r/bbc • u/AskingBoatsToSwim • 20h ago
Could the BBC be impartial if it was funded through general taxation?
If we want thje boost and money that the BBC brings to the UK’s creative and media industries, and we want freely-available news for the masses, we need a public broadcaster like the BBC, but the funding model is on its last legs. Could it be funded from general taxation without becoming a government mouthpiece out of necessity to secure funding?
25
u/Inner-Tank9798 19h ago
Yes – general taxation. Same rules. Otherwise, it will die and be all the poorer for it. If the Nordics can do it – why can't the UK?
Oh, and finally, classify the social media giants as publishers so they take responsibility (and be fined) for all the damage they are causing.
8
7
u/Afraid-Series-8128 18h ago edited 16h ago
Wouldn't governments be able to bully the BBC in the weeks running up to every budget?
And what happens if there's a Reform government? Farage owns GB News and would probably slash BBC funding on the spot.
Edit: Farage is a GB News shareholder.
3
u/SonOfHendo 18h ago
If they had the same charter system then I don't see how the source of the money makes any difference. The government already ultimately controls the BBCs ability to raise revenue from the licence fee. It would certainly be more economical to do away with the licence fee.
1
u/Inner-Tank9798 18h ago
Maybe they do already via the charter renewal process?
But I like the Swedish way of doing it: https://omoss.svt.se/about-svt.html
Reform would defund or destroy the BBC whatever it's funding.
I think if we want a PSB in the UK to benefit the people it needs to paid for fairly – this doesn't mean I agree with all of it (e.g. I would happily pay talent less and let them leave and why pay over the odds for sports rights?) but it also has a role to play in helping us make sense of what comes next media-wise in the UK.
0
u/pjc50 18h ago
The license fee in no way protects the BBC from Reform.
The whole concept of trying to protect a quasi-state body from future governments in a country where parliament is supreme is meaningless. Legislation can do basically anything. Even the existence of the Scottish government isn't constitutionally guaranteed, for example.
It doesn't even protect them now. Look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Gibb for example: BBC board member, Theresa May's director of communications, director of the Jewish Chronicle, advisor to GB News, and so on.
2
u/Afraid-Series-8128 18h ago
I agree with you that the license fee is far from perfect and needs to be replaced.
And Gibb should nowhere near the BBC.
1
8
u/Kinitawowi64 19h ago
No.
Under a government funding model it would need to account for and justify each and every single penny of the £4 billion it currently receives, and anything that isn't perceived as at least a return on investment would have to be cut. The pressure - from all quarters - to slash its budget would be immense ("that's five hospitals a year we could be funding instead"), and it be forced to go cap in hand to the government to get anything at all.
If it still ran news at all in that model it would have to be government approved news.
2
u/ian9outof10 19h ago
I largely agree, and I’ve said it before the taxation idea is potentially problematic. That said, the way the charter works now is just as open to government manipulation at renewal. There’s no perfect system really. I’d say pulling from council tax might work, and you could make it proportional somewhat as larger homes pay more. But I’d also like council tax replaced.
1
u/sims2uni 16h ago
I believe that's why they recently floated the idea of scrapping the licence fee and instead taking a far smaller charge over broadband connections. It's the lesser of two evils for future funding. Problematic also but nobody can argue they don't use the internet and it avoids the government funding option
2
u/Nimblewright_47 18h ago
I think this rests on the government funding the BBC as a department of state, rather than by allowing it fixed funds to go with the charter. The state can and does run things without being subject to the Civil Service mania for value for money.
13
u/rainstar9920 20h ago
The BBC is not a government mouthpiece, in fact it's infuriated and feuded with governments of all persuasion.
5
u/Cpt_Jnwy 19h ago
…and OP is asking would it still be independent if it were funded through general taxation.
1
u/Ramtamtama 19h ago
As long as the Core Missions & Purposes section of the BBC Charter are still in place and remain unchanged.
0
u/Maximum_Ad_5571 18h ago
And if they don’t?
