BBC failing licence fee payers

First I'd like to thank Sanddef for allowing to post some occasional ramblings on his blog and hope that I won't bring the standard down too much.

The bbc trust has today received a report on how it has adapted to the post devolution UK. It is damning

the Beeb is "... failing to keep the citizens of the UK fully and properly informed about developments across the UK, it is failing to meet the expectations that the BBC itself has of its own journalism, and it irritates and even alienates very large numbers of viewers and listeners, who happen also to be licence-fee payers”

Of the devolution stories the network cover “...No fewer than 19 per cent of those for which the BBC was responsible – nearly one in five – were found to be vague and confusing and/or, less commonly, to contain implicit or explicit factual inaccuracies”

It is becoming obvious that the network bbc news is letting down the people of Wales, Scotland and N.Ireland. As the author Prof. Anthony King reminds us the fact that Shambo the bull got more coverage on network news than the coalition negotiations is shocking.

The report does have a ray of hope though arguing that the digital switchover will create the option of a Welsh opt out for the main UK bulletins. Citing the role of Good Morning Wales Prof. King argues that "...the relevant technology will soon be in place and, once it is, it will seem strange, even perverse, not to provide television viewers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with the choices that radio listeners in those three nations have already enjoyed for years.” It might be being over hopeful but a Welsh six o'clock news and a newsnight opt-out might be a bit closer to reality today than it has ever been before.

Read the report