Head of BBC: "Britain needs a channel like Fox News"

[JawJaw]

BBC's director general says rules on impartiality on television are outdated in internet era and advocates opinionated journalism


Mark Thompson, the BBC's director general, said British broadcasters should be free to launch an equivalent to Fox News in the UK because existing rules to guarantee impartiality in television were becoming outdated in the era of the internet.

Thompson, while speaking at a Whitehall seminar on impartiality in broadcasting, said that as the distinction between the web and television collapses, it no longer makes sense for public service broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, to have a "monopoly" over the airwaves.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/17/mark-thompson-bbc-fox-news


:wtf:

This really reads like something out of the Onion.

Damn, can't have that awkward outdated TRUTH get in the way of shiny, digital propaganda, can we?

[spanone]

1. dear brits, be careful what you wish for. does mr thompson work for murdoch on the side?

[JawJaw]

4. Filthy Lucre?

I really wonder whether Thompson is lining himself up for a nice position in Murdoch's News Corporation..

[Angry Dragon]

2. How much did murdock pay him??

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. We need a "head bang news" forum, I think.

[louis-t]

5. Ah, such a burden to do one's job of

being impartial. Everything the conservative elite finds annoying or gets in the way of total control of the universe is "outdated, quaint, unnecessary, cumbersome, old news"

[no_hypocrisy]

6. The British equivalent of FOX would be a 24/7 Murdoch rant to retire the Royal Family.

[L0oniX]

7. Ah ..I guess they need to dumb down their people too.

[blogslut]

8. U.K. television is state-run

Is Mr. Thompson arguing that the state forgo impartiality in favor of the sanctioned opinion of the British government?

[Turborama]

9. No, it isn't

The BBC is paid for by license fees. The other channels are funded by advertising.

Ofcom is the independent regulator in charge of impartiality: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/

[blogslut]

12. I sit corrected

[Turborama]

10. Last paragraph, Cameron is more interested in the thin end of the wedge - hate radio

MacKenzie (the former editor of the Sun) said he had recently discussed with David Cameron his own idea for a radio "free for all", with talk stations allowed to say what they want, free from Ofcom regulation. The prime minister apparently replied "erm…" and then said it was an interesting idea for radio but the experiment probably wasn't suitable for television.

[EstimatedProphet]

11. Right, because it's worked so well for us.

[Turborama]

13. I wonder if the people who are rec'ing this are doing so because they think this is a great idea

Or just that it's an interesting story they think others should read. :shrug:

It'd be so much cooler if, as well as recommendations, there was a thumbs up and down to go with OPs so we could show our approval or disapproval in addition to the Greatest Page thing.

[digitaln3rd]

14. I thought they did already?!

Isn't it called Sky News?

[KeepItReal]

15. Mark Thompson is angling for a new job at News Corp

He sounds like the first person to jump ship from the BBC to Faux News UK

[no_hypocrisy]

16. "The BBC Is On Murdoch's Side"

http://www.johnpilger.com/articles/the-bbc-is-on-murdoch-s-side