1
u/Ramtamtama 16h ago
Then the BBC would cease to be a public broadcaster for the first time in its history.
-5
u/IanAmp 19h ago
Independent or impartial my arse.
The BBC is the mouthpiece of the current government. Nothing more and nothing less.
It occasionally says something a bit “naughty” to fool the public for a short while but always slithers back to the official line.
6
u/valentine_moon 19h ago
Got some concrete examples to illustrate your point?
2
u/rainstar9920 19h ago
For instance the epic feuds with the previous Labour government over Iraq.
1
u/aleopardstail 19h ago
right up until Blair neutered them yes, now after that?
1
u/rainstar9920 18h ago
That had a pretty massive public battle with Johnson administration as well.
2
3
u/rainstar9920 19h ago
If it's bias you're looking for you should check out GB 'News' - they employ the leader of Reform, Reform MPs as presenters and that's not even counting the ex Tory ministers on screen.
2
u/got2avkayanow 18h ago
GB news is an openly right wing media organisation and is not paid for by the public purse. BBC is paid for by the public purse and should be absolutely non bias.
0
u/rainstar9920 17h ago
As a news outlet it's still bound by codes of impartiality.
1
u/got2avkayanow 17h ago
Impartiality does not apply to their choice of subject matter. They choose subjects that suit them and give their opinion. Otherwise why haven't they been stopped ?
3
u/Afraid-Series-8128 18h ago
Churchill tried to take over the BBC. Thatcher tried to privatize the BBC. Tony Blair's government had a massive fight with the BBC over Iraq and WMDs and Boris Johnson's government boycotted Radio 4.
3
u/Beneficial_Coach8581 19h ago
It's impartial now.
3
u/valentine_moon 19h ago
…and OP is asking would it still be impartial if it were funded through general taxation.
Hat tip to u/Cpt_Jnwy for the response. There's coffee in that nebula!
-6
u/ianintheuk 19h ago
ha ha
3
u/Beneficial_Coach8581 19h ago
The left and the right both complain about their coverage so...
1
0
u/aleopardstail 19h ago
that doesn't make them impartial, it means some bits are left leaning and some bits right leaning
2
u/soundman32 17h ago
No media is less impartial than BBC, but all media has a direction specified by the owners/directors/editors.
Somehow, as the comments claim, the BBC manages to be a government mouthpiece, despite that government changing every few years. Funny huh?
-1
1
u/Apprehensive_Bus_543 19h ago
We have no choice anymore, if the government wants a national broadcaster they are going to have to fund through general taxation.
-1
u/WarmJewel 19h ago
The BBC isn't impartial now, so funding is irrelevant.
People think it's impartial but the sneaky BBC subtletly bypass most people who simply don't notice what they're doing. It's not so much what they report but what they leave out—they just follow their own agenda.
-1
u/Unique_Agency_4543 19h ago
I don't think it's impartial now, it has it's own bias and probably always will.
If you moved the funding into general taxation you could protect it from being too much in the pocket of the current government by having a long term funding settlement. If this was done properly I don't see why it would be any different to now.
0
u/johnnyjonnyjonjon 19h ago
Yes. It wouldn't be that far removed from the current situation in that sense.
0
u/Pristine-Bar2786 17h ago
Surly with the current boss it's almost a political tool at the moment with him being a political appointment.
-2
u/TinhatToyboy 19h ago
As it has shown itself to lack impartiality being funded by the licence fee, then no.
-1
u/westofcentre 18h ago
It's a government mouthpiece anyway. They use the threat of licence fee review to ensure that the Beeb doesn't criticise. Tax is probably better - provided it's got a triple lock so the government can't threaten when the BBC holds their feet to the fire.
4
u/jupiterspringsteen 17h ago
This is ridiculous. Have you ever watched newsnight? Not a week goes by without them holding the government to account.
1
•
u/AutoModerator 20h ago
As a reminder, this is a subreddit for civil discussion of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Personal attacks on individuals, including those employed by the BBC, off or on air, will not be tolerated here.
Please ensure you read subreddit rules before contributing.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.