THE Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, has warned against “the ideologically driven impulse to diminish” the BBC.
He was speaking on Thursday of last week during a debate in the House of Lords on a motion moved by Lord Foster of Bath: “That this House takes note of the future of public service broadcasting, in the year of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s centenary” (TV, Radio, 28 October).
The UK was a “world leader” in public-service broadcasting (PSB), Bishop Baines said. The BBC’s centenary and Channel 4’s 40th birthday should prompt people to “assess the value of what we have and steel ourselves against the ideologically driven impulse to diminish it”.
He continued: “Imagine a world without it. That is, imagine a world in which broadcasting serves only narrow cultural or political interests and is subject purely to commercial or transactional persuasion. I might put it like this: look at broadcasting in the United States. Price is not the same as value.”
Bishop Baines acknowledged that technology was changing the broadcasting landscape, but said that “there remain principles which, if neglected or sold down the river to the highest bidder, will sell our culture short — and not just the UK’s, but that of the global audience who rely on the BBC for accuracy and integrity.”
The Bishop also acknowledged that “young people are accessing the BBC less than ever”, but asked: “Does this not emphasise the need to reach them more effectively with PSB rather than simply diminishing its resources according to some numbers equation that takes little account of power that cannot be cashed out in a profit-and-loss spreadsheet?
“If PSB is reduced as a source of public funding . . . what does this say about the encouragement and nurturing of a new and younger generation of journalists and programme-makers who need to embody cultural values, not just technical skills? Do the Government value the fact-checking credibility of the BBC in a world being flooded with disinformation, with a serious impact on truth, democracy, and culture?”
Lord Parkinson, responding to the debate for the Government, said: “The need for public-service broadcasting in this country is as strong as ever it was.” He went on to say, however, that “the cost of the licence fee will remain fixed at £159 until April 2024, before rising in line with inflation until April 2028.”
He continued: “We believe that this is a fair settlement, which strikes the right balance between protecting households and allowing the BBC to deliver its vital public responsibilities, while encouraging it to make further savings, efficiencies, and innovations.”