Harrett & Bawltrey

George Duff, following his previous article on the proms row, explains why, amidst the growing calls to 'defund the BBC', the BBC is in dire need of radical change and scaling back.  A shift in Broadcasting House is necessary for its survival If the proms row has had an impact on the BBC's reputation, it's awareness of the BBC's structural biases and vulnerabilities to personal politics. The BBC, as an impartial public broadcaster, which has attempted to bring up issues relating to diversity and structural racism in society, has, to use their words, ceded to their 'unconscious biases'. The BBC's slow response has left it vulnerable to attacks from the government and commentators, fuelling debate that largely occurs on political lines. The BBC's reform shouldn't just start from the top, which as the BBC's Australian counterpart (the ABC) has shown, doesn't change anything. The infuriating responses by the public to the BBC's attempts ...

George Duff, the Express' International Editor, explains how the row over the Last Night of the Proms reflects on the BBC and it's role in British society in the future. The BBC has said that Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory will be played without their lyrics The row over the BBC proms demonstrates that, far from the BBC being a progressive organisation that reflects the people in the UK, the BBC is in fact a regressive organisation that had failed to understand the public mood, instead putting themselves on a pedestal, serving as the de facto arbiter of all things cultural and political. For those abroad, many may find it bizarre that the national public broadcaster that claims to reflect the diversity of the United Kingdom would choose to take away songs which many do, in fact, view as important to our culture and history.  We're all aware that the motivation behind this decision is to respond to calls for more diversity and also to reassess Britain's colon...