John Whittingdale’s warmth towards the broadcaster at Edinburgh will be set aside to test with the publication of the white paperUnder attack for being badly managed and charging too much,a venerable (respected because of age, distinguished) British institution hit back final week by claiming its service and presenters offered great value for money: “For us, though, and it’s never been approximately the money. Its approximately serving the nation and ensuring the public benefits.” The plight of the Met Office,which made this statement on Friday, will be understood by the BBC, and which also faces competition from cheaper,faster or bigger international rivals and a major change in its fortunes.
In contrast to the meteorological service, whose 93-year contract with the BBC is to be set aside out to tender, or the clouds over the corporation itself appeared to lift a little final week. Not the actual clouds of course,as everyone knows that when TV executives gather each year for the annual Guardian Edinburgh International TV festival they bring their own microclimate to keep them inside drinking and talking for days. But the storm clouds that gathered before the summer holidays in the form of a shock funding deal and a green paper that used figures culled from the pages of the BBC-baiting Daily Mail.
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Source: theguardian.com