As the culture secretary talks of scrapping the licence fee, bosses are continuing to stumbleNo dog-whistle distracts the British press quite like the sound of a politician blowing hard on a policy to interfere with the BBC. So it was not a surprise that, as the government headed into a weekend of heavy Brexit weather, the culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, revealed she was not entirely opposed to converting the BBC licence fee into a “Netflix-style subscription”. The licence fee is compulsory for anyone who owns a monitor that can be used as a television, and currently delivers the broadcaster £3.75bn a year (about a quarter of Netflix’s total revenue).Off-the-cuff remarks made at a culture select committee meeting are not (thankfully) policy, and Morgan’s department later clarified that there were no plans to review the current BBC charter, which runs until 2027 – and by then, who knows which national institutions will have collapsed? But even connoisseurs of the BBC’s dangerous moments could tell you we are currently in a vintage dangerous moment. Continue reading…
Via: BBC leadership is in crisis at a time of great danger | Emily Bell
Categories: English News