The BBC are arseholes

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 13 Dec 20 - 06:29 AM

Aaaaaaand....100! :-)

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Dec 20 - 05:47 AM

I actually said that I wasn't moaning about not getting my money's worth in other areas of life, Nick, just that paying our taxes/licence fee, etc., whatever value we get or don't get, is all part of living in society. Now if an individual absolutely and religiously NEVER accesses any of the output covered by the licence fee, then they don't have to pay it. My old spinster aunt who was educated abroad and who never had children can't get a tax refund for the portion of tax that is spent on the education system, so, in a way, she's worse off than those non-fee payers who just get the occasional nudging letter. The odds are that she wouldn't moan about it. The BBC has to keep on at people who don't pay the fee because they mustn't make evasion too easy. It's only a bloody letter, not a court summons. The bald fact is that the vast majority of people do, at some time or another, access at least some of the stuff covered by the fee. If you make it a question of trust, I should think that half the bloody country wouldn't pay up. The nuisance Beeb letters are simply a reflection of that human failing, that we might not pay, even if we're supposed to, if we can get away with it. No need to get all indignant because you think the Beeb doesn't trust you. Every time you have to put a password into something it's because someone doesn't trust you. That's life, innit...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Raedwulf
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 01:01 PM

JHW & others - It's not the BBC. It's that company called Capita that nearly went tits up at the start of this year (I think it was this year). The TVLA is a fiction. It isn't an authority in any way, if it even has a bona fide existence. The BBC contracts out securing their revenue stream to debt collection companies (or companies that deal in such). Last time I had reason to look, Capita's contract covered about 96% of possible Licence Fee* payers and, of course, they've no reason to chase those who DO pay...

But they're scumbags who think you owe them a living. Once upon a time they enclosed a pre-paid envelope with their letters (haven't seen one in 20 years, Jim); they stopped that a long time ago. They don't have a free-phone number. You owe them a living, despite the fact you owe the BBC nothing. Not having that. They insist that they have to check every two years, just in case you've suddenly decided to become a criminal (they don't say the bit after the comma, but that's the insulting implication of what they do say).

Some 6-7 years ago, I know it cost 25-30p to print & mail out a simple letter. It depends on what bulk rate postage you can negotiate (so it's probably much more expensive now, given postage rises). The last time they sent one of their oiks round must have been at least 6-7 years ago, because they've been harassing me for at least 4-5, threatening me with an "investigation". Go ahead. They send me roughly one letter a month, on receipt of which I smile & dump it in the recycling bin. If they'd sent me a pre-paid envelope, I'd have told them nothing's changed. Instead, I'm happy to cost them money, because I see no reason why I should spend MY money, however few pennies, telling them they have no business with me.

But they're arrogant, stupid, and think the world owes them a living...

* I have no objection to the Licence Fee. The BBC has to be funded somehow, and as our only public & independent broadcaster, it has to be funded by the general Us, if you don't want our broadcasting to go the way of 'Murica.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 12:39 PM

Mods - I can understand reasons for moving this thread down into BS.

But that cancels guest Nick Dow, who is perhaps the best informed contributor to this topic of debate...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 12:05 PM

At what point in recent history did the BBC start departing from public service values...???

My immediate personal bias is that thatcher's govt put pressure on the beeb to compete commercially,
and the the pernicious rot set in...???

I may not be entirely wrong in blaming the tories, yet again...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 11:57 AM

All very interesting, but not really the point. The fact that not getting your moneys worth in other areas of life somehow makes the TV licence OK is the old argument of 'Everybody else is paying why shouldn't you?' Complete rubbish. A gang of burglars break into somebody's home. 'What do you mean you don't want to be robbed? We've robbed three other houses tonight and they all paid up ! What makes you so special?'
Ok I'm messing about a bit, but nobody has addressed the real point of the BBC abandoning Public Broadcasting Values. Do we just accept that and pay up? The other option is to start revising the values, then revising the revisions. A bit like saying the BBC is bang on target! Oh no not THAT target but this new one. No thanks.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 11:45 AM

I haven't watched live TV for many years (I think the Ashes series of 2005 was the last time) so I don't need a licence- it's an awful time-waster.
The quality of the programmes is a personal view, but when I see TV in a hotel room, I am seriously unimpressed and normally end up watching 'One man and his dog' or just going back to the radio.

