| Revision as of 12:40, 26 April 2006 view source212.219.57.77 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:47, 26 April 2006 view source Ba06rto (talk | contribs)8 editsNo edit summaryNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| BBC is shit, fuck all you niggers | |||
| {{otheruses}} | |||
| {{Infobox_Company | | |||
| company_name = The British Broadcasting Corporation | | |||
| company_logo = ] | | |||
| company_type = Publicly-funded, ]| | |||
| foundation = As ] ], became Corporation by Royal Charter ] ]| | |||
| location = ], ]| | |||
| key_people = ], Chairman <br> ], ] <br> ] Deputy Director General | | |||
| num_employees = 27,264 (full-time equivalent 2005)| | |||
| industry = ]| | |||
| products = ], ], ] services | | |||
| homepage = | | |||
| }} | |||
| '''The <!-- NOTE: "The" is part of the name; see Talk page - archive FIVE--> British Broadcasting Corporation''' ('''BBC''') is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the ] (see ]). It produces programmes and information services, broadcasting on ], ], and the ]. The ] is ''Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation.'' | |||
| The BBC is not a ] in the sense used in other countries, and does not exclusively produce programmes that commercial companies would not broadcast. On the contrary, many BBC programmes are expected to get competitive viewer ratings, and certain commercial broadcasters are required by the terms of their ]s to produce some programmes of quality. For example: the BBC produces game shows, often innovative comedies, and '']'', a very popular soap opera. BBC programmes do not include any advertising. | |||
| There is debate in the early years of the 21<sup>st</sup> century about the BBC's role: should it aim more towards public service? What is to happen in the new world of large numbers of digital channels? | |||
| ] | |||
| The BBC's domestic services on television are ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. BBC One and BBC Two are available via conventional analogue transmission — the remainder can be viewed only by those with ] equipment (now in widespread use in the UK, with analogue transmission expected to be phased out from ]). BBC One is a regionalised TV service which provides opt-outs throughout the day for local news and other local programming. In the ] the ] regionalised BBC One & BBC Two are available via analogue transmissions deflecting signals from the North and also carried out on ], ] and ] | |||
| From ] ] the BBC will begin a ] of ] broadcasts. It has been producing programmes in the format for many years, and hopes to produce 100% of new programmes in HDTV by ]. | |||
| The corporation has five national radio stations: ], ], ], ], and ]. It also has national ] services: ], ], ], ], and the ]. Each of the national regions (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) has its own radio station, and there is also a network of ] stations in England and the Channel Islands, such as ], ] and ]. It also runs a number of BBC Open Centres, BBC Buses, and BBC Big Screens. | |||
| In addition the BBC operates the ] on radio, internet and satellite television, funded by and operated in cooperation with the ]. Also run jointly with the ] is ], which monitors radio, television, the press and the internet worldwide. | |||
| The BBC's commercial operations are run by ]. These include its international television services which are funded commercially and include the international news channel ], as well as entertainment channels ], ], ] and ]. There is also a Canadian children's channel ]. BBC Worldwide also co-runs, with ], the ] network of stations in the UK, producers of amongst others ]. In ] BBC Worldwide runs the ] network jointly with ] and Fremantle Media. In ] some BBC programmes run on ]. | |||
| The BBC produces a large body of programming for domestic and worldwide broadcast. Many programmes (especially ]) are sold to foreign television stations, and ], ] and ] productions are popular on the international DVD market. | |||
| It is an autonomous corporation run by a board of governors appointed by the ] for a term of four years (formerly five years). This is soon to be replaced with a ]. Management of the organisation is in the hands of a ] appointed by the governors. Its domestic programming and broadcasts are funded by levying ] fees upon the owners of television sets. This allows domestic programming to be free of commercials, and allows programme content to be free of bias towards commercial sponsors. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| {{main|Timeline of the BBC}} | |||
