the things i enjoy that the bbc have produced have nothing to do with politics. bbc radio four and the tv channel bbc four are both superb at championing the arts and culture aspects of this country. plus, i was an avid fan of john peel's show and i very much enjoy the hundreds of hours of great live material recorded at maida vale over the years.

the bbc world service is great also.

Chapter Two wrote:

Earwicker wrote:
your avatar is nicked off the bbc website.

as is mine.

Oh, well that changes facking everything, don't it?

I was just trying to lightly illustrate that for every bad you have listed the BBC has produced quality stuff (well your avatar is quality anyhow. Mine's a badger).
And I'm not sure the BBC should be described as a state organ. That implies it's just a propoganda machine but it doesn't shy away too much from attacking government policy (though it used to be better at it).
I would say it should do more of this attacking and in more mainstream slots but given that the quality of its investigative journalism, comedy, cultural programming and most everything else is so much better than the other channels it should be praised more than condemned.

I personally would happily pay more license fee to get rid of fucking adverts from my TV.
If people wouldn't then cool. Less people watching TV = also Not Crap

Earwicker wrote:And I'm not sure the BBC should be described as a state organ. That implies it's just a propoganda machine but it doesn't shy away too much from attacking government policy (though it used to be better at it).

I would say it should do more of this attacking and in more mainstream slots but given that the quality of its investigative journalism, comedy, cultural programming and most everything else is so much better than the other channels it should be praised more than condemned.

The 'State Organ' title was partly a joke, as the BBC grew out of Lord Beaverbrook's war-time propaganda machine, the 'Ministry of Information', which was the model for Orwell's Ministry of Truth in 1984.

The BBC is definitely a means by which Britain 'softly' projects it's version of civilization across the world. You only have to listen to the World Service abroad to notice the difference between domestic and overseas broadcasting. For instance, the BBC started broadcasting New Home, New Life, a Pashto version of The Archers for Afghanistan, as a way of gently introducing modern ideas into the country. It proved so popular that the Taliban were unable to ban radios. I'm not saying this is a bad thing.

During the invasion of Iraq the BBC was somewhat cautious in it's reporting, compared to say Channel 4, which it must have made it all the more galling when Alistair Campbell turned round and took a chunk out of them. The whole affair demonstrated how the government can tighten the leash when their remit is up for negotiation.

I'd pay the licence fee solely to watch re-runs of Steptoe and Son and Porridge.

This is stating the obvious a little bit, but the BBC gets an automatic Not Crap vote for John Peel alone.

Chapter Two wrote:Not interested, sorry. Stick your Good Life sit coms, up your fucking arse Mr BBC man.

Come on, man! Felicity Kendall was super cute in the ‘70s. But yeah, Alan Titchmarsh, worst thing ever! Also, Selina Scott and Frank Bough should’ve never been allowed on television, especially together, that early in the morning. That’s just mental cruelty.
I agree, calm, gentle, queen's english does get a bit old
(even though that's more or less my accent ).

I don’t live in the U.K. anymore. When I’ve been back to visit, the BBC seems to be kind of slowly going down hill. I get BBC World and I really dislike a lot of the content and overall atmosphere of that channel.

Mose Varty-Seppanen wrote:This is stating the obvious a little bit, but the BBC gets an automatic Not Crap vote for John Peel alone.

Chapter Two wrote:Not interested, sorry. Stick your Good Life sit coms, up your fucking arse Mr BBC man.

Come on, man! Felicity Kendall was super cute in the ‘70s.

Yes, well, there is that.

I was rather tipsy last night I'm afraid. I like the BBC really.

The BBC is not crap.

I voted CRAP because is the 1st option that came to mind.
Now reading all your comments kinda like regret it.

the bbc is the place to be
because of:
Alan Partridge
Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads
The Office
and many more comedies over the years (all bbc2 though...)

Oh, and I trawled for a long time to find this. Please do watch it. It's one of the most amazing pieces of journalism I've ever seen in my life.