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Al Jazeera and BBC are by far the top two news organisations in the world. The one common thing they have - independent funding, AJ funded by an oil sheikh and
by ivenkys 16y ago
Al Jazeera and BBC are by far the top two news organisations in the world.
The one common thing they have - independent funding, AJ funded by an oil sheikh and the BBC by the British public. May be that's the way forward , instead of citizen journalism we need citizen funding for news.
- retube 16y agoI absolutely agree. Every country should have an independently/public funded news organisation, that is free from commercial conflicts of interest. AJE is fantastic, by far and away the most rigorous, in depth, detailed and well researched news anywhere. However, the BBC is not what it used to be. Yes it's licence-payer funded, but in recent years the standards of rigour have definitely dropped. There's a lot more emphasis on magazine formats and light-weight simplified coverage catering for the twitter generation.
- davidw 16y agoMany countries in Europe do, and some of them really stink, like RAI in Italy. Because if the government's paying for it, it's ultimately responsible to the government. Which in Italy's case means that not only does Berlusconi control his own TV stations, but those of the government. Oh, and I have to pay something like 100 Euro a year in taxes for the privilege:-/
- ivenkys 16y agoItaly is a complete one-off , the exception that proves the rule i think. Someone like Berlusconi would probably never get elected anywhere else in Western Europe.
- davidw 16y agoAustria elected Haider and his bunch, a while back, who was in his own way worse. I don't think handing over the keys to the TV stations to whoever happens to be in office is necessarily the best way of doing things.
- endtime 16y agoI don't know about that...BBC is notoriously unbalanced in its reporting of events in the Middle East. (You'll note I make no such accusation of al-Jazeera.)
- gaius 16y agoNot even close. Reuters, AFP, AP, even Bloomberg provide more comprehensive coverage and "just the facts". Ask yourself this: do you like the BBC because it supports things you already believe? This is an interesting exercise to do. Do you believe that what you believe is "truth" and therefore an organization that agrees must be impartial? All independent funding means for the BBC is that they don't have to cater to an audience per se - it doesn't mean that they don't cater to the opinions of their own staff. A staff that is recruited mainly in one city, London, mainly through ads in one newspaper, The Guardian. It is not politically nor demographically representative of the British public, and many people here actively distrust it, and resent paying the tax that supports it.
- hnhg 16y agoIt depends on what part of the BBC you're talking about. Radio 4's (and BBC World radio's) interviews with politicans on the Today programme in the lead up to the election have been excellent, with the interviewers really challenging the politicians on their issues. True objectivity is never going to be possible, but good preparation and technique are where some parts of the BBC excel. However,I don't watch televised BBC because it's a different beast entirely, and more like its commercial partners.
- jamii 16y ago> Ask yourself this: do you like the BBC because it supports things you already believe? Whilst I appreciate that this is a useful exercise to consider, if he was watching the BBC solely to affirm his own beliefs he would hardly be watching Al Jazeera as well. > ... many people here actively distrust it, and resent paying the tax that supports it. I don't know anyone that feels that way. Most of the people I've talked to on the subject have said that they trust the BBC more than any of the newspapers. Even in other countries, especially in the USA, I've met people who prefer to watch BBC World rather than their own news channels. It far from perfect of course but my general impression has been thats its one of the most trusted news sources for most people.
- gaius 16y agoif he was watching the BBC solely to affirm his own beliefs he would hardly be watching Al Jazeera as well Al Jazeera was founded by ex-BBC staff. They've a lot in common.
- laut 16y agoBBC has government funding. That's not independent. News reporting can't possibly be completely "unbiased". You have to choose what to focus on and how to report it. I think the state controlling a big media institution is terrible.
- retube 16y ago> BBC has government funding. Not strictly true, altho depends on definitions. It's funded by a licence fee which anyone who owns a TV has to pay, about £150 / year I think.
- laut 16y agoSplitting hairs. It's de facto government funding. The license fee is a de facto tax. The government gives the BBC the right to collect the license fee and can take it away again.
- arethuza 16y agoHave you ever actually listened to an interview by the BBC of a government minister? Have a look at this classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BklT7Qy07Is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BklT7Qy07Is
- jamii 16y ago> BBC has government funding ... I think the state controlling a big media institution is terrible The BBC is independent of the government and the vast majority of its funding comes directly from the British public. From wikipedia: According to the BBC's 2008–2009 Annual Report,[30] its income can be broken down as follows: £3,493.8 million in licence fees collected from householders; £775.9 million from BBC Commercial Businesses; £294.6 million from government grants; £41.1 million from other income, such as providing content to overseas broadcasters and concert ticket sales;