The BBC World Service at seventy-five
The BBC World Service turned seventy-five yesterday. It started broadcasting on 19th December, 1932, as the Empire Service. Since then, the world has changed greatly, but the World Service continues broadcasting; part of its Imperial legacy remains with the periodic declarations in RP that ‘This Is London’ so you’d better pay attention.
I started listening to the World Service regularly when we bought a DAB radio. It is a shame that more people don’t listen to it. Its mission is simple; to provide honest information and debate, which it does remarkably well. It is noticeably different in tone from a lot of the BBC’s news output; it does not have the Nick Robinson self-aggrandisement or the wannabe-Paxmans’ hectoring. When news is not absolutely certain, it is flagged as such. A recent example is the train crash in Pakistan, where the death toll, from a local official, was specifically reported as unconfirmed. I rather doubt Fox News would make that subtle distinction.
Despite the impression that you receive from the TV stations’ adverts, there isn’t major news that can be reported all the time in depth. The BBC would be better off having a news bulletin at the hour, updates on the quarter-hour that are very short in length, and giving the rest of the time to reporting things that are important to a lot of people but are not the issues that reach the cheap interest hit. The BBC does not need to and should not compete with people who try to set the news agenda, whether politicians, other media, corporations or anyone else. The existence of the phrase ‘news agenda’ does show that people want to put certain things into the public mind, and that not everything that should be on the news is on the news, which is where the BBC should step in.
The BBC World Service is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the intent, I understand, of promoting the UK’s worldview by giving unbiased information; that is to say, the UK is sufficiently sure of itself and committed to freedom of access to information, that it actively gives out that information. I think a similar point of view would be valued on the domestic news services. It also does something very valuable, particularly given recent discussion about immigrants’ learning English, by providing resources to help people to Learn English.
The Today Programme, Newsnight and some of the news gathering on the BBC is very good, but it does at times fall down by trying to compete directly with the other media. It would do better, both for itself and the national interest, by not obsessing over minutiae. The television station, News 24, join in with everyone else in footage of prison vans taking people to court. Quite why that is newsworthy, I do not know. Quite why they allow newsreaders to interview correspondents, I don’t know; the correspondent is someone by definition with specialist knowledge while the newsreader, by definition, is a generalist. They would be better off not trying to sex up the news, as a good story doesn’t need presentational tassels to improve it and the BBC, because it is publicly funded, does not have to worry about day-to-day viewer share.
In the meantime, I will continue listening to the World Service and Lillibullero, its signature tune. Part of the World Service’s appeal to me may well be that we used to listen to the World Service in Brazil and my Dad would bounce me on his knee to the tune.
xD.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:52 pm
It is a shame that more people don’t listen to it. Its mission is simple; to provide honest information and debate, which it does remarkably well. It is noticeably different in tone from a lot of the BBC’s news output.
This is the only true link with home here and it is very popular with the Russians too who know a little English. Recently they started this station advertising to look like commercials, presumably to get people used to real adverts in the future.
Apart from that, apart form the stories having a leftist slant, they’re an excellent service.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:11 pm
I really don’t see how the stories have a leftward slant. They cover all manner of things going on in the world, including even-handed stuff on business and finance that would be anathema to the ‘left’.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Just stirring, Dave.
Here’s to you at Christmas. I’ve a glass of wine and toast you now, sir.
January 7th, 2008 at 10:11 am
I’m a fan too. Even the way they handle debate is just that bit more grown up than the domestic BBC/ITN news.
For some reason I’m actually particularly fond of their Analysis programme and in particular the World Business Review.
January 7th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I agree entirely, although I’d probably plump for ‘From Our Own Correspondent’ and Charlie Gillet’s World of Music.
I think the word I’d go for is ‘sober’ to describe the World Service’s reporting.