I listen to BBC radio for news & my time in Ireland & Spain means I missed a lot of stuff now coming up on 4Extra, so am happy with that- I'd happily pay for a radio licence but that's not on offer!

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 11:28 AM

.. oh and Sky as well.. forgot we watch most TV via the sky HD box...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 11:24 AM

We pay BBC license, Prime, and Netflix..

The wife get's value for money from all of 'em
as her teaching job is so exhausting and stressful
she needs to unwind in her meagre spare time with comedy, rom com, and crime thriller boxset binges..

It also keeps her out my way while I get on with my stuff...


I used to watch a movie or two, or my choice of tv series, on catch up after she's gone to bed..

However, since I tuned 60 I tend to nod off too easily sat on the sofa,
so these days I mostly watch short videos on youtube..

On balance, we're ok continuing to pay the BBC licence if we must..

But I'm not so chuffed at my 89 year old mum being forced to pay it again,
by devious tory govt shifting responsibility and blame to the BBC.

So for the moment we're ignoring the demanding letters...

Will they take a very frail elderly lady with dementia to court
if she hasn't moved into a care home, or succumbed to covid
in the meantime,
while they're sending out enforcement demands...???

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 11:10 AM

Just having a telly doesn't oblige you to have a licence. You must have a licence if you watch TV programmes on any interface or if you download or record programmes.   Now all these people who claim never to watch any telly, or the Beeb, etc. - tell me how to police that. It's my guess that extremely few people never access TV programmes. Here's the thing. Some people who never had children still pay taxes that support state schools. Likewise, people who send kids to private schools. I pay some of the highest council tax In the country, but I live half a mile from a public road down a private lane that is part my responsibility. I never see a policeman patrolling within a mile of my house and I have to hawk my refuse that half-mile to the main road every week. By the way, my council tax costs about fifteen times the cost of a TV licence. Oddly, I don't feel unfairly treated. Funny, that.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Rain Dog
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 09:49 AM

I pay the licence fee willingly as I watch a fair number of BBC programmes. I do not subscribe to any other TV services. The opposite is true for growing number of TV viewers yet they are forced to pay the licence fee. Not exactly fair is it?

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 07:06 AM

You are right about the price of the licence, of course up to a point the support for musical mediums. You are also correct about most of the programming. However you have to balance this against the compulsion of the TV licence and the wholesale abandoning of the Public Service Broadcasting values. I am afraid a 'poll tax' licence is not tenable in this day and age.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:54 AM

In an era in which you can be charged £14.99 to watch a single Premier League match, it strikes me that a licence fee of less than 50p per day is bloody good value. I listen to Radios 3 and 4 for hour after hour every day and never hear an ad. I listen to Classic FM (it's on right now) but the ads drive me mad. I'm very critical of the news coverage (no media outlet can get anywhere near to getting that right) but I regard most of the foreign and political correspondents highly. If there's political bias it's fairly subtle, but it does lean more to the right and "the establishment." Left-wing interviewees get a raw deal, whereas the right is far more indulged. Many of the leading lights come from a right-wing Tory background, viz Andrew Neil, Jeremy Paxman, Nick Robinson, Kamal Ahmed, giving the lie to accusations that the Beeb is a leftie hotbed. I'm a leftie and I'm frequently infuriated by the Beeb. The BBC makes some superb drama series and documentaries. It tries its best to entertain the masses, and reaction to their output will always be a personal matter. Strictly Come Dancing is a brilliant production with very high standards whether you love it or hate it. I can't stand the Michael McIntyre/Graham Norton Saturday night axis, but I have the choice. Cultural coverage is excellent, and I've always appreciated the Beeb's support for its symphony orchestras and its other ensembles, and The New Generation Artists scheme is a big success. I've lost touch with children's programmes, but my kids grew up with them, as indeed did I (Bill and Ben were the best, and don't argue). You can look at any aspect of what the BBC does and criticise, a bit like the EU. To me, having a multifaceted setup in which we all have a stake and about which we can all moan is integral to our style of democracy. So I'm a critical fan, and I support the licence fee.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Jos
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:34 AM

