For a start, it's funded by the people, not by the government, and second, it has a legal mandate to be fair. It was established under a Royal Charter which states:
Is the BBC run by people? If so, there will be bias. That's just what people do. No fancy memo can change people.
That's not a "fancy memo", it's the Royal Charter by which the BBC operates. It's a legally binding document which governs its existence.
And if it violates that obligation, what?
Information about Royal Charters and their legal status is not hard to find. Let me Google it for you.
privycouncil.independent.gov.uk
You're so funny. Look, a shiny memo! What penalties have been imposed on the BBC for bias, other than "whoops, sorry about that"?Information about Royal Charters and their legal status is not hard to find. Let me Google it for you.
Frequently Asked Questions on Royal Charters
Frequently Asked Questions on Royal Charters
Sorry, I'm done looking things up for you. The information is out there if you care.
Because you can't, dude. It's just sort of comical, almost, ironically, like a BBC comedy.
No, the information is out there. That you don't go looking for it yourself indicates that you're not really interested in the answer to your question, and that you're only asking it in order to score rhetorical points.
Do they go around collecting that money themselves? No. The government collects that money, and then gives it to the BBC. Which is how the government funds everything they do.
Who enforces that legal mandate, to the extent it even can be enforced?
It's not government money. It's not a tax. It's literally a service charge that people pay to the corporation.
The courts, of course. Like everything legal.
You can call it whatever you like, but it's a tax, because you don't have a choice about paying it, even if you don't watch the BBC.
The money goes to the BBC, not to the government.
My sister doesn't have a TV licence as she doesn't have a TV. It's not a tax, and you have a choice.
To not have a TV, sure. But if you have one, you have to pay. Just like you don't have to pay VAT on the TV if you don't buy one. It's still a tax.
Even if you don't have a TV, if you stream any live television programming or watch any BBC production online, you are supposed to pay the license fee
Which is why is always under so much more scrutiny than other organisations and why we have a right to know what it is doing.
Executives are sacked, up to and including the head honcho. And yes it does happen. It has to allow independent access to its management processes and so on. All of which have happened. I doubt there is any broadcaster in the world that is under more scrutiny.
The BBC took over the collection of its voluntary subscription fee back in 1991, the government isn't involved in the collection or enforcement of the collection.
If that was the case do you think Thatcher would have let it get away with what she thought was its bias?
