It was reassuring to read that Tim Davie is an opponent of the subscription model for the BBC, which would damage its universalism, and “just make us another media company serving a specific group” (BBC boss Tim Davie to crack down on staff airing views on social media, 3 September). However, it is disappointing that he sees the corporation as being “only as good as the value we deliver our audiences, our customers”.
This characterisation of the audience as “customers”, or consumers, drastically downplays the central importance of the BBC: its public role in involving us as citizens in a democracy – rather than as segmented consumers in a marketplace. The BBC is not just “another media company” whose rationale is to appeal to us as customers of its content. It is a “universal” public good (like the NHS) and a national forum. Surely this is an ideal time – with our trust in it reinforced by the pandemic – for the new director general to champion and celebrate its vital democratic role?
Tony Dowmunt
Emeritus professor, Department of media, communications and cultural studies, Goldsmiths, University of London
