A two fingered salute to James Murdoch then.
An overwhelming majority, 77%, think the BBC is an institution people should be proud of – up from 68% in an equivalent ICM poll carried out five years ago.
As Guardian bright boy columnist Jonathan Freedland comments:
Most, 63%, also think it provides good value for money – up from 59% in 2004. It’s surely central to the BBC’s raison d’etre that it will always be more reliable in providing truthful news than those broadcasters who serve a corporate owner.
(Note, Freedland is careful to say broadcaster not the more embracing media: at least the Guardian is protected by the Scott Trust). So the licence fee isn’t popular? Compared to Sky, as I’ve been saying all along, Freedland adds…
“I am convinced that there are many people who view their Sky subscription of, say, £45 a month as good value, but their licence fee of £142.50 a year as poor value.” .. But what if Sky had to advertise their subscription as an annual sum, the same way the licence fee is always expressed? For plenty of customers, it would come out at £540. Wouldn’t sound quite so attractive then, would it?
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London
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