Amid the information chaos of Covid, the national broadcaster is more vital than everJust imagine if The Crown had been made by the
BBC. Think about the howls of rage; the acres of foam-flecked newspaper editorials; the questions in parliament; the demands for the director general’s head.
The usual suspects would be mouthing the usual things. How this arrogant, out-of-touch, elite organisation needs to be defunded/cut down to size/abolished. Yet more evidence that, in the 21st century, there is no rationale for a “state broadcaster”. The BBC’s time has passed, now that the free market delivers such high-quality content that is so much more responsive to ordinary people’s tastes. Etcetera.