BBC4 Under Threat .. Thompson must go!

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

this excellent article has it in a nutshell, the philistine threat to BBC4, the huge spend on ratings ... i have often argued here and elsewhere that what we see happening to R3 is just a part of the Thompson mission .... this man and his cronies, with their imperious self regard, self serving salary policies, and corpocat-speak doublethink mentality are fashioning the BBC as a commercial organisation


the BBC is suffering death by a thousand blows [and some of them are very large] .... he has to go

[Ferretfancy]

BBC 4 has a much lower budget than the other channels, and paradoxically this has improved the programmes, documentaries in particular. If you are working with a low budget you have to consider carefully what you want to say and you cannot afford flashy gimmicks which cost money and time. This means a return to proper narrative, the kind that I used to be involved with in the past at the BBC, and something which has all but disappeared elsewhere. BBC 4 is the Corporation's jewel, but the hucksters and snake oil salesmen at the top are too dumb to see that.

[Lateralthinking1]

It is more bullying. Rather like Maude, I would like to ask him in detail about his church going activities. I don't go to any church but I don't see their attitudes bearing any relation to positive biblical messages. I am sure they are the modern day herods.

Regrettably - actually no, not regrettably, other than the fact it means that generally I lose - I don't have the manipulative ways of these people. All I can say is that someone probably needs to attach this news to the riots. Is the answer really to lower all culture to the stash in the cesspit and to remove any last link between aspiration, education and entertainment?

I will sell my television if this one happens. Save on the annual payment. Watch Wimbledon elsewhere. There is hardly anything else on the screen beyond BBC4 worth watching in my home, let alone travelling to someone else's to view.

[pmartel]

No different in Canada.

CBC Radio 2 cut it's all classical format about 3 years ago. It's now a complete mix of crap.

As for tv here, SEVEN HOURS of kiddy programming in the morning and THEN repeats of the day before tv shows including Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. and THIS is from our public broadcaster in Canada.

Just to let you know you are not alone

[Stunsworth]

There was a similar article in the Guardian...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/16/bbc4-expected-to-be-scaled-back?commentpage=7#comment-12020849

Personally I find it the BBC TV channel that I watch the most, as many people have mentioned in comments to the Guardian article, it's what BBC2 was meant to be. It's shocking in a way that the BBC can even be considering closing it.

[eighthobstruction]

Thompson sings the praises of BBC3 yet has nothing decent to say about BBC4 that makes sense....ppswsh

[mangerton]

it's what BBC2 was meant to be. It's shocking in a way that the BBC can even be considering closing it.

It's what BBC2 USED to be, 30 or 40 years ago.

[Chris Newman]

BBC 4 is the Corporation's jewel, but the hucksters and snake oil salesmen at the top are too dumb to see that.

Absolutely. If it goes I shall give up TV and stop my TV Licence payments.

[BBMmk2]

There is a campaign on Facebook at the moment to save BBC4. what chance do we people have who love the high arts and gernerally more challenging works?

[2LO]

Not sure that Top of the Pops evenings and such make for a 'highbrow' channel much of the time, but BBC4's 'voice' is recognisably that of Radios 3 & 4. It's the first channel I look at when studying the TV listings and its end would be a mistake -- although not having to pay the annual licence would be a bonus.

[Anna]

I was going to say scrap BBC3 (which seems just to broadcast rubbish) and spend the money on BBC4 but now I see The BBC is to boost its 2012 Olympics coverage by extending BBC3’s broadcast hours. On Monday the BBC Trust approved the corporation's Olympics coverage plans, which include launching a temporary DAB digital radio service, called BBC 5 Live Olympics Extra, and extending live online coverage to complement TV and radio output.

BBC3, which usually operates from 7pm to 5am, will air all day during the Olympic period, from 19 July to 12 August. The move, for which the channel's budget will be increased by £4.5m, will mean BBC3 broadcasts "predominantly" Olympics coverage, with regular news bulletins every hour and the channel's usual non-sport schedule from 11pm.

[aeolium]

I very much agree with Calum's opening post about Mark Thompson. I would say he has a powerful claim to be the worst DG in the BBC's history (though John Birt is a very close rival for that title). Most of what has gone wrong with the BBC - especially BBC TV - has happened on Thompson's watch. The huge rise in executive and celebrity presenter salaries; the increase in layers of highly-paid management; the extreme focus on the presenter rather than the subject of the programme; cuts in World Service provision, including important services such as the Mandarin one; the almost total abandonment of classic drama on TV; the rise of humiliation TV such as The Weakest Link and The Apprentice; the aversion to risk and difficulty in documentary, drama and comedy, with period and costume dramas more prevalent; the massive increase in hype and trails on radio and TV - all of these have been features of Thompson's time as DG.

