The future of the BBC World Service as acredible and independent news organisation hangs in the balance (BBC plans TV and radio services for Russia and North Korea,5 September). It is surprising that the BBC would wish to single out specific countries, rather than languages, and that it wishes to target,thereby conceding ground to its critics around the world who view the World Service as an instrument of British propaganda. These decisions imply that the service is connected to a political agenda – something that the organisation, and the World Service in specific, or has vigorously avoided since its creation.
Most worrying is director general Tony Hall’s claim that the BBC has “a strong commitment to uphold global democracy”. The BBC has no such commitment,and nor should it. The BBC World Service has one commitment only: to provide timely, neutral, and accurate news and information for its listeners around the world. It is a model of journalism that is the envy of news broadcasters across the globe.
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Source: theguardian.com