I do now have a television (given to me) and I watch it occasionally so I have a licence. It's less than 50p a day.
But years ago I had a black and white television. At that time the colour really wasn't very good and I preferred not to see it.
One day I had a telephone call from someone asking why I didn't have a colour television licence.
I explained that I didn't need one. I had a black and white television licence.
There was a pause, and then:

"I see, so you just have a black and white colour-television-licence."

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:23 AM

Mind you, you need to be USING a TV in Britain.
To watch TV in Ireland, you have to pay a licence- there are frequent threats on RTE- even non-resident TV owners (ie holiday house owners using their house for two weeks a year) need to pay a similar amount if they own a TV TV.
There are many commercials on RTE as well as this need for a licence AND
you do not need to USE your TV- if the only one you have has a broken cathode ray tube & out in the rain, you still have to pay!

'Television, television
I'm sick from looking on television,
I'm sick in the eyes, sick in the head likewis
From sitting and looking on television'

    (Spinners calypso from the 60s)

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:12 AM

Re TV licence- they keep sending me bumf about how easy it is to pay for a TV licence.
Don't do anything, write 'Merry Christmas' on it and stuff it in the prepaid return envelope.
I do this with the crap leaflets from the Scottish Tory party as well- you don't need a stamp although my comment to them can vary from the greetings mentioned earlier.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,JHW
Date: 12 Dec 20 - 06:01 AM

Too much to read here, did try.
'i do not have television, but i appreciate bbc radio'
Same here as Sandman but the BBC would rather keep sending letters asking why I have no licence. I've told them many times.
BBC radio is though getting worse. Used to be music during trailers now its often in programmes so they get switched off too. Guess the BBC don't care. I once suggested a voluntary fee for radio only, like Wikipedia. Wouldn't now.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 Dec 20 - 01:00 PM

Ake - welcome to the debate.. whatever faeces you care to bring in with you..

Since you appear to have developed mind reading powers since we last met,
that could come in very handy...

Though I'm sure Mr Dow is more tha capable of talking for himself,
rather than have you voice his inner thoughts on his behalf...???

.. btw, seen anything good on the telly lately.....

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 08 Dec 20 - 01:41 PM

.. and yes I've also grown up with the entrenched preconception
that the beeb is establishment old school tie tory to the core...

It's our generation of 1980s alternative comedians
and Polytechnic Media Studies/Communications degree graduates,
who might have shaken the old natural order up a bit
and tilted the balance,
in more recent decades...???

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 08 Dec 20 - 01:11 PM

Raedwulf - I am guilty of a somewhat knowingly hyperbolic sarcastic strategy in this thread...

..wind 'em up and reel 'em in.. I am a bit of a sod for teasing reactionary folk.
Whichever side of the political spectrum they stink up...


The clue is in my mudcat ID name...

Though, I never expected a mudcatter of Nick's experience and stature to respond,
so happily learn more from his posts, and defer to him...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Raedwulf
Date: 08 Dec 20 - 09:20 AM

The beeb will get painfully buggered from all directions of ideological fanatics...!!!

