Why the BBC matters

It doesnrsquot matter how robust a democracy is how free its society is most governments fear maybe even dislike free media and more so if it is funded by the taxpayer In the US poorly funded public service broadcasting is facing another round of cuts In France Germany and the Netherlands reorganisation of public broadcasting has tried to make it more lsquolike the BBCrsquo Funnily enough in the UK the land of the BBC there is a strong antiBBC feeling within the conservativeled governmentA policeman keeps watch outside BBC Broadcasting House in London The BBC occupies a unique place because of its sheer longevity 90 years quality and influence over the emerging and developed world And because it is a public broadcaster PicGetty ImagesThat is what it would seem from reading its very free voluble and rightleaning tabloids For most of this year there has been severe questioning of everything the BBC does mdash funding programmes hosts processes Some of it is justified in the light of scandals such as late Jimmy Savillersquos abuse coming outIn a green paper released last week consultations were invited on everything to do with the BBC Its royal charter the constitutional basis for the BBC will get over in 2016 The green paper starts a review process leading to a new charter by 2017It invites opinions on everything from the BBCrsquos funding and content to its governance and mission There is a sense one gets of disapproval though the Green Paper does laud the BBC intermittently Like Stewart Lee says while writing a somewhat angsted piece in The Guardian about the composition of the board that will oversee this process ldquohellipeveryone knows the BBC has been doing something wrong and must be punished just as soon as some appropriate crimes can be agreed uponrdquo Most liberal papers agree on the witch hunt theoryIt would be a pity if it isGlobally news is difficult shrinking politicised or simply nonexistent in several markets The best news brands are born when there is a notforprofit body funding them The BBC is funded by the licence fees paid by British taxpayers The Guardian is run by The Scott Trust formed in 1936 to ldquoprotect the liberal editorial line of The Guardian from interference by future proprietorsrdquo Al Jazeera is funded by the ruling family of Qatar Even within this list the BBC occupies a unique place because of its sheer longevity 90 years quality and influence over the emerging and developed world And because it is a public broadcaster Note that the BBC is very popular as an alternate neutral voice in the US which is otherwise dominated by rightleaning media Not just the news part but its commercial arm BBC Worldwide too does a good job It is the largest distributor of television programming outside of the US studios with Sherlock Wolf Hall natural history among a host of other showsFor someone from India mdash with its underdeveloped news market the role the BBC plays seems pretty evident As the one big notforprofit broadcaster it stands up and does the programming in news and entertainment that most private broadcasters would not And because it does this job well it forces the private part of the industry to push up standards too This then helps raise the overall level of debate in news and the general quality of programming in nonnews Think of it as a venture capital investor in developmental programming that pushes up the quality of debate and discussion that media normally attractsIt reemphasises therefore the role that a good public service broadcaster can play In India Prasar Bharati has not been allowed to play that role because no government has ever let it go free It is a positive intervention that works beautifully when it works If the UK government changes too many things in the way the BBC is governed or decides on content making it bureaucratic and unwieldy it would be a pity More importantly it would be a big blow for democracies like India where the idea of a freefromthestate public service broadcaster is just beginning to be discussedThe writer is a media specialist and author Follow her on Twitter at httptwittercomvanitakohlik