Criticism Of The BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) took its present form on 1 January 1927 when Sir John Reith became its first Director General. Reith stated that impartiality and objectivity were the essence of professionalism in broadcasting.
Criticisms of the corporation's perceived lack of impartiality and objectivity have since been made by many observers. Owing to the corporation's self-professed high standards of programming, and its self-proclaimed aim to be impartial and unbiased in its reporting, whenever the corporation is perceived to be falling short of these high expectations, or its reporting is viewed as more sympathetic with one side of an argument than the other, criticism may be levelled at the BBC.
Another key area of criticism is the mandatory licence fee, as competitors argue that this means of financing is unfair and has the result of limiting their ability to compete with the corporation. Also, any accusations of waste or over-staffing causes some pressure from viewers, who are paying for this coverage. In addition, there is uncertainty to what extent the BBC is allowed to compete with other organisations and to what extent it can have a commercial presence in world markets.
Read more about Criticism Of The BBC: 21st Century, 'London-centrism', 'Overstaffing', Funding, BBC Russia, Wales and Scotland Coverage Controversy, Scotland Referendum, European Union Coverage, 'Off Payroll' Tax Arrangements
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