It has been reported that the former culture secretary John Whittingdale led calls for a debate on the way the BBC is funded (‘Perilous times ahead’ for BBC as director general says he will quit. 21 January). To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven … A time to keep, and a time to cast away. Listeners have complained about the low quality of much of the corporation’s cultural output – to no avail. They have complained about the low quality of interviewers on Radio 4’s Today and PM programmes – to no avail. They have even asked the BBC why it mule-headedly refuses to broaden Thought for the Day to include the thoughts of the world’s non-religious philosophers – again to no avail. The younger generation do not listen to the BBC. Perhaps the BBC has had its time and should now be cast away.
Doug Clark
Midlothian, Scotland
• The debate over the licence fee and thereby the future of the BBC is utterly absurd and unnecessary, fostered by a hostile Conservative party, which boycotted appearances by its ministers on all but compliant programmes. In fact, the matter was examined at length by the Peacock committee under Thatcher’s similarly partial government, which recommended in 1986 that the licence fee be retained. So what’s changed?
At £154.50 per year, the licence fee is astonishingly good value, offering three originally generated TV channels plus a host of national and local radio channels, all free of advertising. By comparison, Sky TV packages are currently on its website at an introductory level of £264 a year, and are a substantial £420 per year to watch on more than one television. The BBC licence is unlimited in this respect.
Provided it is allowed to remain impartial and objective as a source of entertainment, information and education, the BBC – as currently funded – is a national asset of astonishing value. And national assets are a dwindling resource. No doubt aspects of the BBC must be improved, but the present arrangement is a no-brainer, and no government, whatever its motive, should be allowed to jeopardise it. Especially the one with which we are currently stuck.
Ian Bartlett
East Molesey, Surrey
• When the latest threats to the BBC are reported, there is never any mention of what might be the fate of BBC Radio. Though I should regret the loss of the television channels, Radio 4, 4 Extra, Radio 3 and the World Service are my constant companions when I am home, especially during the day when I am busy around the house or out in the car. And incidentally, why do we hear so little about the problem of women’s pay in other large organisations? Are they all models of equality?
Susan Harvey
Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex
• The BBC is under attack from privateers, but also criticised, often with some reason, for editorial bias in its news and current affairs coverage. The decision of Tony Hall to stand down as director general raises not only the issue of who the new head should be, but also the direction they should take the corporation in.
A first female director general, committed to implementing equal pay, would be an important step forward. However, that individual would also need to promote an agenda that charts a way forward for public-service broadcasting in a world where how people view and listen to broadcast content is changing rapidly. Let’s just hope that it works.
Keith Flett
London
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