5 hours ago
9
Your editorial on the predicament facing the BBC World Service (The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling, 13 February) rightly stresses the strategic importance of this national asset at a time when the global order is under unprecedented attack, not least from an erstwhile ally.
But some home truths need to be stated. It was the Conservative-Liberal coalition government that set in train the withdrawal of the bulk of government funding, previously provided through a grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Is it too cynical to see this as not simply a desire for cost savings, but also as an attempt to saddle the domestic BBC with the burden of financing the World Service?
It was clearly not safe in that government’s hands. But neither has it been safe in the hands of a domestic-focused BBC management. Countless expert staff have been sacrificed. In my experience, senior BBC managers are fond of pronouncing lofty platitudes about the value of the BBC’s overseas services, but they are not willing to make sufficient domestic cuts to fund them.
BBC bosses recently opined that the World Service should be funded from the defence budget – clearly they had not kept up with the pressures that the Ministry of Defence is facing at a time of unprecedented global challenge.
Maybe, with so much about the BBC’s overall future in the melting pot, it is time to ensure that this vital strategic asset is funded properly and consistently, if necessary by requiring an adequate share of the licence fee to be directed its way. If anyone is broadcasting in the national interest, it is the dedicated journalists and production teams of the World Service.
Jonathan Marcus
Former World Service defence and diplomatic correspondent
I worked at Bush House in 1969‑70, at the Spanish section of the World Service. When, at 10pm, we started our news service, we were able to give Spaniards news about strikes, demonstrations, military assassinations – all the Spanish news that the local press was not allowed to publish. Franco was alive, and censorship was reintroduced after a short period of partial freedom.
We of course added afterwards features on the Mini and the miniskirt. But this was the only way my country was informed about what was happening under the dictatorship. How many other countries need this today?
Enrique Murillo
Barcelona, Spain
As a former US serviceman and cold warrior, I crewed military aircraft in some of the more remote corners of the world in the 1980s. We worked with our brothers in arms from other free world countries monitoring the Soviet submarine threat worldwide. It was a time of political turbulence, constant threat and misinformation.
Frequently, in distant places, the local press was saying wildly irresponsible things. But wherever we were, we could be assured of receiving accurate news and commentary via the BBC short‑wave service. The locals in places we visited almost universally used the service as well, both in English and frequently in their native tongue.
I cannot imagine the BBC stepping back from transmitting a voice of freedom used by so many distant compatriots during this crucial time in world history.
Emmett Dignan
Borrego Springs, California, US
When I was doing a two-year stint with VSO, working for a secondary school in Bartica, Guyana, the BBC World Service was a lifeline. It was a familiar voice that brought home comforts. The sports report on a Saturday. The commentary of David Beckham scoring a last-gasp goal against Greece to send us to the World Cup. I still get a lump in my throat when the football commentary includes the immortal words “and we are now joined by the World Service”.
More important, the Guyanese people would listen to the Caribbean report and know that this was an unbiased view of the various political turmoils in their country. We must not lose this vital cultural and political channel of news, views and analysis.
Kris Marshall Smith
Fakenham, Norfolk
I’m dismayed by the decision to cut the World Service. It is my comfort at 3am when sleep is elusive, and is a vital resource for those living and travelling overseas; it’s the voice that you can trust with stories from around the world that aren’t covered anywhere else on the BBC.
I also recommended the World Service to students joining courses on global development, so that they can hear different accents and original stories from far away, and situate themselves in the lives of others. The World Service is a vital resource that serves the public and is worth every penny it receives.
Martha Knight
Former senior lecturer, Open University
