The UK Today

At a time when every media article about the BBC seems to highlight either past failings or future uncertainties, a bit of good news. The BBC has won the Zayed Prize, an environmental award worth $0.5million. Whilst some broadcasters would make a big song and dance about winning such a prize, good old Auntie remains quietly reserved, refusing to crow about exactly the sort of thing it does best. Could you imagine any commercial broadcaster winning such an award? Of course, no profit in it.

Will someone please step forward with a coherent plan to take the BBC forward. While there is merit in some of the suggestions from the latest independant study, there is still too much focus on corporate methods of funding, including splitting the Beeb up. And I'd hardly consider Channel 4 as a shining beacon of light.

It isn't rowing anymore either. At least not on the BBC. I dread to think what sort of popularist hash ITV is going to make of the Boat Race.

For the last 6 years, we've had scare story after nightmare headline regarding the safety of the MMR vaccine, and possible links to autism. The consequence of this is that vaccination uptake is at a record low of 82%. And in some areas it is as low as 60%, a level at which herd-immunity is radically reduced.

Now we have the backlash, with The Lancet regretting its publication of Dr Wakefield's study, and various people and bodies falling over themselves to apportion blame.

But who ran all those scare stories over the last 6 years? That's right, the tabloid press. The same press now baying for blood. Maybe if they'd been a bit more in favour of reasoned debate from the beginning, we wouldn't be in the state we are, but what are a few children suffering from brain damage, deafness and other measles-related complications when compared to a few thousand more on your daily circulation figures.

And the government hasn't done itself many favours either.

The trouble at the Torygraph shows no sign of abating, with declining sales and internal strife. Worst of all, Richard Desmond is sniffing around the patient although hopefully either the Barclays or Associated Press will succeed.

The UK Today would like to offer Margaret McDonagh its heartiest congratulations on her imminent appointment to the institution formerly known as the House of Lords. She had a tough job and did it well. I for one would have wanted more than a peerage before I'd lower myself to handling Richard Desmond's dirty donations to the Labour Party.

Hip hip horay.

Or better still, what does he think he is supposed to be doing. Or even, just what sort of a person is the Acting Director-General of the BBC?

Well, based on his performance in BBC Radio 4's Feedback program, I guess the answer might be a cowardly wimp.

He said:

"The notion of exclusive here, exclusive there, exlusive everywhere is not appropriate for the BBC in the sense it is giving the flavour of competing with newspapers or whatever in bringing original exclusives."

Right. Well, I agree that the pursuit of exclusive stories should not be the sole objective of the BBC's news and current affairs staff, but that doesn't mean they should simply give up.

Byford continues:

"[the job of the BBC was] first and foremost to report news in a reliable, accurate and impartial manner."

Sure, but we're not talking court-of-law standards here. Or at least we shouldn't be, although in the post-Hutton media world it would seem that the BBC is supposed to reach unattainable standards of accuracy. Certainly higher than those of the Goverment or Intelligence Services.

An interesting interview with John Humphreys can be found here, and in the Radio Times. I would also recommend you catch his column in the Sunday Times while you can. Even better was his interviewing of Mark Byford on Today on Saturday.

So let's hear it for John Humphreys. A man not afraid to stand up to his bosses for what is right and good about the BBC. Thank you join for having the cojones to stand up to a bullying Government. And the less said about Mark Byford the better.