Friday, December 4, 2009

Is the BBC the future of journalism?

John Nichols, veteran journalist, paints a very bleak picture about the future of journalism funded by free enterprise. Government subsidy of journalism is the only answer, according to him. We in the US already have publicly funded press outlets (PBS, NPR). But the UK has had probably the best record of a pubicly funded news service in the form of the BBC, historically very independent from government pressures. His assertion that the press in America began with government was a revelation to me. I will have to research more on the history of which he speaks. I suppose if George Washington and John Adams supported public funding of the press, it will be harder for people to oppose it.

Hat Tip to Hans at The Nordic Link for the video.

2 comments:

Vincent said...

Dear old Auntie BBC! She is not without her critics, who accuse her of all sorts of bias, dumbing down, elitism, vulgarism etc etc. But the criticisms seem to cancel one another out, coming from opposite ends, so perhaps she gets it almost right.

PatricktheRogue said...

No institution is perfect, but I routinely listen to the BBC because they report frequently on areas of the world that are completely ignored by most American media venues. Unfortunately there remains a tendency to concentrate on the lands of the former empire, so, while that keeps one informed about most major areas in the world, it does leave out South America quite often. But, as I said, no institution is perfect and the BBC is better than most.