{"id":22126,"date":"2016-11-07T08:06:35","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T12:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=22126"},"modified":"2016-11-07T08:06:35","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T12:06:35","slug":"foreign-affairs-committee-believe-government-should-fund-bbc-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/foreign-affairs-committee-believe-government-should-fund-bbc-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Affairs Committee believe &#8220;government should fund BBC Monitoring&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/business\/committees\/committees-a-z\/commons-select\/foreign-affairs-committee\/news-parliament-2015\/bbc-monitoring-report-published-16-17\/\" target=\"_blank\">Parliment.UK<\/a>\u00a0via Andy Sennitt on PCJ Media&#8217;s Facebook Page)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Government should fund BBC Monitoring, not the licence fee payer<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBC-Monitoring-e1474631712123.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-21412 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBC-Monitoring-e1474631712123-300x131.png\" alt=\"bbc-monitoring\" width=\"300\" height=\"131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBC-Monitoring-e1474631712123-300x131.png 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBC-Monitoring-e1474631712123-768x336.png 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBC-Monitoring-e1474631712123-624x273.png 624w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBC-Monitoring-e1474631712123.png 796w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>29 October 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was a mistake to end Government funding for BBC Monitoring in 2013 and that change should be reversed, say MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201617\/cmselect\/cmfaff\/732\/73203.htm?utm_source=732&amp;utm_campaign=modulereports&amp;utm_medium=sumbullet\">Read the report summary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201617\/cmselect\/cmfaff\/732\/73202.htm?utm_source=732&amp;utm_campaign=modulereports&amp;utm_medium=fullbullet\">Read the full report: The future operations of BBC Monitoring<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Report findings<\/h2>\n<p>The Foreign Affairs Committee says BBC Monitoring is vital to the FCO&#8217;s scrutiny of developing events across the world. Highly valued by the Government, the service translates and analyses news and information from freely available media sources in 100 different languages and covering 150 countries.<\/p>\n<p>Triggered by a shortfall of \u00a34m in funding, the BBC now proposes an extensive restructure of the service, which would mean the closure of 40% of BBC Monitoring posts in the UK and 20% of posts abroad, and relocation of the service from Caversham to London.<\/p>\n<p>The Government is the prime customer for the service. The Foreign Affairs Committee believes Government should restore funding for open source monitoring of media sources overseas, whether they pay BBC Monitoring or carry out the work themselves.<\/p>\n<h2>Chair&#8217;s comments<\/h2>\n<p>Chair of the Committee, Crispin Blunt MP, commented:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;BBC Monitoring is a highly regarded organisation whose work is more important than ever.<\/p>\n<p>These cuts to BBC Monitoring, proposed by the BBC, are simply not in the interest of the UK Government. They will not help the FCO improve its performance in detecting trends and undercurrents overseas that have implications for UK policy \u2013 something it notably failed to do in Libya, for instance. Given the vast increase in social media output, this kind of monitoring is more important than ever.<\/p>\n<p>Other countries with similar operations fund them from central Government. The principal benefit of the output of BBC Monitoring is better-informed Government policy, which is why the Government should fund it, not the licence fee payer. It&#8217;s notable that in the face of these cuts, government departments are in the process of recreating this capability internally. This should not be necessary and we should be bolstering the work of BBC Monitoring, not cutting it.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Further information<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/about\/how\/committees\/select\/\">About Parliament: Select committees<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/visiting\/visiting-and-tours\/watch-committees-and-debates\/committees\/\">Visiting Parliament: Watch committees<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Source: Parliment.UK\u00a0via Andy Sennitt on PCJ Media&#8217;s Facebook Page) Government should fund BBC Monitoring, not the licence fee payer 29 October 2016 It was a mistake to end Government funding for BBC Monitoring in 2013 and that change should be reversed, say MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Read the report summary Read the full [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,960,3,43],"tags":[239,104,5255],"class_list":["post-22126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-andy-sennitt","tag-bbc","tag-bbc-monitoring"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5KS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40726,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/autumn-2019-issue-of-the-bbc-monitoring-magazine-now-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":22126,"position":0},"title":"Autumn 2019 issue of the BBC Monitoring magazine now available","author":"Thomas","date":"November 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC) The Autumn 2019 edition of the BBC Monitoring's magazine\u00a0Monitor\u00a0is now available on the web BBC Monitoring provides news and information from freely available media sources around the world. Our round-the-clock monitoring of TV, radio, press, internet and news agencies is provided to the BBC and a range\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-21-at-07.32.26.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-21-at-07.32.26.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-21-at-07.32.26.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-21-at-07.32.26.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1197,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/bbc-world-service-annual-broadcast-to-antarctica\/","url_meta":{"origin":22126,"position":1},"title":"BBC World Service annual broadcast to Antarctica","author":"Thomas","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(Thanks to Andy Sennitt for bringing this to my attention.) This year, it's difficult for me appreciate the annual tradition of broadcasting to the 43 scientists and technicians at the British Antarctic Survey in light of the recent BBC World Service cuts. Still, the broadcast is quirky, nostalgic and certainly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBC-WorldService.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32789,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/bbc-monitoring-spotting-fake-news-since-wwii\/","url_meta":{"origin":22126,"position":2},"title":"BBC Monitoring: &#8220;spotting fake news&#8221; since WWII","author":"Thomas","date":"June 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBC Blog) BBC Monitoring is a specialist part of BBC News, part of the World Service group. We have experienced journalists and linguists who follow and track international media in foreign languages, in over 150 countries and about 100 languages. We monitor that information, we report and analyse it,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;International Broadcasting&quot;","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Analog-Black-and-White-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Analog-Black-and-White-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Analog-Black-and-White-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11178,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/the-guardian-bbc-broadcasts-banned-over-rawanda-genocide-documentary\/","url_meta":{"origin":22126,"position":3},"title":"The Guardian: BBC broadcasts banned over Rawanda genocide documentary","author":"Thomas","date":"October 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: The Guardian via Andy Sennitt) The Rwandan government has suspended all BBC radio broadcasts in Rwanda\u2019s most common language to protest against the news organisation\u2019s recent documentary about the 1994 genocide in the country. President Paul Kagame\u2019s government, members of parliament and genocide survivors have expressed their anger at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"the-guardian-logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-guardian-logo-1024x181.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-guardian-logo-1024x181.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-guardian-logo-1024x181.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22942,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/the-threat-to-the-bbc-monitoring-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":22126,"position":4},"title":"&#8220;The Threat to the BBC Monitoring Service&#8221;","author":"Thomas","date":"December 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jonathan Marks, who shares\u00a0his latest post from Medium.com: Open Source Stupidity: The Threat to the BBC Monitoring Service Media Network, the weekly communications magazine formerly on Radio Netherlands, is set to return as an independent podcast in 2017, resuming its analysis of international broadcasting.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Fullscreen-capture-12212016-52442-PM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Fullscreen-capture-12212016-52442-PM.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Fullscreen-capture-12212016-52442-PM.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19993,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/bbc-to-cut-monitoring-jobs\/","url_meta":{"origin":22126,"position":5},"title":"BBC to cut monitoring jobs","author":"Thomas","date":"July 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: The Guardian) The BBC is cutting almost 100 jobs from its monitoring service as part of a drive to save \u00a34m from the unit\u2019s \u00a313.2m budget by April next year. The restructure will include the closure of its base in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afganistan, though it will retain an operation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"(Image source: BBC)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BBC-Headquarters.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BBC-Headquarters.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BBC-Headquarters.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}