Top 10 reasons why the BBC should be scrapped - Part 2

Here is second half of our top 10 reasons countdown on why we feel the BBC should be scrapped. You can find part 1, listing reasons 10 to 6, here.

  

 
5 Involved in Coups Against Democracies

This may seem a controversial claim, however it was confirmed that the BBC actively participated in the overthrow of the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, in 1953.

“The British government used the BBC Persian radio for advancing its propaganda against Mosaddegh and anti-Mosaddegh material were repeatedly aired on the radio channel to the extent that Iranian staff at the BBC Persian radio went on strike to protest the move,” Source

"The Cinematograph [documentary programme] also quoted a classified document going back to July 21, 1951 in which a Foreign Office official thanked the British ambassador for his proposals that were followed to the word by the BBC Persian radio to strengthen its propaganda against Mosaddegh." Source

“The BBC had already made most of the points which you listed, but they were very glad to have an indication from you of what was likely to be most effective and will arrange their programme accordingly...We should also avoid direct attacks on the ’ruling classes’ since it seems probable that we may want to deal with a government drawn from those classes should Mosaddegh fall,” Foreign office document to British Ambassador, July 21st 1951

The BBC is known as a mouthpiece of rapacious power and has been criticised for its coverage of world events on numerous occasions. The 1954 coup against the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala, the 1973 overthrow of Salvador Allende (attitudes towards which the BBC still claim to be "keenly divided") and the 2002 attempted regime change in Venezuela are all examples of democratically elected governments being attacked with little criticism from the Beeb.

"Of particular note is the BBC’s response to the military coup in 2002 [Venezeula]. BBC News published nine articles on the coup on 12th April 2002, all of which were based on the coup leaders’ version of events, who were, alongside the “opposition”, championed as saviours of “the nation”. Although BBC News did report the coup, the only time it mentioned the word “coup” was as an allegation of government officials and of Chavez’s daughter.
 
The “official” BBC explanation was that Chavez ‘fell’, ‘quit’, or ‘resigned’ (at best at the behest of the military) after his ‘mishandling’ of “strikes” (which, as Hardy (2007) reminds us, were actually management lockouts) and demonstrations in which his supporters had fired on and killed protestors. In reporting this latter, Adam Easton, the BBC’s correspondent in Caracas wrote ‘Film footage also caught armed supporters of Mr Chavez firing indiscriminately at the marchers’ (‘Venezuela’s New Dawn’). The footage in question was broadcast by an oligarch’s channel that had supported the coup and was shown to have been manipulated.
 
Given that Chavez had won two elections and a constitutional referendum before the coup, it is surprising that the BBC privileged the coup leaders’ version of events. The democratic, restorative intentions of the coup leaders were unquestioned." Source

If you have any doubts about the role of the BBC (and the wider media) with regards to open and secret war, then please watch this fantastic documentary by John Pilger.

  

 

4 Poll Tax Funded

For most public services, people either pay for usage, or through general taxation. This isn't the case with the BBC. Everyone who watches television or listens to the radio, regardless of whether they ever use the BBC, is expected to pay and the amount is the same for everyone.

 

This is a form of poll tax and it is the most unfair form of taxation. The fee hurts the poorest the most as it takes away a greater proportion of their income.This is well known to BBC chiefs who are happy for the current system to continue.

  

It is also convenient for Westminster politicians as the pretense of BBC impartiality can continue. The BBC can pretend that its funding isn't dependent upon the Government, and the Government gets a form of soft power it can wield (reason '5' above is an example of why this is important - for domestic examples look here and here).
  
That being said, individual BBC Trust members have other sources of income to fall back on.
  
At present, this poll tax is limited to those who own a television, but that could be changing in the near future as people start to legitimately bypass the BBC tax.

  

3 Lack of outside regulation

If you have a complaint against the BBC, the only people who will hear it are...the BBC! Here is a statement from Ofcom (which regulates the rest of the media) on the matter:

Accuracy or bias on the BBC
If your complaint relates to matters of due impartiality, due accuracy, bias or commercial references (with the exception of the relevant product placement rules: see Section Nine of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code) in BBC programming, please make a complaint directly to the BBC.

The BBC Trust regulates these areas rather than Ofcom." Source

So if you see blatant bias and lies, you can't complain to an outside regulator, but you can stop the BBC showing a Delonghi Brillante toaster in the background (because that's what's really important)!

  

Oh, and don't forget that the BBC Trust is effectively picked by the Westminster government.

 
2 Expenses
This one should be pretty self explanatory. You can find examples of BBC employees with ridiculous expenses claims (most of which will be founded by the poll tax licence fee) from the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Mail and the Times. More detailed analysis can also be found here.

"The press never saw fit to blow the whistle until the truth was leaked in the form of a DVD to the Daily Telegraph. Why should they when they are also on the take? Some 27 BBC executives earn more than prime minister Gordon Brown's £195,000. The BBC's director-general, Mark Thompson, "trousers a basic wedge of £647k".
(http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/ commentators/janet-street-porter/editoratlarge-superior-bbc-bosses -take-the-biscuit-over-pay-1722462.html)

Happily, this does not cause Thompson's organisation to be in any way biased when reporting corporate elites and their impoverished victims in the Third World." Source

1 Abuse Against Children

This had to be the number 1 reason to scrap the BBC. The sheer scale of the cover-ups is astounding and the fact that so few have went to jail is a scandal.

 

Those are our top 10 reasons why the BBC should be scrapped. What reasons would you add? Do you believe that the BBC should continue in spite of these problems? Let us know your thoughts.