heresiarch | House of Comments

Mar

2010

16: The Blogger, Not the Director General

This week’s Podcast features The Heresiarch, writer of Heresy Corner, and Juliette Samuel of Lazy Hyena and Guy News.

We talked about:

Mark Thompson (the Director General of the BBC, not the political blogger) caused much consternation with his announcement that radio stations 6Music and Asian Network are to close as part of a cost cutting initiative across the BBC. But should they have been running these channels in the first place? [Infographic of BBC spending]
With the continuing growth of ‘user generated content’, is the BBC’s remit becoming ever more out of date? For that matter, is the idea of a ‘broadcaster’ becoming obsolete?
A deal was recently reached between the various networks to host live televised debates between the party leaders. Will this be a good thing, will it make any difference in the long run – and why is it finally happening now, after all the years of dancing around this issue?
In spite of the ongoing allegations of bullying levelled at Gordon Brown, Labour seem to be resurgent in the polls, with a recent poll placing them only two points behind the Tories.
Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative Party’s Deputy Chairman and one of their principle funders, has announced that he is a ‘non-dom’ and doesn’t pay UK tax on earnings outside Britain. This has led to a widespread debate about party funding, political donations and the future of party politics.