Yes, BBC4 has most of the programmes that are worth watching on BBC TV, but I wouldn't overpraise it. It doesn't compare with the BBC2 of the 1970s and early 1980s in terms of drama provision and arts documentaries. And of course it is a kind of ghetto of television, hidden away from the mainstream. That is why it is so much easier to cut.

[Serial_Apologist]

I very much agree with Calum's opening post about Mark Thompson. I would say he has a powerful claim to be the worst DG in the BBC's history (though John Birt is a very close rival for that title). Most of what has gone wrong with the BBC - especially BBC TV - has happened on Thompson's watch. The huge rise in executive and celebrity presenter salaries; the increase in layers of highly-paid management; the extreme focus on the presenter rather than the subject of the programme; cuts in World Service provision, including important services such as the Mandarin one; the almost total abandonment of classic drama on TV; the rise of humiliation TV such as The Weakest Link and The Apprentice; the aversion to risk and difficulty in documentary, drama and comedy, with period and costume dramas more prevalent; the massive increase in hype and trails on radio and TV - all of these have been features of Thompson's time as DG.

Yes, BBC4 has most of the programmes that are worth watching on BBC TV, but I wouldn't overpraise it. It doesn't compare with the BBC2 of the 1970s and early 1980s in terms of drama provision and arts documentaries. And of course it is a kind of ghetto of television, hidden away from the mainstream. That is why it is so much easier to cut.

Agree with all that, apart from The Apprentice, which I wouldn't classify as humiliation TV. Actually I think it offers a useful window onto the "entrepreneurial mindset".

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

you would be fooling yourself if you thought that about Sugar S_A, he is pretty much derided in real business both for how he handles people and for the nature and quality of his products [amstrad anyone] ... it is pure showbiz ... if you want an insight into how business people think and relate to people you could do a lot worse than Gerry Robinson ... the apprentice is a dreadful example for all the petty tyrants and egotistic idiots who do run real businesses ...


... but then Thompson is a dreadful example of someone who utters the most appalling idiocies in corpocat speak and is seriously harming the BBC ... he must go! he is just wrong in his policies and strategy, at least Birt led on to the BBC's strong digital and web presence .... Thompson is a real risk to the future of public service broadcasting .... and he is crossing the Trust who issued their own four priorities .... it all is a profound and dangerous mess, a real challenge for Patten ..... step 1 ditch Thompson and his cronies ...

[handsomefortune]

> the apprentice is a dreadful example for all the petty tyrants and egotistic idiots who do run real businesses ... <

agreed. i have never watched a whole programme, but have plenty of experience of its negative effects on peoples' behaviour.

real businesses aside, alan sugar sets an even worse example to people in community orgs, who are now encouraged to set up businesses, and on a collective basis, in the name of 'handing back power to communities'.

having written a constitution, and stated collective objectives, people then tend to revert to 'sugar mode', and eg 'fire' anyone who they personally disagree with, on any particular topic...(neighbour disputes included)!

as a mentality, sugar's is very destructive to communities imo. especially as funding money does not go to individuals ..but to constituted organisations, with a committee, and members. ime tv generated ideas about 'autonomy', 'individualism', and 'personal charisma' do not get collective orgs anywhere at all, other than to help disband them.

anyone, from bad tempered grans, to moody youths ...now think they have access to a lot of 'rules', courtesy of alan sugar, that are actually totally alien to the voluntary sector, and small enterprises. in addition, with many community activities/services being withdrawn/cut, it's important that other methods encouraged as 'replacements' actually work! (or so you'd think)

besides, i should imagine much of what sugar does on tv, is fictional, for entertainment/(his) career purposes. 'the apprentice' should ideally clearly state this on the packet imo.

it's also an especially tactless, hollow title, since real apprenticeships have never ever been more inaccessable to uk people, unfortunately.

as far as thompson goes, someone is directing/influencing his wrecking spree ... he can't have thought it all up on his own, surely? however, it's still awful to live through, and witness, no matter who initiated what amounts to pretty regressive, grotesque changes in beeb objectives.