Top-slicing is a ‘slippery slope for the licence fee’
THE NUJ has slammed new government proposals to “top-slice” the BBC licence fee.
The long-awaited Digital Britain report, launched by Communications Minister Lord Carter in June, proposed that part of the licence fee income should fund news provision beyond the BBC.
The union welcomed the official recognition that action must be taken to deal with the crisis in local and regional journalism, but said it would be “short-sighted” to plunder the BBC’s income as a funding source.
General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: “Top-slicing of the BBC licence fee would undermine the corporation’s independence and put quality broadcasting at risk. We agree that funding needs to be found to support news provision outside the BBC, but there are other options that wouldn’t inflict the same damage to the cornerstone of British public service broadcasting.
“It would be the start of a slippery slope towards the politicisation of the BBC. When politicians start to decide how the licence fee is divvied up, the independence and impartiality of the corporation will be put at risk.
“The government has said it will consider other options and that is exactly what it must do. We can’t allow the BBC to become a political football.”
The NUJ believes that the government should conduct a detailed investigation into the use of levies to help fund public service broadcasting outside the BBC. The union has funded research by the Institute of Public Policy Research that came up with several alternative schemes.
On the day the Digital Britain report came out, the Office of Fair Trading announced that its media ownership rules would not be relaxed to allow the regional newspaper chains to increase their holdings. This was welcomed by the NUJ after months of campaigning.
Jeremy Dear said: “The vital importance of vibrant local media to our democracy has been recognised by all sides of the debate. The union will continue to press the government for a strengthened public interest test to ensure that ownership rules work in the interests of citizens and communities.”