Not an Existential Threat: The War Against the BBC

Barwise and York’s book offers unexpected conclusions while equipping the reader to counter arguments against the BBC, writes Chris Bateman

A television set, tuned to nothing, snow dancing across the screen, the pixels bend and swerve, an image slowly forms. A man with a look of comic indifference, almost defiant, tips his panama hat towards a belligerent, demon formed Liquorice Allsorts Man – months of nightmares ensue. The picture scrambles, time shifts forward, it reforms again, this time a city nightscape tinted green comes into view. White flashes trace across the rooftops, followed seconds later by explosions, destruction – we are at war, the newsreader says. Baghdad is slowly dismantled by Tomahawk cruise missiles, not for the last time. The screen fades. Now years later, post-rock soundscapes fill a tenement bedroom at Christmastime and there is a slight sense of disappointment as the DJ announces Mogwai only made number 2 – an outrage. The record button on the hi-fi cassette deck is almost worn away to nothing, switched on and off, on and off throughout the holidays as John Peel winds down his Festive Fifty.

Growing up in post-war Britain invariably means growing up with memories tinged by BBC output. Think of any significant, or more often insignificant, cultural, news or sporting event and there’s a good chance the Beeb were involved. From its origins in the 1920s under the directorship of its stern, Victorian principled Glaswegian Lord Reith, to today’s multiple platform media, the BBC has always strived to live its founding principles, namely, to inform, educate and entertain. In doing this, it has permeated so many aspects of our lives. In television drama, pioneering music broadcasting or, somewhat more controversially, accusations around their coverage of contemporary news (more of which later), the institution has a huge role in shaping not only our national conversation but our national pysche.

The War Against the BBC has a warning for us: the institution is under attack. Rival companies, politicians and a roster of hostile groups all motivated by their own commercial and political interests are seeking to denigrate, defame and generally chip away at its life source, the Licence Fee. In this polemical, yet academically sound book, Patrick Barwise and Peter York lay out the case for the defence. Across fourteen detailed and thoroughly researched chapters (plus five appendices), they set out to define what the BBC is, assess its role in today’s media landscape and take a deep dive into its rivals, exploring motivations and rebutting accusations while questioning the often shady and obscure motivations for the attacks. It may not come as a surprise to discover that many of the BBC’s enemies are motivated by business interests. Though often obscured by dark money and hidden political agendas, there emerges a common bond between these forces, united in the interests of media conglomerates, right wing politicians and free market capitalists. It is against this cadre that the BBC has had to withstand a slew of criticisms and attacks in the media. A crucial point made by the authors, and one of the central reasons for writing the book is that as a publically funded organisation, the BBC can’t mount this defence itself.

One of the book’s most useful functions is how it serves as a cheat sheet for those looking to understand the motivations and origins of the apparently grassroots organisations who regularly call for the BBC to be defunded, or cry foul of the licence fee, protesting its unfairness. Or indeed the other trope of Beeb bashing – the impartiality of its news coverage. All these arguments and more are tackled and handled with a sense of fairness which deploys credible research and academic studies to powerful effect. The reader is left with a sense of outrage and, personally, a feeling of great panic that those looking to destroy the BBC are given a huge platform and even more creditability in the public conversation.

The arguments and allegations of bias around news coverage are particularly interesting, reaching some unexpected conclusions. A particular favourite of right-wing commentators is to accuse the BBC of being unfair to both small and capital C Conservatives in their news coverage. Barwise and York find this to be to the opposite of the truth. Indeed, if anything, the BBC tends to be favourable to whoever is in government at the time, a trend that has increased a great deal since the Tories came to power in 2010. Similarly, when it comes to coverage of Brexit – surely the most divisive news subject in post-war Britain – it is reported to have “sidelined” left-wing arguments in favour of membership. Although they state that on Brexit, the evidence of bias in the coverage was “less clear-cut”, it concludes that any notion that their reporting was pro-Remain or systematically left-wing is simply false.

Regarding news coverage, it would have been useful, certainly from my own perspective, for the authors to address accusations that the BBC’s coverage of the Scottish Independence referendum and ongoing movement reinforces an anti-Independence agenda. This is an accusation that flares up with a particular virulence, especially online and has, arguably, led to a degree of damage in public confidence around the issue. Addressing this with the same rigour and depth of analysis as they have applied to the reporting of other major stories of the past decade would have been a welcome addition to the book.

One of the most powerful ideas that The War Against the BBC offers is the idea of BBC Citizenship. It is the sense that the BBC is ingrained in our national psyche; it is a part of us and our stories, and we are part of it. The introduction to this book has the subtitle “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Till It’s Gone”. The argument that the BBC is “central to the country’s understanding of itself and the rest of the world” is convincing. We must safeguard what we have, or face sleepwalking into losing it all. Ask yourself who you would rather have running BBC television for example. Market forces would only push for rating winners, cutting off original or new content that was untested. Under these circumstances, the authors point out, programmes such as Bake Off or Fleabag would never have had a chance. This is one of the main points to the BBC, it can and does support talent and this isn’t just on television.

The threats to the BBC are not existential; market forces, political ideology, technology and a hostile government would all gladly see it dismantled tomorrow. As mentioned above, the power of this book is how it equips the reader to counter arguments against the BBC. As the authors are keen to emphasise, the BBC needs your help. This review began with what the BBC meant to me, ask yourself what it means to you. It can’t always defend itself, so if you want to ensure it is still there for future generations, to help it continue to be part of our lives, then you need to read this book.

The War Against the BBC by Patrick Barwise and Peter York is published by Penguin and is available now