How could the BBC improve ?

[Pat494]

What do you think of the BBC ?
I was shocked to hear this morning that there are 81 top fat cats at the Beeb that " earn " more than the Prime Minister. This is public money they are pocketing.
Personally I would like to see
1. NO game shows drivel
2. More documentary and educational progs
3. Continue the golden age of comedy

 

[Trader333]

People llike drivel so that is why you get the game shows and soaps etc and as such it will continue.

 

[tomorton]

Drama with challenging storylines not vetted by committees of self-censoring moralists. i.e. not driven by The Guardian's social commentators.

 

[trendie]

There are a lot of excellent dramas, documentaries and comedy. But only on the radio!

Most TV seems to have "ordinary people" performing inane tasks.
(with the exception of some cooking programs, like MasterChef,which is excellent)

There should be more:
1: educative science programs in the vein of Horizon.
2: more insights on the living and natural world; these programs are standard-bearers of excellence for us and future generations.
3: deeply researched documentaries, in the style of Dispatches, when it was good. (I know its a C4 program). Bit concerned at the shallow, simplistic reporting of the news these days. Nothing to challenge our perceptions.

4: game shows I am ambivalent about. Info-based ones are quite good, where you can sort of play along with, or pick up facts. Eggheads is the absolute worst. They barely get through half a dozen questions per program. University Challenge, isn't exactly a gameshow, but you can play along with some satisfaction at getting some obscure questions right.

5: ensure the BBC spends its money on making the programs themselves, rather than outsourcing too often, and running risk of losing skills.

 

[0007]

The BBC started to lose sight of its original founding values "to inform, educate and entertain" when its founder, Lord Reith, was purloined to run the predecessor of another destined to be failed fledgling state organisation viz. Imperial Airways which became B.O.A.C. – the progenitor of today's British Airways. The BBC now appears to be run by left-wing luvvies who, apart from their unsustainable political views, only exist to spend seemingly unlimited amounts of other people's money on wasteful, useless and trivial programs in the best of socialist tradition. Amongst this morass of trash there is some undoubtedly excellent material which shows that there are people at the BBC who have the necessary ability and foresight. This is where the BBC should specialise; it's not expensive and what the BBC is best at. Competing with the ultra-trash of the commercial channels is not a state funded organisation's job and they should leave it to those who know how to do it best.

 

[Pat494]

Good points 007.
They should look within the BBC to the talent lurking there and coddle it with opportunities not bucketfulls of our money.

 

[itspossible]

i watch very little tv and watch mainly good box sets-sopranos walking dead breaking bad etc.
i abhor soaps and only watch humans,dragons den ,4 rooms and i like property progs nature and the odd buisiness prog.lifes to short to watch garbage

 

[Pat494]

Strange how there is not a word of criticism of the overpaid people at the top. Who are they ? Have they any credits to their names or just somebody's friend from the golf club ? There is it seems a club of people who give each other plum jobs. Not all the recipients like certain bank bosses in recent years have any talent at all. We are just groomed to think they have over the years. Years ago they might have had but now its a " rob the taxpayer " philosophy which prevails.

 

[mike.]

Its annoying when you listen to radio 2 for example, the traffic lady comes on and notifies you of all said traffic jams around the country, her bulletin takes approx 15-20 seconds , this may be repeated four more times in a two hour show giving her total on air time for the day approx 1-1.5 mins of broadcasting. then a new one comes on for the next 2hr show. I wonder how much her salary is for two hours work and 1.5 mins broadcasting ? 100k + be a good estimate ?

 

[0007]

Strange how there is not a word of criticism of the overpaid people at the top. Who are they ? Have they any credits to their names or just somebody's friend from the golf club ? There is it seems a club of people who give each other plum jobs. Not all the recipients like certain bank bosses in recent years have any talent at all. We are just groomed to think they have over the years. Years ago they might have had but now its a " rob the taxpayer " philosophy which prevails.

Couldn't agree more. BBC was one of the gravy trains that Maggie didn't have time to sort out. Let's hope Cameron shows a bit of bottle.

 

[Oscar Reed]

Export another season of Silent Witness.

 

[hhiusa]

By not being a statutory corporation and; thus, it is state owned.

 

[Oscar Reed]

By not being a statutory corporation and; thus, it is state owned.

Should improve the financial situation.

But would it improve the quality of the programmes..

Commercial TV is full of ads, a 40 min show takes 60 mins to watch because of all the ads.

Persnaly I still find the best progammes on the state owned TV and radio.

BBC TV and radio in the UK and ABC and Triple J in Australia.

Not talikng game shows and soaps.

 

[tomorton]

But should a state have effective ownership of a TV station? If they ought to own that, surely they should own a national newspaper too? And why not a chain of cinemas or night clubs or restaurants? Makes no odds if the output is good or bad, its no job of the state to work to give us good quality evening entertainment. Its anachronistic state paternalism.

 

[hhiusa]

Should improve the financial situation.

But would it improve the quality of the programmes..

Commercial TV is full of ads, a 40 min show takes 60 mins to watch because of all the ads.

Persnaly I still find the best progammes on the state owned TV and radio.

BBC TV and radio in the UK and ABC and Triple J in Australia.

Not talikng game shows and soaps.

The state should have no business in the press.

The mandatory licence fee would be unconstitutional here, as this means of financing is unfair because it has the result of limiting the ability to compete with the corporation.

Waste or over-staffing. This seems inexorable in state run affairs.

 

[counter_violent]

But should a state have effective ownership of a TV station? If they ought to own that, surely they should own a national newspaper too? And why not a chain of cinemas or night clubs or restaurants? Makes no odds if the output is good or bad, its no job of the state to work to give us good quality evening entertainment. Its anachronistic state paternalism.

Probably works for North Korea.

 

[hhiusa]

Probably works for North Korea.

It seems it works in the UK too. :cheesy:

 

[Pat494]

But should a state have effective ownership of a TV station? If they ought to own that, surely they should own a national newspaper too? And why not a chain of cinemas or night clubs or restaurants? Makes no odds if the output is good or bad, its no job of the state to work to give us good quality evening entertainment. Its anachronistic state paternalism.

It works very well as long as the content is strictly neutral and educational. No politics of the biased to one side sort particularly.

 

[tomorton]

But what's broadcasting entertainment and news got to do with a state in which freedom of speech and the press is protected by law? Why does the state have to control the whole apparatus when it can already regulate the activities?

Surely this is as much an abuse of power as would the the nationalisation of chocolate bar factories?

 

[Pat494]

Does without those dreadful adverts too.

Let rubbishy game shows and soaps go to ITV imho. They can dumb even further down the already dumb there. I expect political parties have already thought of commissioning politically oriented shows or soon will.