Yes, precisely my point, pfr. Although even I didn't wax quite that eloquent! ;-) But you're guilty of it too. And no, not the far right, either. The "ordinary" right say the same things. If I run my eye down my social media list of friends, probably 95% of them that have expressed a political opinion are as much or further left as I. I don't have any far right friends, to the best of my knowledge.

On the other hand, I live in a constituency that is not only solidly CON job (as opposed to LAB rats, before anyone accuses me of bias! ;-) ). So a lot of people I know round here are to the right of me. This was, in fact, a heavy Leave voting area. And some of them, frankly, are downright fucking ignorant (I have heard "I don't care, I just want out of the EU"), whilst otherwise being perfectly nice people.

{shrug} It takes all sorts to make a world, don't it? And never be shy of questioning whether you're own prejudices / conditioning is on display. The BBC is not perfect, but it seems to me to have become rather less perfect in the last decade. It isn't an organisation that should be launching social crusades or trying to change the world which, alas, it does all too often give the appearance of doing in recent years. It certainly doesn't appear to left-leaning me to be a right wing mouthpiece; the opposite, if anything.

That it seems to be tilting to my side of the fence is no less alarming, than if it were the other way. Its place is... next to the fence. Not on it. As I say, neutrality is very difficult to practice, let alone achieve. Balance is not. And the BBC, unfortunately seems to be tilting.

That, genuinely, does worry me.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: robomatic
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 09:52 PM

Oh, lord, everyone wants to be paid.

Guardian wants to be paid for reading their articles.

Musicians want to be paid for contributing to other peoples' shows.

Maybe they should pay attention to the strong arm of Bob Dylan who is being paid for his music in one big fell swoop.

Must be some loose change in these tunes...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 08:12 PM

Just this once I'm going to open my mouth unwisely and give a list of the better known and some lesser known celebrities I've interviewed. Not once did I behave like Marr, or any other aggressive BBC muppet.
Yes the BBC gave me the chance to do all this, No I am not sad I left. I wonder how many of these would be interviewed today (and yes I know some are dead, but you know what I mean), and HOW they would be interviewed which is the point. I know I am opening myself up to criticism of behaving like the big I AM, which has never been my way but here goes...
                              ROCK
Ronnie Wood, Jack Bruce, Bill Wyman, Slash, The Pirates, Dr Feelgood, Wilko Johnson, The Troggs, Spencer Davis. Jerry Donahue.
                              BLUES
Sherman Robertson, Paul Byrd, Connie Lush, Lightning Slim, Lucy Zirins,
Mem Shannon, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Albert Lee with Hogan's heroes,
Alvin Youngblood Hart, Paul Jones, Nicky Moore, and many more.
                               FOLK
Martin Carthy, Cyril Tawney, Pete Coe, Dave Swarbrick, Maddy Prior,
Bob Copper, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ric Sanders, Jez Lowe, Steve Turner, Len Graham, The Boys of the Lough, Martyn Wyndham Read, Tom Paxton, and many many more.

Never once was there a bad word. Never once would I allow my guest to feel like some sort of victim. Never once would I consider myself to be more important than the guest, and every time we parted I was thanked for the interview. I don't deserve any particular accolade, I was trained to be a professional. It kept me in a job for 34 years.

So now I feel I have the right to ask what the hell has happened to the BBC? I am disgusted with them.
I was given a very revealing insight into the Rolling Stones early years by Bill Wyman. Why? because I was actually interested in his music and his knowledge which is extensive when it comes to Blues, and not who he was sleeping with. He told me how much he enjoyed talking, likewise Micky Moody. When the interview was over we carried on talking for twenty minutes. The same with Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash) we ended up discussing Gypsy wagons and their painting.
So please excuse my name dropping, but the point is shouldn't every interview be based on some perimeters of respect, and not a Jeremy Kyle sadistic confrontation. That to me is not broadcasting. However I'm seeing it more and more, and I've retreated hurt.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 07:20 PM

Yes that's why they should not throw the rulebook in the bin and let Marr loose with his brain in neutral and his gob in overdrive.
This is exactly the sort of behaviour I was trained not to do, and the BBC are now condoning.
Like I said it's asking for trouble. Like you said, they're going to get it.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 06:05 PM

I won't go out of my way to watch farage on the telly..

