The BBC

This is the first post for Tyger so I would expect the number of visitors to the site to be between 0 and me; however I refuse to be down beat as everyone has to start somewhere.   The BBC strike Of course we should all support worker representation.  We should stand shoulder to shoulder with the downtrodden, we should provide hot soup from a flask, we should never and repeat never cross the picket line.   Of course the BBC continued broadcasting with a selection of re-runs and bulletins provided by a few scabby hacks.  However what if you actually agree that the BBC should trim the fat?  The BBC grew by 6,000 employees under Greg Dyke and now appears bloated and inefficient.  As the BBC exhales a huge sigh of relief following its renewed Royal Charter the government’s terms and conditions are beginning to show.  Mark Thompson of course is the fall guy, the new Director General, who yesterday stated that the strike was “a price worth paying” to facilitate the major reforms that make up his brief.   I agree.  Greater efficiency is needed within the BBC if it’s to have any future as a public corporation.  Commercial broadcasters such as Talk Sport have long criticised Auntie’s resources; remarking that while they employ 2-3 (presenter included) in a radio studio, the BBC employs 10-15.  Supporters of the BBC should welcome this reform that will take the bread from the table of its critics.  If the BBC can save £355m that could be reinvested in programming, us TV licence payers should rejoice.   Of course there will be 4,000 victims of the purges and for them we must spare a thought.  But there has never been a better time to be a journalist, as new media continues to spring up around the country.  Many outlets will snap up the skilled journalists and the technicians will find work in the ever-increasing sphere of digital TV.  Experience will count for everything for the redundant, and nowhere better to gain experience than the BBC.