The BBC is vital to Britain and the world
It is trusted world-wide and essential to Britain’s role amongst nations.
A look around broadcasters in Britain and in the wider world will quickly reveal some truly unsettling facts:
- Many national broadcasters are dominated by national governments, which use them as organs for propaganda. Russia is a good example: As of 2021, Russia ranked 150 out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. In the 2017 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report Russia scored 83 (100 being the worst), mostly because of new laws introduced in 2014 that further extended the state control over mass media.
- China The government is heavily involved in the media in the PRC,
- Britain currently only features 24th in the world press freedom league. This is a ranking of governmental and public actions to restrict information to the public. In this, the BBC stands as a beacon of impartiality, but is detested by the current right wing populist government, which has been exposed as misleading the public for years.
- The US is still recovering from the Trump administration’s attempts to distort anything that displeased it as “Fake News” and despite some changes still stands at 44th in the world
Beyond the behaviour of State-influenced broadcasting stand huge commercial organisations, which seek to influence what is broadcast and the bias of reporting.
Amongst the very worst in the world is the Murdoch “Empire”, which controls FOX News, which can be detected as having a strong right wing bias.
Many of Murdoch's papers and television channels have been accused of biased and misleading coverage to support his business interests and political allies, and some have credited his influence with major political developments in the UK, US, and Australia
Control of the Media
These 6 corporations control 90% of the media outlets in America. So much for the illusion of choice and objectivity……
BBC by comparison
Alongside these commercial giants, the BBC stands out as a beacon of objectivity, especially as it has a board of governors chosen for their lack of bias towards any commercial or governmental institutions
But. It is becoming evident that the current right wing populist Conservative government, egged on by commercial interests, is seeking to undermine the BBC and bring it under political control.
“Although a 'state broadcaster', the BBC is theoretically protected from government interference due to the statutory independence of its governing body”. Wikipedia