I'm sure he's probably an ok enough bloke to have a pint and jolly banter with..
.. even well suited to a career as a TV talk show host..

but..maybe not the best choice for prime minister.

Anyway, even if the BBC could always maintain a fair unbiased balance right across the board,
neutrality and objective impartiality are anathema to political and religious extremists..

The beeb will get painfully buggered from all directions of ideological fanatics...!!!

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 04:38 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JTT1vHnjyI

Whatever your political views this is about as unbiased as starving Rottweiler.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 04:15 PM

So what did you think of the Farage Andrew Marr interview then? Talk about asking for trouble.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 03:33 PM

When the far right bash the beeb for being too marxist feminist BLM satanist paedo etc lefty..

What they really mean is the BBC is not gratuitously arse-licking farage, trump, and their even more extreme nutcases,
sufficiently as they demand......

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Raedwulf
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 03:14 PM

Unless you're one of them right wing BBC bashers

Left wing BBC bashers, you mean, pfr, surely? ;-) I'm mildly left of centre; many of my friends are further left. What I hear more often is that the BBC is a Tory poodle, etc...

That's what you get for trying to be... balanced. Not neutral. Neutral is far harder & stops you saying so many things. Balanced means doing your best to present an equal view from both sides. Are the BBC perfect? No. But I still think they're the best thing we've got, in that regard...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Malcolm Storey
Date: 07 Dec 20 - 02:35 PM

Are you on messanger dick?

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 03:07 PM

Yes.. very unamerican of us...

Shocking...!!!

.. give us an inch, and we might start saying why our NHS is such a better idea...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,paperback
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 02:42 PM

British Bullshite above the line?





Quell surprise...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 02:28 PM

Nick - thanks for that..

Yes, I am already aware of most of the context you have just provided,
and personally agree with you that that BBC is on it's last legs,

Please forgive me for prodding you a bit,
but the result is this excellent informed summary of yours.
This thread is now the better for it.

We all are dissatisfied with the beeb one way or another.
Though 'Normal' middle of the road political centrists
should be the driving force in shaping whatever future the BBC has remaining..

I really haven't exaggerated the extent of bonkers far right hate,
I just hope their voice are not taken too seriously,
as the fate of the BBC is being decided..

It'd be sad to see the end of the BBC, or at least the public service principles it was founded on.
But the world changes for better or worse,
and life goes on...

cheers..
pfr...

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 02:01 PM

Ok I'll try and explain this to you. Firstly as I said I worked for the BBC for 34 years, so thanks for giving me a bit of credit for that.
The BBC does not exist in a vacuum. It has never been BBC against the rest of the world.
Sorry, but the BBC is already in bed with numerous other broadcasters, Murdoch included. There are hardly any in house productions any more. The BBC have been farming out work to independent companies for years. Most continuity broadcasters have their own companies. This is how Jeremy Vine can pop up on Channel five, and still work for the BBC.
The news gathering machine does not exist in splendid isolation, there is an all round cooperation between all news gatherers. If you walk into production you will find there are numerous journo's on the phone to ITV, Sky, Reuters, and US news gatherers. So then what's the problem?
Basically the compulsion of the TV licence, and the mock impartiality of the corporation are not going to be tolerated. There is also the downright duplicity shown by some producers i.e. Bashir and Diana interview, and the atrocious reversal of film footage during the miners strike, that are also leaving a bad taste in the mouth of....Well who? No not the 'football thug right' or any capitalist conspiracy, but the ordinary consumer.
Finally you will be hard put to it to find any public school collar and ties in the corporation. Quite the opposite in fact. (Well I suppose there are a few). What has happened is the corporation has become lazy, and self aggrandised and impervious to criticism.
I honestly think that finding some conspiracy theory about foreign media tycoons and believing it is way off the mark, since the Beeb have been trading with them for years. The last thing the media tycoons want is another free enterprise rival. By the way Sky news is being accused of being more left wing than the BBC in the business! So how does that work out? So honestly Punk forget right wing conspiracies, half of them haven't got the brains they were born with anyway, it's just an ever so British broadcaster who is deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 12:03 PM

