Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill, for sharing a link to this article which summarizes the BBC’s plans for the next ten years.
BBC director general, Tony Hall, said the corporation will become an “open BBC for the internet age”.
While Hall was quick to add that funding cuts would equate to “the loss or reduction of some services” he also highlighted several efforts that would include shortwave and mediumwave broadcasts, including:
- “Significant investment” in the BBC World Service, including a daily news programme for North Korea and more broadcasts to Russia, India and the Middle East
- A news service for Ethiopia and Eritrea on medium wave and short wave
Of course, we can expect more cuts to BBC World Service shortwave broadcasting over the next ten years even if it wasn’t specifically mentioned in Hall’s speech. If we’re lucky, the BBC will continue to broadcast into those parts of the world that still rely on shortwave. Specifically mentioning North Korea, Ethiopia and Eritrea appears to be a nod in that direction.
Click here to read this article on the BBC News website.
Also, The Guardian has posted the full text of Tony Hall’s speech. It’s worth reading.
The BBC has just released this…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34902244
…some good news, anyway.
On 8 October, the BBC published “British, Bold, Creative,” the BBC’s submission to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Charter Review public consultation. This document is the third in a series setting out the BBC’s position for Charter Review. It responds to each of the nineteen questions raised in the Government’s consultation paper (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445704/BBC_Charter_Review_Consultation_WEB.pdf).
There are several references to the World Service in the submission:
“UK news brands are among the strongest in the world in online news,replicating the success of British providers like the BBC World Service in exporting trusted news around the globe.”
“The BBC World Service is one of Britain’s best sources of cultural influence: out of eight options, 68% of opinion-formers think it does the most to serve the UK’s interests around the world, far ahead of the country’s diplomats in second place (38%) and its membership of the EU (37%). The World Service was also ranked second by the public, after the armed forces.”
“There is an opportunity to build the authority of BBC World Service to reach half a billion people each year, and strengthen it in parts of the world where there is a democratic deficit in impartial news. We will discuss with Government their interest in investing more in the World Service from outside the licence fee.”
The submission is available here:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/reports/pdf/bbc_charter_review_dcmsreview_october2015.pdf
I think the BBC should invest more in TELEPATHY. This way there shall be more savings !
I’m not sure they will reduce shortwave (except to Europe and the US which they already did), they said that the World Service will be expanded and one of the reasons was the jamming efforts by some countries.