| The original ''British Broadcasting Company'' was founded in ] by various private firms to broadcast experimental radio services. The first transmission was on ] of that year. | |||
| The Company, with ] as general manager, became the ''British Broadcasting Corporation'' in ] when it was granted a ] of incorporation and ceased to be privately owned. It started experimental television broadcasting in ], becoming a regular service (known as the ]) in ]. Television broadcasting was suspended from ], ] to ], ] during the ]. | |||
| Competition to the BBC was introduced for the first time in ] with the commercially and independently operated ]. The BBC introduced a second TV channel, (BBC 2), in ], renaming the existing channel BBC 1. BBC 2 was broadcast in colour from ], ], and was joined by BBC 1 and ITV on ], ]. | |||
| Since the ] of the UK television and radio market in the ], the BBC has faced increased competition from the commercial sector (and from the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster ]), especially on ], ], and ] services. | |||
| The ] has played a major part in the development of broadcasting and recording techniques. In the early days it carried out essential research into acoustics, programme level measurement, and noise measurement and established standards that rapidly spread, particularly throughout the ]. In this respect it filled a role that is now lacking in many areas, since it was motivated by the desire for quality, not profit. | |||
| ==The Corporation== | |||
| ===Funding=== | |||
| {{main|Television licence#United Kingdom}} | |||
| The principal means of funding the BBC is through the ], ] costing around £11 a month if paid by ]. Such a licence is required to operate a broadcast ] receiver within the ]. The cost of a television licence is set by the government and enforced by the criminal law but the revenue is collected privately and does not pass through the state before reaching the BBC, and hence it is inaccurate to refer to the BBC as a "state" broadcaster. | |||
| A similar licence used to exist for radios, but was abolished in ]. These licences were originally issued by the British ] (GPO), which was then the regulator of public communications within the UK. For a more detailed historical explanation see ]. | |||
| In the case of the elderly (over 75), TV licences are funded by the government. Subsidised TV licences are available for the blind and the residents of residential care homes. Licence fees are set by the ] (a Cabinet Minister). Collecting them has been the responsibility of (an autonomous arm of the BBC) since 1990, but much of the collection work is subcontracted to the independent companies ] and ]. | |||
| The television licence is often the subject of controversy; some argue that the licence is a ], in that the very poorest are those least likely to have a licence, and least able to pay the fine for not having a licence. However, supporters of the licence fee claim that it helps maintain a higher quality of programming on the BBC compared to its commercial rivals. Some also claim that it also leads to better programmes on the commercial channels as they seek to draw viewers/listeners away from the BBC's output. | |||
| Because government regulation controls its funding, the BBC is able to provide domestic ] to educate, inform and entertain, free of commercial advertising. However, the BBC does engage in commercial advertising in its publications and some broadcasting activities. In theory the BBC is answerable only to the licence payer. ] external broadcasting is funded by the ]. | |||
| The BBC has the largest budget of any UK broadcaster. Income from commercial enterprises and from overseas sales of its catalogue of programmes has substantially increased over recent years. Its annual budget is approximately £3.8 billion. | |||
| ====Revenue sources==== | |||
| The gave revenue sources in millions of: | |||
| * £2,940.3m licence fees collected from consumers. | |||
| * £624.3m from BBC Commercial Businesses. | |||
| * £247.2m from the World Service, of which £225.1m is from grants (primarily funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office), £16.7m from subscriptions, and £5.4m from other sources. | |||
| * £23.5m from other income, such as providing content to overseas broadcasters and concert ticket sales. | |||
| In total, the BBC's group income is estimated at £3,835.3m for 2005. | |||
| ====Licence fee expenditure==== | |||
| The BBC the following figures for expenditure of licence fee income: | |||
| *35% - BBC One | |||
| *15% - BBC Two | |||
| *15% - local TV and radio | |||
| *12% - network radio | |||
