My earliest days were rounded off with a CBeebies bedtime story. Later, the programmes of Steve Backshall and David Attenborough sparked a fascination with wildlife. BBC Bitesize helped me study for my GCSEs, and BBC Mundo, the broadcaster’s Spanish outlet, gave me foreign language news stories in my final years of school. Nowadays, I turn mostly to the BBC for radio. In short, the BBC has been a constant presence in my life, as I am sure it’s been for many readers of The Student. It forms an essential part of British identity, and we must ensure that it remains so.
Questions have been raised about the role of public service media in a world where more people are turning to non-traditional outlets to consume their news. With dizzying speed, online platforms have replaced TV as the UK’s most popular source of news, whilst the BBC’s online and radio services have also been on a downward trend.
In a world replete with disinformation, every citizen of this country must have the option to turn to broadcasters such as the BBC, ones that have vigorous fact-checking processes and generally manage to maintain impartiality. Commentators – from The Guardian to The Spectator – can complain about the BBC’s bias as much as pleases them, justified or not. But the fact remains that the BBC is almost incomparable in terms of authority and reach amongst all other international news sources, whilst achieving a level of impartiality that earns it almost equal criticism from left and right.
The “Reithian Principles” – to inform, educate, and entertain – have guided the BBC’s mission since its founding. The world today is not lacking in sources of entertainment. What has become harder of late is being certain of what material reliably informs and educates us.
We must ensure that the BBC remains a beacon for trusted journalism. The loss of the BBC’s fairly impartial coverage – not to mention its high-quality entertainment that supports creative industries and reflects the UK’s values and culture to the world – would be an immeasurable one.
“BBC Broadcasting House newsroom and studio 2013” by Michal Bělka is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.