Let's see if a shameless plug does the trick

I would just like to take this opportunity to plug the BBC's excellent, satirical radio show Newsjack.  I have a vested interest in this.  I have submitted several sketches to the programme over the last few years.  So far, I have had nothing broadcast.  Last week, however, I came close.  Something I had written (I don't know what) was recorded, but didn't make the transmission.  This is very flattering, although I don't get paid.  I have just submitted more material and would like all my readers to give the show a listen.  I can genuinely recommend the show, and if the producers trace the sudden surge in listeners back to me, it is possible they will pay me for the plug, if not the material.

You're welcome.

A popularity contest

I am perhaps unusual – at least amongst people who don’t work for the BBC – in harbouring no serious objections to the TV licence fee. I don’t relish paying it; I don’t relish paying for anything. I do, however, think that at a little under £3 a week – per household, not even per person – it represents excellent value. I think that the principle of funding a public service broadcaster in this way is fine and admirable. And I think that because of the way it is funded, the BBC has produced innovative and envied television.

It shouldn’t be surprising then that I view Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s suggestion that the fee could be reduced with suspicion. His reference to the “very constrained financial situation” is an attempt to link it with wider austerity measures that is disingenuous if not outright deceitful. The finances of the BBC are in no way linked to the budget deficit the government is so desperate to cut. If Mr Hunt believes that the BBC should suffer simply because other people and other bodies are, shouldn’t he suggest some sort of pay cap across the whole of the economy?

The true motives behind this lie, I suspect, lies in the unpopularity of the licence fee. I may be unusual in not objecting to it, but I am certainly not unusual in failing to enjoy paying. This government is acutely aware that it is heading for deep unpopularity with some of its decisions. Ultimately, I suspect that in suggesting the licence fee be reduced they are attempting to offset the effects of massive spending cuts across the board.