BBC4 Under Threat .. Thompson must go!

[Ariosto]

As I've often said in the past, I think the BBC should be shut down. It's as simple as that. I won't be renewing my licence fee again.

[Mandryka]

As I've often said in the past, I think the BBC should be shut down. It's as simple as that. I won't be renewing my licence fee again.

I can't help but think this is a counsel of despair. Remove the BBC and there is no public service broadcasting in the UK. However bad the BBC might get, the commercial channels will always be far, far worse.

[pmartel]

As I've often said in the past, I think the BBC should be shut down. It's as simple as that. I won't be renewing my licence fee again.

That sentiment has been mentioned here in Canada. There are MANY that would love NOTHING BETTER than to see the CBC shut down as it is considered a waste of tax payers money as our public broadcaster is funded by us.

Certainly the quality of programming on radio and tv has deteriorated horribly AND WORSE, a public broadcaster that uses advertising to fund itself.

What can I say??

[Lateralthinking1]

There are only two positive things in this country now - the countryside and the BBC. You can either be intimidated by those who have the dna of destruction or not. Be in no doubt that there is a terrifying monster and it is several thousand strong. The question is whether our ultimate fate will be decided by 62 million people feeling that all they can do is wobble.

[RobertLeDiable]

As I've often said in the past, I think the BBC should be shut down. It's as simple as that. I won't be renewing my licence fee again.

What idiotic nonsense. Radios 3 and 4 are far and away the best radio stations of their kind in the world. In fact there is no equivalent of Radio 4 left in the world. I was in France on holiday recently and listened to Radio 3's equivalent in that supposedly highly cultured country, France Musique. During much of the day, I would say at least 30-40 minutes of every hour was given over to 'discussion' with soloists, conductors and others with an interest in classical music, while only excerpts of pieces filled the remaining time, by way of illustration of the incessant blethering. It's utterly pathetic. As has been rehearsed many times, if the BBC were closed down, we'd have no Proms, very little new music commissioned and we'd lose five orchestras, in a country that has few enough orchestras for its population.

I see the Controller of BBC4 has said that his channel is not threatened with closure, by the way. It is the government's policy for the BBC to cut 20% of its expenditure, however, which is a hell of a lot of money. Who knows where all that will come from but it certainly won't come from spending less on chocolate digestives. For all its faults, it's still by far the best broadcasting organisation in the world. The Murdoch outlets - the Sun and Sunday Times in particular - would no doubt like to see it closed down. But now we know exactly why we need it so badly, if we are not to be at the mercy of the crooks and charlatans at News Corp. And many Tory MPs would equally like it closed, so that TV and radio could be commercialised completely. How odd that some people here would be egging them on.

The worst Director General of the BBC was Alasdair Milne, closely followed by John Birt. Thomson is a genius compared to them.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

The worst Director General of the BBC was Alasdair Milne, closely followed by John Birt. Thomson is a genius compared to them.

er no i don't think so ...he is a catastrophe, a market strategist with commercial ideology and far more corrosively destructive than Birt, who shook AUNT up to some purpose at least [digitally speaking]... Thompson's 360 above and below the line marketing is at the deep root of the dumbness that spreads and his rewards policy is thus far scarcely moderated by public and staff outrage ... if he is any kind of genius then perhaps he could take up employment in an Oxford college and stop screwing the BBC .... that his senior executives invoke the mantras of commercialism and market gobbledygook with a well rehearsed and implacable smoothness smacks of an intolerance for doctrinal dissent and diversity ... his priorities are wrong and his henchmen are ruining the radio and threatening the tv channels ...

when i was young the BBC under Carlton Greene was both highly popular and didactic, respected as an authority, creative and respected it took on the establishment and was adventurous in the arts ... it is none of these now ... do not tell me it is a well respected global brand as Prof Cox claims [it did science better then too] ... the question is what kind of brand and brand values it pursues and demonstrates .... they are not the values of public service broadcasting ... with Thompson it as if AUNT is finally going to take on the commercial channels .... and he is intensely focused on beating Murdoch at the same game, he might consider that playing a different game would be the better strategy ...