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| Lord Hall with the Head of Facebook (Caravaggio, Vienna) |
If you think that the BBC has far too much influence on the British public and that its desire to impose its values on us all isn't 'a good thing' or that social media, for all its faults, is a vital counterbalance to the overweening power of the BBC then prepare to gulp...
According to The Sunday Times, the BBC director-general Lord Hall is about to declare war on technology giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google because they are, he says, stoking “social unease and division” in Britain and threatening the country’s sense of identity.
Lord Hall says the BBC is involved in a “David versus Goliath challenge" (with the BBC as David!) and that the BBC "must win" because its values "matter more than ever":
In a speech to BBC staff in London on Wednesday Hall will say Britain faces greater challenges than at any time since the 1970s. “Technology and social media can add to this sense of social unease and division . . . it can distort our view of one another and allow us to live in imagined communities where we only really engage with those who share our views.
“Fake news compounds that challenge, eating away at trust in the media — including in the BBC — and blurring the lines between reality and so-called alternative facts. The country needs a BBC that helps society understand itself better . . . that explores our nation’s differences passionately and robustly . . . that projects British creativity and values globally . . . that reminds us every day of the things we hold in common.” His attack on the technology groups concludes: “These are not the passions of the West Coast giants — why would they be? The BBC represents a set of democratic ideals that matters greatly to our country: giving a voice to the voiceless, pursuing the truth without fear or favour.”
From the comments below the Sunday Times piece it seems that quite a lot of people believe this to be "self-serving drivel" from Lord Hall and that the BBC has far too much power already; that the BBC's values are not our values; and that the BBC's incessant agenda-pushing needs severely rolling back.
The voiceless, like the majority that would like to be able to vote for a party that stands a chance of being in government that stops mass immigration and gets us out of the EU?
ReplyDelete"allow us to live in imagined communities where we only really engage with those who share our views. "
A classic description of the BBC, I think, Lord Hall!
Struggling to think of a presumptuous ‘fake news’ initiative by the MSM that has not been an unmitigated disaster, for reasons if they thought for a moment should be very troubling.
ReplyDeleteLord Hall's assertions are a travesty of the truth. We can judge for ourselves that his real concern is because 'technology and social media' are the means available to all, which deny the BBC their traditional near-monopoly over news coverage and the imposition upon 'their' public of their heavily biased opinion and PC values. He fears for the BBC's potential loss of control over the beleaguered licence payer - who provide the huge source of funding that he considers to be some sort of enshrined constitutional right that the BBC should enjoy in perpetuity.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 'technology and social media' give us an insight into the opinions and personal political persuasions of the senior BBC reporters and in some cases the editors - eg John Simpson with his tweeted comments about how the outcome of the 2016 EU Referendum could have been reversed if only the BBC had 'explained' more fully the issues surrounding the vote.
DeleteIt looks like Tony Hall will win an armful of awards at the annual Golden Bullsh*tters ceremony. He's already been nominated for the categories of Best Bare-faced Lie, Bravest Bit of Chutzpah in the Face of the Truth, Most Likely to Please Soros, Hillary and Tony Blair Special Award, Best Virtue Signalling by a CEO and Most Socially Divisive Operation Posing as Socially Bonding.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be more divisive than the BBC? Ghettoised radio stations for Asians and Young Blacks. Promotion of regionalism and Celtic nationalism. Ultrafeminist, man-baiting propaganda pumped out daily by Woman's Hour. Across-the-board refusal to accept the Referendum result and amplification of the Losers' divisive arguments, promotion of Sharia over all other religions and belief systems. Devaluing of British culture. Covering up the negative consequences of PC multiculturalism.