| *10% - digital (BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News 24, BBC Parliament, CBBC, CBeebies) | |||
| *10% - transmission costs and licence fee collection | |||
| *3% - BBC Online, Ceefax, and Interactive Content (including and BBCi) | |||
| ===Management=== | |||
| The BBC is a nominally autonomous corporation, independent from direct government intervention. It is run by an appointed ]. General management of the organisation is in the hands of a ] appointed by the governors. | |||
| The governors as of ] ] are: | |||
| *] (Chairman) | |||
| *] (Vice Chairman) | |||
| *] (National Governor for the English regions) | |||
| *] (National Governor for Northern Ireland) | |||
| *] (National Governor for Wales) | |||
| *] (National Governor for Scotland) | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *], appointed for a four-year term on ] 2004. | |||
| The current Director-General is ]. On his first day in the role he announced a shake-up of senior management, including the replacement of the Executive Committee, formed by directors of divisions within the BBC, with a streamlined nine-member Executive Board currently consisting of: | |||
| *] (Director-General) | |||
| *] (Deputy Director-General) | |||
| *] (Chief Operating Officer) | |||
| *] (Group Finance Director) | |||
| *] (Strategy) | |||
| *] (BBC People - leaving at the end of March 2006) | |||
| *] (Marketing, Communications & Audiences) | |||
| *] (Television) | |||
| *] (Radio and Music) | |||
| *] (New Media and Technology) | |||
| ===Current review of Royal Charter=== | |||
| {{main|BBC review}} | |||
| The BBC's ] is currently under review. Although the Charter is widely expected to be renewed in 2006, some proposals have suggested dramatic changes. | |||
| The BBC itself suggested radical changes in its "Building Public Value" proposals published in ] ]. | |||
| On ] ] the ] ] published a ] setting out her proposals for the future of the BBC. The main points of this were: | |||
| *Maintenance of the licence fee system until at least 2016 | |||
| *Abolition of the BBC Governors, to be replaced by a "BBC Trust" | |||
| *Increasing outsourcing of production (a process already started by Mark Thompson) | |||
| *Reduced emphasis on "ratings for ratings' sake" and copycat programmes (such as ]). | |||
| In ] ] the ] published a ] on the future of the BBC. | |||
| ===Political and commercial independence=== | |||
| {{main|BBC controversies}} | |||
| The BBC is, in theory, free from both political and commercial influence and answers only to its viewers and listeners. However, the BBC is regularly accused by the government of the day of bias in favour of the opposition and, by the opposition, of bias in favour of the government. | |||
| Similarly, during times of war, the BBC is often accused by the UK government, or by strong supporters of British military campaigns, of being overly sympathetic to the view of the enemy. This gave rise, during the first ], to the satirical name "Baghdad Broadcasting Corporation". Conversely, some of those who style themselves anti-establishment in the United Kingdom or who oppose foreign wars have accused the BBC of pro-establishment bias or of refusing to give an outlet to "anti-war" voices. Some have argued that a current of anti-BBC thinking exists in many parts of the political spectrum and that, since the BBC's theoretical impartiality means they will broadcast many views and opinions, people will see the bias they wish to see. | |||
| Quite often domestic audiences have affectionately referred to the BBC as ''the Beeb,'' or as ''Auntie''; the latter originating in the somewhat fuddy duddy attitude dating back to the early days when ] was in charge. | |||
| Political influence may manifest itself via appointments to its Board of Governors and by threats to change the level of the licence fee. Commercial competition has influenced BBC programming on both radio and television throughout its history. Despite these criticisms, many still regard the BBC as a trusted and politically neutral news source across the globe, and in some areas the BBC World Service radio is the only available free media. | |||
| The BBC's current Political Editor, ], was previously a chairman of the ] and has, as a result, attracted informal criticism from the current Labour government. | |||
| ===Location=== | |||
| {{main|Broadcasting House}} | |||
| Broadcasting House in ], ] is the official headquarters of the BBC. It is home to the national radio networks Radio ], ], ], ], and ]. On the front of the building are statues of ] and ] (from ] '']''), by ]. | |||
