BY SAMMIE JONES
The government has been warned to save BBC Birmingham, with a few days to go before the white paper on the the broadcaster’s future is released.
The corporation’s branch in Birmingham is said to be reeling with under funding. Whilst half the usual amount of investments spent on the BBC in other regions in country is reinvested, less than 15 percent of the £943m our license fee payers spend will be re-invested next year
The white paper that will determine the future of the BBC will be published within a week , and experts have warned that, if it fails to act now, the Corporations outlet there may disappear into the abyss. .
Among the politicians calling the broadcaster to account with respect its expected obligations to the Birmingham branch, are Prime Minister David Cameron, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Amid the stern criticism against the BBC from various forces from the political fraternity, it has emerged that The Birmingham Post has been campaigning for more than a year for more investment from the BBC. It came after the broadcaster invested just £80 million across the wider Midlands region, which includes the east, in a year – less than it spends in London in 12 days – despite this region contributing more than any other.
Investment from the BBC has since soared to £150 million – a high figure nevertheless below the 50 per cent return campaigners are demanding.
The BBC have explained the discontentment felt in their Birmingham branch. In response to the furore, a BBC spokesman told The eye of media.com:
‘We continue to be committed to having a significant presence in Birmingham and we’re building a vibrant and sustainable base for the BBC’s future here, including being the BBC’s home of skills and talent. Last week we said Birmingham will become our centre of excellence for diverse programmes and programme makers, a further commitment to our base in the city.
By the end of 2016, the amount spent by the BBC in the Midlands will be in excess of £125m. This is more than 50% up on where we were a couple of years ago and all done against a backdrop of difficult financial circumstances for the BBC. In the past year we have brought 300 new jobs to Birmingham and there are now more than 700 staff based in The Mailbox HQ.’’
RIFT
The relationship between the Government and the broadcaster is believed to have deteriorated, and therefore played a role in the alleged scant financial contribution to the development in their Birmingham branch.
The rift is said to have been caused after the BBC decided to run stories about the private life of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, John Whittingdale. It was revealed that Whittingdale once dated a hooker, a revelation that annoyed members of the government and some members of the press.
However, that decision by the BBC was justified since it was factually based, and the afforded right of freedom of expression entitled them to run the story, because it was arguably in public interest to have the facts of that story public, and leave the public to make what they will of the explanation subsequently given by the Secretary of State for Culture. The Culture Secretary of State claimed not to have known that the woman in question was a prostitute, but even then, the BBC were right to leave it to the public to decide whether they believed him or not.
The government would be wrong if they withheld investment over the dispute, but since there is no evidence of this, it is safer to conclude that the BBC did the best they could within their means, if that was the best they can do. The eye of media.com contacted BBC Birmingham but was unable to get an immediate official quote, but was told they would get back to us in due course.
