The BBC: An Existential Crisis?

[Sir Velo]

Not really
because there are plenty of other places where one can find things these days

Fine, then don't make us pay for something which doesn't come up to snuff.

[anotherbob]

What about those who aren't familiar with such things - especially music - and wouldn't know where/how to seek it out? Why not seriously educative introductions, not frivolous ones which assume people who are ignorant of such things are also stupid?

Agreed.
I see in the new issue of RT that the overwhelming number of responses to BS's piece they received were in agreement with him.

[amateur51]

Agreed.
I see in the new issue of RT that the overwhelming number of responses to BS's piece they received were in agreement with him.

I did enjoy his pop at Botney too

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

it is not ironic that such anti university [scholarship, learning, rigour etc] values should be so emphatically pushed by a bunch of graduates with first class minds and degrees ...

i think it would be a great solution to outsource the entire BBC to NPR in the USA ...

the more i look into the Trust the shabbier they look ...

[Thropplenoggin]

AUNT has been badly knocked about in recent years, decades even if we include Birt et al. Brian Sewell is his usual acerbic provocateur in this piece; alas i agree with him .... something i did not contemplate hereto!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...t-brian-sewell

What's interesting in this piece - Sewell's points all seem valid to me - is how increasingly banal his interlocutor becomes in defending the BBC:

MH: 'But the BBC remains a great source of pride to many of us. It's arguably the best broadcaster in the world.'



Thank, CdJ for linking to this, really cheered my day, especially this: 'I'm a secret devotee of Casualty and Holby City. They're wonderfully soporific. Good for emptying the brain after a working day.'

[Sir Velo]

What's interesting in this piece - Sewell's points all seem valid to me - is how increasingly banal his interlocutor becomes in defending the BBC:

MH: 'But the BBC remains a great source of pride to many of us. It's arguably the best broadcaster in the world.'



Thank, CdJ for linking to this, really cheered my day, especially this: 'I'm a secret devotee of Casualty and Holby City. They're wonderfully soporific. Good for emptying the brain after a working day.'

My take is that MH was there as a patsy feeding Sewell his lines to him on a plate. Either that or he will be in serious trouble for his half arsed attempts at defending the BBC.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

how typical of AUNT to stuff her Trust with ex broadcasting types and cronies who will spend their entire time second guessing the workings of all those committees and byzantine management structures ... and not giving a fig for license payers at all, nor any societal role of the BBC; business experience and industry experience are scarcely relevant given the task of oversight and will simply lead to meddling or real hands off hand washing and doing things with fingers ... no wonder Snowball [botney] has two salaries [and likely expense accounts, pensions etc ] and it is on Snowball's watch that all the dumb stuff and style has matured ...

[mercia]

I've just started reading that Guardian piece and see Sewell calling a presenter a "rat-faced young man" - which makes me not want to read any further

Is Sewell nothing more than a frightful snob ?

[Sir Velo]

That's just Sewell's way. I'd persevere to the end of the article IIWY; some richly pertinent points made.

[anotherbob]

I've just started reading that Guardian piece and see Sewell calling a presenter a "rat-faced young man" - which makes me not want to read any further

Is Sewell nothing more than a frightful snob ?

Whether or not he is a frightful snob (and I pass no judgement) he makes some very good points. Maybe you should read on

[amateur51]

I've just started reading that Guardian piece and see Sewell calling a presenter a "rat-faced young man" - which makes me not want to read any further

Is Sewell nothing more than a frightful snob ?

Oh he's much more fascinating than that mercs - if you can be bothered to read the two volumes of his autobiography, he is remarkably candid, not least about Peter Warlock turning out to be his dad.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outsider-Always-Almost-Never-Quite/dp/0704372495/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371572083&sr=1-2&keywords=Outsider+Sewell

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outsider-II-Always-Almost-Never/dp/0704372916/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371572123&sr=1-1&keywords=Outsider+Sewell

[french frank]

It looks as if a similar article was in the Radio Times, hence the letters there. Two letters were published and the letters editor commented:

Brian Sewell's column clearly hit the spot. Almost to a man and woman you cheered him on.

I mentioned this to someone on the phone - you know, one of those brutal, anti-authoritarian lefties - and he was greatly approving of him (while au contraire I was attempting to get my retaliation in first, with a sort of blasé, oh, that awful Brian Sewell, type of thing, to avoid being scoffed at).

[mercia]

Sewell's own travelogues - what's the difference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y26vRuvsv44

[vinteuil]

Sewell's own travelogues - what's the difference

... the difference is that those travelogues were intended to be travelogues (and jolly good they were too).

His objection is to programmes which should not be travelogues - which should be intellectually, culturally, demanding and rewarding - being turned into travelogues à la Palin.

[amateur51]

... the difference is that those travelogues were intended to be travelogues (and jolly good they were too).

His objection is to programmes which should not be travelogues - which should be intellectually, culturally, demanding and rewarding - being turned into travelogues à la Palin.

Or worse still à la Whispering Dan Cruickshank