from @BBCNews: our “impartiality” doctrine was used to basically shut down @CChristineFair when she explained Pakistan’s jihad policy in Afghanistan that has brought us all to this catastrophe – an issue on which there is no ‘balance’ or ‘other side’, factually”, Kyle Orton said.

“How is it @PhilippaBBC’s job to shut a guest down? Surely, she could have invited a Pakistani official later to give their view. As a news anchor, she should know that many people have the same analysis/view as @CChristineFair whether one agrees with it or not,” former Pakistan diplomat Hussain Haqqani said.

ALSO READ-William, Harry slam BBC over ‘deceitful’ Diana interview

READ MORE-BBC to review editorial policies

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BBC to review editorial policies

BBC director general Tim Davie on Tuesday said that an investigation into why the former reporter Martin Bashir was rehired in 2016 will be published next week…reports Asian Lite News

The BBC Board has announced a review of the broadcaster’s editorial and whistle-blowing policies amid mounting pressure following an inquiry into the 1995 interview with the late Princess Diana.

BBC director general Tim Davie on Tuesday said that an investigation into why the former reporter Martin Bashir was rehired in 2016 will be published next week.

Davie said there was “no doubt” that rehiring Bashir years after the interview had been a “big mistake”, adding that Bashir was still working out a three-month paid notice period, according to BBC.

Davie said the notice period started the moment he resigned and was almost up, it was reported.

In a statement on Monday, the BBC said it accepted the inquiry report, which said that it fell short of “high standards of integrity and transparency” over the interview.

The board said in its statement that it hoped to ensure the “mistakes of the past” could not be repeated.

“We accepted Lord Dyson’s findings in full and reiterate the apology we have offered to all those affected by the failings identified,” it said.

“We recognise the impact that the events it describes has had on so many people, not least those whose lives were personally affected by what happened. We also acknowledge that audiences had a right to expect better from the BBC.”

The report published last week by an independent inquiry led by John Dyson, a retired senior judge, found that Martin Bashir had acted in a “deceitful” way and faked documents to obtain the interview.

Flowers, candles and photos are seen in commemoration of the Princess Diana in Paris, France on Aug. 31, 2017. People commemorated the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Princess Diana here on Thursday. Princess Diana died in a car crash in a Parisian underpass on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen/IANS)

The inquiry found Bashir mocked up fake bank statements that falsely suggested individuals were being paid for keeping the princess under surveillance.

He later showed the fake documents to Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, to gain his trust to gain access to Diana and persuade her to agree to give the interview.

The BBC carried out its own investigation into the issue in 1996, but it “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency”, according to the latest inquiry.

Bashir has stepped down from his role as the BBC’s religion editor, the corporation has confirmed.

Former BBC director general Tony Hall announced on May 22 that he has resigned as the National Gallery’s chairman.

Continuing in the role “would be a distraction”, said Hall, who was director of news during the time of the interview, which the boradcaster claims it was the first time a serving British Royal had spoken openly about her life, including her “unhappy marriage” to Prince Charles, their affairs and her bulimia.

The Met Police has said it will assess the contents of the inquiry into the interview to ensure there is no “significant new evidence” to support a criminal investigation.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said the report “reveals damning failings at the heart of the BBC” and he will “consider whether further governance reforms are needed”.

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