Nick - from what I've read over the years in your mudcat posts,
you're a folkie bloke I can respect,
so would rather avoid falling out with you..

The reality is, as a well informed educated consumer of media, I do know very much what I'm talking about..
As a a 'creative' involved over decades in various facets of the 'arts' [ that looks pretentious and wanky...],
I have some experience of engaging with it.

AND as a keen observer of right wing fanatics,
I spend far too much time online in their company
absorbing their mostly confused and contradictory hatred of the BBC..

Most of the 'foot soldiers' I encounter do not have your years of experience,
and insider informed opinions of the poor state of the BBC.

All they feed on is pernicious conformist propagandising and indoctrination
from their right wing peers and influencers.

Many of whom are obvious puppets of foreign media tycoons..

We can agree the most probable pragmatic future for the BBC
is to be radically shaken by it's public school collar and tie,
becoming a leaner and more efficient subscription service..

But even after, if that happens, I expect the insidious anti BBC disinformation and hatred
will persist in being sown by foreign media rivals
and their allied UK far right political & media dogmatists..

Relentlessly stirring up rancour amongst the lesser educated 'football thug right'.
Pernicious hatred that will continue to fester until victory is theirs,
and the BBC is mercilessly kicked to death...???

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 10:44 AM

Punk it really helps when you post if you have some idea what you are talking about. The suggestion is that the BBC becomes a subscription service, or runs advertisements i.e. not funded by a outdated poll tax type of system. It is nothing to do with right or left politics, it is failing miserably as a public service broadcaster, and needs replacing.
As it stands it is only answerable to itself and has compulsory funding at our expense. That is not sustainable in this day and age.
Try explaining to a 21 year old student why he/she has to buy a licence when he/she does not watch the channel regularly, and already pays for another provider. All that is being suggested is it becomes independent, like ITV.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 10:43 AM

because they are deluded public school brainless twerps

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 10:23 AM

My concern about the BBC getting dismantled and sold off to foreign asset strippers for scrap,
is it's supposed to be a BRITISH broadcasting PUBLC SERVICE..

All these right wing zealot so called patriots
who want to replace it
with a vacuum for Murdoch and his like to flood into
and fill with over-commercialised propaganda crap,
are either befuddled and confused useful idiots;
or deceptive bribed shills...

What a bunch of phony British patriots...!!!

If these ideologues really cared about our national identity,
they'd want to see the BBC kicked up the arse into a better improved condition,
and our real traditional British Broadcasting principles and standards defended and preserved...

Why are these deluded fools so determined to have our BBC sold off
to unscrupulous foreign billionaire media barons...!!!?????????

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: Pete from seven stars link
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 08:45 AM

Many of us would only be too happy to get our songs heard by a wide audience and not get paid , but it’s a personal decision as to whether it’s worth it , but good for them sticking to their guns . But at least they got some newspaper coverage out of it !             I don’t think I would be too upset if the beeb goes down , along with the grossly overpaid presenters . At least it’s employment for quite a lot of non celebs

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 Dec 20 - 01:25 AM

I will call, if i can reverse the charges, why dont you call me, thanks, stay safe

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Malcolm Storey
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 06:55 PM

Thanks both Freddy and Nick.
Dick if your reference to fees is what I think it is you might want to give me a call.
cheers

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 09:20 AM

Still there Malcolm and still relevant, sadly.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 08:02 AM

post about Whitby,,,
maybe lost amongst the adverts
thread.cfm?threadid=168957&page=2#4081958

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Malcolm Storey
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 06:29 AM

So what happened to the post I made last night re Whitby & the BBC?