| Broadcasting House is currently undergoing renovation, scheduled for completion in ]. As part of a major reorganisation of BBC property, Broadcasting House is to become home to ] (both television and radio), national radio, and the ]. The major part of this plan involves the demolition of the two post-war extensions to the building and construction of a new building, to be of equal "architectural creativity", beside the existing structure. While the rebuilding process is being undertaken many of the BBC Radio networks have been relocated to other buildings in the vicinity of Portland Place. | |||
| In 2007/2008 BBC News is expected to relocate from the News Centre at ] to the refurbished Broadcasting House in what is being described as "one of the world's largest live newsrooms". | |||
| By far the largest concentration of BBC staff in the UK exists in ]. Well known buildings in this area include TVC (internal ] for ]), White City, Media Centre, Broadcast Centre and Centre House. | |||
| As well as the various BBC buildings in London, there are major BBC production centres located in ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. There are also many smaller local and regional studios scattered throughout the UK, some of which are known locally as "Broadcasting House" in imitation of the BBC's London headquarters. | |||
| ==BBC Services== | |||
| ] | |||
| {{further|] ]}} | |||
| Among its many services are domestic radio and television stations. The BBC also jointly operates a number of other broadcasting services, namely the UKTV channels, some of the Discovery channels, and several other services available on satellite & cable services in the UK. | |||
| It also has many non-broadcasting commercial ventures within the United Kingdom including book & magazine publishing (]), and multimedia production services (DVDs, CDs, computer games) provided by ]. | |||
| The BBC has both satellite and cable broadcasting joint-ventures serving the ], ], and other countries. In addition the BBC operates world broadcasting services (especially radio) in cooperation with, and funded by, the ]. In 2005, the BBC announced that it would substantially reduce its radio broadcasting in ] languages and divert resources instead to a new ] satellite TV broadcasting station (including radio and online content) in the ] to be launched in 2007. | |||
| Before the introduction of ] in ] and subsequently ] in ], it held a monopoly on broadcasting. More recent deregulation of the ] market produced analogue ] and ] and later digital satellite, ] and ] (DTT). Today the BBC broadcasts in almost all media and operates an ] service, ]. | |||
| === BBC Departments === | |||
| * Governances & Accountability | |||
| * Programming Groups | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** Drama Entertainment & ] | |||
| ** Factual & Learning | |||
| ** ] | |||
| * Broadcasting Groups | |||
| ** World Service | |||
| ** TV | |||
| ** New Media & Technology | |||
| ** Radio & Music | |||
| ** Nations & Regions | |||
| * Professional Services | |||
| ** Strategy (formerly Strategy and Distribution and merged with Policy and Legal) | |||
| ** Marketing, Comms and Audiences | |||
| ** Finance Property & Business Affairs | |||
| ** ] (to 2004, Human Resources & Internal Communications) | |||
| * Commercial Groups | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ===BBC News=== | |||
| {{main|BBC News}} | |||
| BBC News claims to be the largest broadcast news gathering operation in the world, producing almost 100 hours of output every day. BBC News provides its services to BBC domestic radio as well as television networks such as ], ] and ], as well as ], ] and ]. New BBC News services that are also proving popular are mobile services to mobile phones and PDAs. Desktop news alerts, e-mail alerts, and digital TV alerts are also available. | |||
| The BBC News Centre maintains its headquarters within the BBC Television Centre. It also operates regional news offices throughout the UK and bureaux in almost every country around the world. Coverage of political events is controlled from the ] in Westminster. On ] ] the BBC celebrated 50 years of television news. Its first bulletin was telecast in ]. The BBC had carried news programmes prior to this, but in the form of ]. | |||
| Although the BBC news service in the UK is mostly non-commercial by reason of its financial base, it does compete for its audience with commercial companies such as ] and ]. During major events the majority of domestic television viewers in the UK tune to BBC news for information, but its coverage does not come without criticism. | |||
| ===Radio=== | |||
| {{further|], ]}} | |||
