I Believe In The BBC

In the wake of the Hutton Report the debate over the future of the BBC is sure to become even more frenzied. At times like this, it’s vital to keep a sense of perspective. Whatever your thoughts regarding the details of Andrew Gilligan’s infamous 6.07am report on the Today programme, your position on the Iraqi invasion or even your thoughts on Tony Blair’s style of government, ask yourself whether one instance of poor reporting truly justifies undermining the BBC’s position as one of the peculiar successes of the British way of government.

Is the BBC staffed by flawed human beings who will occasionally make mistakes? Absolutely. Does it deserve to be criticised when it makes those mistakes. Indisputably. Should heads have rolled in the wake of the mistakes in reporting and management identified in the Hutton report? Yes.

But then, before you conclude that the BBC needs putting it its place, ask the wider questions. Has the BBC acted as a vital counterweight to the commercial interests which run most of British broadcasting? Heck yes. Has there been a government in the last thirty years which hasn’t regarded the BBC’s journalists as a thorn in its side? Not a single one.

Would we really be better off with a neutered BBC news operation?