tax payers alliance criticise BBC

[srb7677]

If you take away the licence fee, the BBC is likely to be state funded and as such you'll be paying for it one way or another anyway.

But as a de facto tax, the license  fee is a very poor one, effectively a poll tax that takes no account at all of means, nor any account of how much or how little you choose to watch the BBC.

[B0ycey]

If you take away the licence fee, the BBC is likely to be state funded and as such you'll be paying for it one way or another anyway. But whilst we still have a licence, I suggest it stays frozen until 2027 if the BBC refuses to address over paying primadonnas. A large chunk of the shortfall over 7 years can rectified by getting them onto other networks to continue their obscene levels of pay whilst giving a platform for others to start their media careers.

[srb7677]

As most people here probably know, I have my issues with the BBC and do not approve of the current license fee model.

But the day I spend any of my precious time bothering with anything the Tax Dodgers' Alliance has to say, is the day I learn how to make my car fly and my arse poop fresh bananas.

[Borchester]

BBC rules out freezing pay to plug £1.4bn hole



Tim Davie, the BBC director general, ruled out a freeze after reports that a shortage of senior staff in the newsroom had led to a recent gaffe
ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA WIRE

The BBC director-general has ruled out a pay freeze after the "disappointing" licence fee deal amid fears that cuts are leading to gaffes on air.
Tim Davie made the commitment during a question and answer session with employees on Wednesday after the licence fee was held below inflation for two years, leaving a £1.4 billion shortfall in the corporation's finances.
"Just because we have a freeze in our public-service income, that does not mean a freeze in pay," he told the BBC's 22,000-strong workforce.

The pledge followed his warning last week, first reported by The Times, that he wanted to cut staff numbers but that remaining employees would be "properly funded".
Davie and members of his top team were questioned about redundancies, with employees raising concerns that lower staff numbers may be contributing to mistakes in news output.

Senior journalists warned last month that job cuts and an organisational restructure played a role in the BBC News channel booking Alan Dershowitz, Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer, to comment on Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction. "The cuts have stripped the newsroom of the necessary experience to stop the screw-ups," one insider said at the time.

The BBC was swift in admitting to the error, while sources close to management pointed to the fact that the newsroom was not at full strength when the mistake occurred over a Christmas period hit by Covid-19.

Jonathan Munro, who is set to become the BBC's interim director of news and current affairs, told colleagues: "Let me just be honest about one thing: we make mistakes sometimes, you know, we're a 24/7 live news operation on multiple platforms. We rely on human judgments being made all the time and dynamic and pressurised situations. And despite everyone's best efforts, sometimes things go a little bit wrong."

Munro suggested that the BBC's news coverage was under more scrutiny than ever because of social media. "People who . . . haven't necessarily got our best interests at heart are quick to amplify those [errors]," he said.

"There's one other thing I think we can do and that's be really confident about the vast, vast, vast majority of our output, which is accurate, trusted, impartial, and all of the scores that measure those things demonstrate that."

Davie suggested that the BBC would take action if teams were overstretched and programming was affected. "We shouldn't be putting people in a position where things are starting to fall over. Part of that's down to Covid but we don't just sit in ivory towers — we will take action where it's needed," he said, according to an insider.

The BBC said: "We work to keep costs to a minimum — we've made savings of more than £1 billion, in the last year we've reduced public service staff numbers by more than 1,000 and many are paid below market rates offered by others — but we still need to attract and retain staff so the BBC keeps delivering for audiences. Like all organisations we want to ensure salaries reflect increases in household expenses and the cost of living."

[Thomas]

BBC rules out freezing pay to plug £1.4bn hole

The BBC director-general has ruled out a pay freeze after the "disappointing" licence fee deal amid fears that cuts are leading to gaffes on air.

Tim Davie made the commitment during a question and answer session with employees on Wednesday after the licence fee was held below inflation for two years, leaving a £1.4 billion shortfall in the corporation's finances.

"Just because we have a freeze in our public-service income, that does not mean a freeze in pay," he told the BBC's 22,000-strong workforce.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-rules-out-freezing-pay-to-plug-1-4bn-hole-0d2x0vt76

[Thomas]

You cannot expect to compel, by force of the criminal law, millions of people to pay for a broadcaster that systematically insults and marginalises their beliefs and values, especially not in a market that has been blown wide open by streaming and catch-up services.

[Thomas]

https://order-order.com/2022/01/27/taxpayers-alliance-ramp-up-telly-tax-demands-after-yesterdays-prosecution-revelation/