| The BBC has five major national stations, ] ("the best in new music"), ] (the UK's most listened to radio station, with 13.7 million weekly listeners), ] (specialist-interest music such as classical, world, arts, drama and jazz), ] (current affairs, drama and comedy), and ] (24 hour news, sports and talk). | |||
| There is also a network of local stations with a mixture of talk, news and music in ] and the ] as well as national stations of ], ] (in ]), ], ] (in ]), ], and ]. | |||
| The BBC has been at the forefront of digital radio broadcasting with ] (a companion to Five Live for additional events coverage), ] (for black, urban and gospel music), ] (''alternative'' genres of music), ] (Comedy, Drama & Kids shows), ] (Asian talk, music and news in many Asian languages), and ]. | |||
| For a world-wide audience, the BBC produces the ] funded ], which is broadcast worldwide on ] radio, and on DAB Digital Radio in the UK. The World Service can be received in 139 capital cities worldwide and is a major source of news and information programming for over 140 million listeners worldwide. The Service currently broadcasts in 43 languages and dialects (including English), though not all languages are broadcast in all areas. | |||
| Since ], the BBC has also provided radio programming to the ], which broadcasts in countries where British troops are stationed. | |||
| All of the national BBC radio stations, as well as the BBC World Service, are available over the ] in the ] ] format. The BBC has also recently experimented with the ], ] ] streaming audio format and ]. | |||
| ===Television=== | |||
| {{main|BBC Television}} | |||
| ] and ] are the BBC's flagship television channels. The BBC is also promoting the new channels ] and ], which are only available via ]. The BBC also runs ], ], and two children's channels, ] and ]. The BBC's commercial subsidiary ] is also part of a joint venture with ] in the TV company ], and provides various channels for overseas markets, such as ], ], ], ] and ] (in Canada). | |||
| Since ], the BBC has also provided its TV programmes to the ] (BFBS), allowing members of ] serving all over the world to watch and listen to their favourite programmes from home on two dedicated TV channels. | |||
| ===Worldwide=== | |||
| ] Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC responsible for the commercial exploitation of BBC programmes and other properties. It broadcasts television stations throughout the world. The cable and satellite stations ] (in ], ] the ], and ]), ], ], and ] broadcast popular BBC programmes to people outside the UK, as does ] in ]. BBC Worldwide also runs a 24-hour news channel, ]. In addition, BBC television news appears nightly on many ] stations in the ], as do reruns of BBC programmes from Lionheart TV. | |||
| BBC Worldwide also maintains the publishing arm of the BBC and it is the third-largest publisher of consumer magazines in the United Kingdom . BBC Magazines, formerly known as BBC Publications, publishes the '']'' and a number of magazines that support BBC programming such as '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. In addition, BBC Worldwide acquired the independent magazine publisher Origin Publishing in 2004. | |||
| ===Internet=== | |||
| {{main|bbc.co.uk}} | |||
| The bbc.co.uk ], formerly BBCi and before that BBC Online, includes a comprehensive ] and archive. It is the UK's most-visited digital destination with over 3 million web pages and that number is rising fast every day. According to ] TrafficRank system, in January 2006 bbc.co.uk was the 11th most popular ] website in the world. (References: - ) | |||
| The website allows the BBC to produce sections which complement the various programmes on television and radio, and it is common for viewers and listeners to be told ] for the bbc.co.uk sections relating to that programme. The site also allows users to listen to most Radio output live and for seven days after broadcast using its ]-based "Radio Player"; some TV content is also distributed in ] format. A new system known as ] is currently under development, which uses ] and ] technology to deliver both radio and TV content for offline use for up to 7 days. | |||
| An overview of the BBC Internet Services network is available here . | |||
