
Policy & advocacy @mediareformUK @hackinginquiry. PhD press & broadcasting policy, lectured @Kingspol_econ @MediaComGold, future of PSB research @CardiffJOMEC
Joined June 2010
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We’re told the BBC belongs to all of us. In reality, we have no power over how 'our BBC' is run, governed or funded.
Now the BBC Charter review has begun, I've started Whose Beeb? to write about the politics & policy shaping the future of UK public media: whosebeeb.substack.com/p/gre…
Tom Chivers retweeted
Here’s what actually happened with the new Goldsmiths campus:
- Labour negotiates a deal with a university they know is on the brink of bankruptcy.
- They announce this as a done deal BEFORE getting Goldsmiths to sign a lease - giving up the Council’s negotiating leverage to score political points a few months ahead of the local elections.
- The new Green administration then has to work to deliver this new campus, in a much weaker position than we would be had Labour not jumped the gun on the announcement.
- Predictably, Goldsmiths cancels their expansion plans because they can’t pay for them.
- Labour then try to suggest, with zero evidence, that the Green Party are to blame for the deal collapsing. When, in reality, it was their mismanagement that has led to a huge amount of wasted time, money, and effort.
We had no intention of politicising this hugely disappointing news for the borough. But if Labour councillors are going to spread this kind of misinformation I feel it’s important for someone to correct the record here.
Replying to @lewishamlabour @LiamShrivastava
First Lewisham Shopping Centre, now the Goldsmiths Catford Campus.
How much more investment in Lewisham is Mayor Liam Shrivastra going to cost the borough?
Tom Chivers retweeted
I've posted a new edition of Whose Beeb?, my blog on the future of the BBC
It analyses the financial realities behind the BBC's recent brutal cuts, the Government's obscenely stupid proposals for a 'YouTube tax', and why it's all George Osborne's fault: whosebeeb.substack.com/p/rec…
I've posted a new edition of Whose Beeb?, my blog on the future of the BBC
It analyses the financial realities behind the BBC's recent brutal cuts, the Government's obscenely stupid proposals for a 'YouTube tax', and why it's all George Osborne's fault: whosebeeb.substack.com/p/rec…
Tom Chivers retweeted
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
“Instead of drip-feeding cuts, we urge BBC management to support calls for investment to secure the broadcaster's future. It is incumbent on the government to intervene in the Autumn budget and #BackTheBBC.”
nuj.org.uk/resource/bbc-cuts…
It staggers me that Pact, representing a huge bloc of the UK's £4bn film & TV production sector, supports replacing the TV licence with a household levy.
Staggered not because they support it, but because this major endorsement has done nothing to move stubborn DCMS ministers
The BBC's decision to close BBC Three and BBC Scotland linear channels underlines the urgent need for a sustainable funding model for the BBC, and producers need transparency around redirected funding and support.
Read our statement in full: pact.co.uk/resource/pact-sta…
The BBC's decision to close BBC Three and BBC Scotland linear channels underlines the urgent need for a sustainable funding model for the BBC, and producers need transparency around redirected funding and support.
Read our statement in full: pact.co.uk/resource/pact-sta…
Tom Chivers retweeted
We are all saddened by the announcement that @R4Extra is scheduled for closure. Not only has the channel been the ideal outlet for the many programmes we have recovered, the staff have always been very encouraging, helpful, and, most importantly, have promoted what we do. (1/3)
Tom Chivers retweeted
In my opinion, we're going to lose something incredibly valuable to the cultural fabric & history of this country. If Radio 4 Extra with its carefully curated archive isn't the epitome of public service broadcasting, well, I don't know what is. Only the BBC can do it. A sad day.
Our brazenly corrupt political/media culture distilled in 10s.
When most politicians watch this chummy crap or see Farage heading GB News for £££, they don't think "god, what an insult to democracy, journalism & the public's intelligence". They think "god, I wish that was me!"
FWIW this is what a ‘permanent’ BBC Charter means in practice. Proponents don’t really want to protect the BBC from gov, and certainly don’t care for real democratic accountability - it’s a transparent gimmick to ‘shield’ an unreformed BBC from Reform
I have no problem with the mainstream media shining a light on Reform. Supporting the principle of a free press means defending that type of scrutiny. However, if *every* undercover investigation is targeted at Reform and not at other parties (all of whom have their bad apples), it will just look like a politically-motivated witch-hunt by a partisan media establishment. Ironically, that will end up playing into Reform's hands - reinforcing the party's message that the entire establishment is against it.
Tom Chivers retweeted
What no MP seems to want to tackle is the uncomfortable question that lurks within this statement: if people can’t afford £15 a month for a licence fee, why can’t they? What kind of politics is it when MPs propose scrapping public services rather than tackling wages and poverty?
People are already paying for subscriptions to Netflix, YouTube, Sky and countless other streaming services. If the BBC is struggling to stay afloat, perhaps it’s time to scrap the archaic TV licence fee and move to a subscription-based model. Let people decide for themselves whether the BBC is worth paying for, rather than forcing everyone to fund a service they have little interest in watching.
With the cost of living already sky-high, why should ordinary people be forced to shoulder yet another financial burden to prop up an institution they neither use nor wish to support? The idea of effectively making people pay more for their existing streaming and entertainment habits to fund the BBC is completely out of touch with the financial pressures households are facing.
People are already struggling to afford even the simplest pleasures in life. A trip to the cinema, a meal out or a night socialising with friends can feel like a luxury these days. For many, a Netflix subscription or a bit of YouTube at home is one of the few affordable ways to unwind and escape the daily grind. Stop reaching further into people's pockets and taking away what little respite they have left.
If the BBC wants to remain relevant and financially sustainable, it should have to persuade people that its content is worth paying for, just like every other subscription service. If people value it, they’ll subscribe. If they don’t, that should be their choice.
The last thing people need during a cost-of-living crisis is another unpopular, forced charge. I suspect it could provoke resentment on a scale reminiscent of the poll tax.
Give people choice, respect their finances and let the BBC earn its subscribers rather than forcing the public to fund it.
“The BBC” is not a person, but it’s true that the former commercial TV execs and private industry bigwigs brought in to lead it over the last 30 years have tried to bring ‘business savvy’ to public media principles, and failed miserably at both
Worth noting the speed and severity with which BBC programmes that people actually like have been axed, compared to how quickly rumours of Newsnight being canned were denied. The crap chat show is here to stay
"If you want to lift up the poor, you have to create wealth."
"How's that going?"
Podcaster and former Mumford & Sons member Winston Marshall discusses taxes with economist and Green Party supporter Faiza Shaheen.
#Newsnight
For all the political & media grandstanding over the UAE/Telegraph takeover, barely anybody engaged with the legal process for stopping it.
Almost as though the process isn't fit for purpose! mediareform.org.uk/blog/dcms…
UAE had ‘clear incentives’ to influence Telegraph coverage, Ofcom finds ft.trib.al/NOvF7b9






















