BBC Workers to Strike

tomterm8

The BBC is quite widely supported by the British public. None of the three main parties put getting rid of the BBC in its manifesto, and the reason they didn't is they knew they couldn't gain votes for it.

Equally, the BBC is required as a body to be unbiased, but there is no legal requirement for individual BBC employees not to have political opinions.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

tomterm8 wrote: »

Equally, the BBC is required as a body to be unbiased, but there is no legal requirement for individual BBC employees not to have political opinions.

However there is at certain times a legal obligation to report & appear impartial.

michaels

Unfortunately there is an 'institutional politicism' at work - just as the Met was not purposefully racist the mindset (based on experience) of the officers was - so the BBC has a culture to the left of centre and this is self reinforcing, those who want to work their are most likely those who share its ethos and similarly those most likely to succeed will be those who share the same opinions as the prevailing culture.

I personally feel a much smaller BBC could still meet the required public service remit and think that a politically motivated strike will play in to the hands of those who share my views. Similar to the BA strike the strikers actions may well set back the cause of organised labour within their organisation.

tomterm8 wrote: »

Equally, the BBC is required as a body to be unbiased, but there is no legal requirement for individual BBC employees not to have political opinions.

bendix

The BBC. Another perfect candidate for privatisation, except - of course - it's worth next to nothing now.

FTBFun

bendix wrote: »

The BBC. Another perfect candidate for privatisation, except - of course - it's worth next to nothing now.

That would be true, if News International, Associated Newspapers and Northern & Shell weren't absolutely determined to break up the BBC and buy the best bits for themselves.

MGCP

I think there is a failure here to fully grasp that there is a difference between an employer and its employees. Why should the BBC as an organisation be held responsible for a decision made by some (certainly not all) of the people who work there? This suggests that just because I'm a UK citizen I should be held "responsible" for the country going to war in Iraq, even though it was done by a government I didn't vote for.

"The BBC" would like nothing more than to avoid a strike, but it is battling the strong feelings held by a number of employees who feel betrayed by "the BBC" - and whilst "the BBC" is indeed supposed to be politically neutral, those individual employees are prefectly entitled to hold their own political views.

I also happen to think the timing is bad, but I would blame the unions for that, blaming "the BBC" seems to get things in rather a muddle!

On a side note, I've heard people lambast the BBC for being reactionary and right wing, so I suppose political bias is often in the eye of the beholder!

bendix

Nobody has any problem with the BBC being overtly or covertly political. Who gives a tinkers cuss? Nobody watches it anymore, anyway.

What people object too is it being political AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE PAYING FOR IT.