| In recent years some major on-line companies and politicians have complained that the bbc.co.uk website receives too much funding from the television licence, meaning that other websites are unable to compete with the vast amount of advertising-free on-line content available on bbc.co.uk. Some have proposed that the amount of licence fee money spent on bbc.co.uk should be reduced — either being replaced with funding from advertisements or subscriptions, or a reduction in the amount of content available on the site. In response to this the BBC carried out an investigation, and has now set in motion a plan to change the way it provides its online services. bbc.co.uk will now attempt to fill in gaps in the market, but will guide users to other websites for currently existing market provision. (For example, instead of providing local events information and timetables, users will be guided to outside websites already providing that information.) | |||
| Part of this plan included the BBC closing some of its websites, and rediverting money to redevelop other parts. | |||
| ===Interactive=== | |||
| {{main|BBCi}} | |||
| BBCi is the brand name for the BBC's ] ] services, which are available through ] (digital terrestrial), as well as ] (satellite) and (cable) ] and ]. Unlike ], BBCi is able to display full-colour graphics, photographs, and video, as well as educational programs. Recent examples include the interactive sports coverage for ] and ] matches, which starred young actress ] and an interactive national IQ test. All of the BBC's digital television stations, (and radio stations on ]), allow access to the BBCi service. However, the amount of content available on the digital television BBCi service does not currently match the amount available on Ceefax, which is still available on ] ]. | |||
| BBCi provides viewers with over 120 interactive TV programmes every year, as well as the 24/7 service. It also has video weather and news. | |||
| == Unions at the BBC == | |||
| All staff at the BBC are represented by ], along with journalistic staff by the ] and electrical staff by ]. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| #Briggs, Asa. - '''''The BBC - The First Fifty Years''''' - Condensed version of the five-volume history by the same author. - Oxford University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-19-212971-6 | |||
| #Coulton, Barbara. - '''''Louis MacNeice in the BBC''''' - Writer and producer from 1941 to 1961 in the Features Department of BBC radio. - Faber and Faber, 1980. ISBN 0-571-11537-3 | |||
| #Gilder PhD., Eric. - '''''Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the USA'''''. - Historical background relating to the British Broadcasting Company, Ltd., its founding companies; their transatlantic connections; General Post Office licensing system; commercial competitors from Europe prior to World War II and offshore during the 1960s. - "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003. ISBN 973-651-596-6 | |||
| #Milne, Alasdair. - '''''The memoirs of a British broadcaster''''' - History of the Zircon spy satellite affair, written by a former Director General of the BBC. A series of BBC radio programmes called "''The Secret Society''" led to a raid by police in both England and Scotland to seize documents as part of a government censorship campaign. - Coronet, 1989. - ISBN 0-34-049750-5 | |||
| #Moran, Lord. - '''''Churchill at War 1940 to 1945 - The Memoirs of Churchill's Doctor''''', with an introduction by Lord Moran's son, John, the present Lord Moran. - This diary paints an intimate portrait of Churchill by Sir Charles Watson, his personal physician (Lord Moran), who spent the war years with the Prime Minister. In his diary, Moran recorded insights into Churchill's character, and moments when he let his guard down, including his views about the BBC being riddled with communists. - Carroll & Graf, 2002. Reissue ISBN 0-78-671041-1 | |||
| #Parker, Derek. - David & Charles - '''''Radio: The Great Years''''' - History of BBC radio programmes from the beginning until the date of publication. 1977. ISBN 0-7153-7430-3 | |||
| #Spangenberg, Jochen. - '''''The BBC in Transition. Reasons, Results and Consequences''''' - Encompassing account of the BBC and influencing external factors until 1996. - Deutscher Universitaetsverlag. 1997. ISBN 3-8244-4227-2 | |||
| #Wilson, H.H. - '''''Pressure Group''''' - History of the political fight to introduce commercial television into the United Kingdom. - Rutgers University Press, 1961. | |||
| #West, W.J. - '''''Truth Betrayed''''' a critical assessment of the BBC, London, 1987, ISBN 0-7156-2182-3 | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| ===BBC web pages=== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ===Articles from news websites=== | |||
| * | |||
| * — ] ] | |||
| * — ] ] | |||
| * — ] ] | |||
| * — ] ] | |||
| * — ] ] | |||
| ===Personal sites=== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 12:47, 26 April 2006
BBC is shit, fuck all you niggers