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 05:26 AM

Sorry I should have made it plain. The fact that a BBC muppet has an I.D. card round his neck and was trained by the BBC did not mean he was working for them. Most presenters used to have their own company i.e. 'A general Widgett production for the BBC'. This all changed in 2017 when the employment laws changed. The BBC then became liable as an employer, and the s**t weasel's kicked everybody into touch who was not prepared to take the financial hit as a result. 'We've got to pay your N.I. and PAYE, so we're reducing your take home pay. (from naff all to less than naff all) If you kept submitting under 'General Widgett' you were not allowed to use BBC facilities.
Not all their fault admittedly, but guess which programmes were chopped first? Guess where the money went! The rest you know.
Sorry for being so miserable but it's not something that can easily be forgiven if you actually care about music.

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 05:04 AM

Aaaaah!!! The wonderful BBC sound balance. Those muppets could not run a bath let alone a sound desk. The prats stuck a mic in the public toilet at one gig, to use as a echo chamber. You couldn't make it up.
I did an OB from a festival with a sound muppet using the radio van. Only one thing wrong with that. The donut did not know how to raise the radio mast. I ended up broadcasting by the side of three large dustbins, and interviewing well known acts because it was the only place to get reception. I'd have done better using my mobile.
The BBC do not seem to have heard of Bass as a concept in music. Take a listen to some of their old recordings on line and you'll see.
They also think they are far more important than the musicians. Bollocks to BBC copyright! That was an outright lie. That's why I released the recordings through my own company. Any problems I called Malcolm Storey to come and sort them out. Very effective! They all ran away while I put my tin hat on!

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 05:02 AM

Malcolm, might i compliment you on the general running of the festival you ran the Festival very well, it was efficently organised

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Dec 20 - 04:58 AM

on the subject of waiting for fees,,alcolm does that ring any bells?

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Malcolm Storey
Date: 04 Dec 20 - 08:12 PM

Regarding me showing the BBC the metaphorical door the recent posts on recordings etc reminded me of further dealings with them.
In the one of my early years involved at Whitby the BBC did indeed do some recordings at Whitby. After I was alerted to problems with their demands and interference with concert schedules - pratting about with mics etc - I made sure I was at the next event they were to record.
After watching the sound crew clown about through the first act I asked the producer to stop the recording and we would discuss the matter in the morning. It got a little bit heated but I pointed out that the audience had paid to enjoy the performers without his bunch of amateurs stomping all over everything. I also pointed out I knew where the main switchboard was! They improved after that.
On that occasion the arrangement had not been made by myself although apparently there was a promise of some sort of arrangement/access fee and copies of all the recordings - I'm still waiting.
Subsequently the next time we were approached I suggested that the very least they could offer was copies of recordings and notification of any future use with a chance to preview same.
I was told that the copying would need to be paid for, always provided it could be released as it was BBC COPYRIGHT!!!!
That was when the door was pointed to (metaphorically)!

Subject: RE: The BBC are arseholes
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 04 Dec 20 - 03:49 PM

With respect, that would ensure them no work at all with the BBC. They are very far from union friendly if it affects them.
The BBC have always had a 'very small cheques tartan' policy for decades. The way it works, is they will employ an act for £xx, then when the act is rebooked, and asks for £yy after knocking his pipe out getting well known, the answer is you did it for £xx last time, you can do it for that or we'll get somebody else.
The only way you can break this, is by pulling an audience that they cannot argue against.
Here's a good example Paul Jones used to name his own fee for the Blues show due to his position in the music world when there were other musicians who were better broadcasters. You see it again and again, fame beats talent in broadcasting with the BBC. Look what happened to Mike Harding. Union representation will see the door slammed very loudly. Sorry.