Thursday 26 May 2011

BBC West-Briton?

A leaked report of an internal BBC Wales document outlined a series of potential programme cuts involving current affairs and political shows and coverage of the National Eisteddfod and the Royal Welsh Show.

The BBC executive has warned that cuts of up to 20% are needed across the board so the organisation can cope with a license fee freeze together with new responsibilities to fund S4C and the BBC World Service.
The plans will also affect Welsh sports coverage including football coverage  on Radio Wales and even if Swansea get their well deserved promotion to the English Partnership I understand  there will be no coverage of midweek games.
 This has come as no real surprise, as  the BBC have perpetrating a con on the Welsh public for years with its claims to be investing in Wales.
     
  This from cooperation that just spent millions on the Royal Wedding and  is currently boring me to death with the  Chelsea Flower show. But it plans to decimate. the political and cultural coverage of Wales

But Anyway the BBC commitment to Welsh Broadcasting is merely to flatter us whilst actually doing very little . Sticking a BBC Cymru/Wales logo on a program  and saying that it "is made in Wales" doesn't make it Welsh and this can be shown when you look at some of these "Welsh" programmes.

Dr Who.
When the new Dr Who started had a number of episodes set in Wales but since the departure  of Russel T Davies it seems the program are made in Wales and the Welsh connection has all but vanished.
Holby City/Casualty
Simply moved production from Bristol where it is still set and has no Welsh connection.
Sherlock,
Only made in Wales no Welsh connection any BBC Cymru/Wales of no consequence.

And the same could be said of Children program such as Tracy Beaker and Young Dracula  where some of the young Actors may be Welsh  and it is filmed here there is no Welsh emphasis and BBC  Cymru/Wales do not seem to produce any children's programs on a Welsh theme.

So the BBC future plans seem to be to be to produce more and more programs in Wales whilst cutting programmes on or about Wales.

 I am always annoyed when I hear the words "Made in Wale for the BBC" though they should add "But it has nothing to do with Wales"  (Sherlock for example) : because apart from creating some jobs it is meaningless to the cultural life of our Nation.

It seems the attack on S4C was only just the beginning of the attack on actual broadcasting for Wales( rather than Broadcasting  in Wales) and the  BBC plans to move out of London are only there to cut costs and they policy seems to be is to remove Wales from the media and  treat our Nation  a little more than a region of England which is of course is what they always have thought it is.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

interesting piece on the battle for broadcasting programmes in Welsh (and stuff from Wales in English) by the BBC in the 1920s and 1930s in Sion Jobbins' book, The Phenomenon of Welshness.

http://www.carreg-gwalch.com/product/phenomenon_of_welshness_the/

It feels like we always to have to fight and justify ourselves every generation. Maybe Gwyn Alf was right after all!

Anonymous said...

I'm up very early in the morning and I listen to the weather reports. It's almost totally......Scotland and then EnglundandWales. Then, when you get an even like the golf held at Newport last year coming go Wales....it's "smirk smirk....they have such terrible weather down there....smirk!". Wales doesn't count. And indeed, the people don't try and stand up for themselves as witnessed in recent Assembly elections.

Anonymous said...

its year zero for the welsh media. what is to be done? gradualism would not appear to be an option.

cynicalHighlander said...

Seems like you are starting to have the problem we have had for years that's is why the following online newspaper was set up which carries a profanity filter with the BBC.

http://www.newsnetscotland.com/speakers-corner/2562-pacific-quay-stone-kops-need-to-change.html

A link to your site has been posted at No.42 on Brian Taylor's blog we'll see how long it lasts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13563346?postId=109104149#comment_109104149

Anonymous said...

There's an article in sion Jobbins' book, The Phenomenon of Welshness on the early struggle in the 1920s and 1930s to get the BBC to broadcast in Welsh and for Wales as a nation.

http://www.carreg-gwalch.com/product/phenomenon_of_welshness_the/

seems like Ground Hog Day.

Anonymous said...

As they seem to want to do with Scotland.

Anonymous said...

You've forgotten to mention BBC Wales's Merlin. Why so many bloomin Irish - it's our mythology!

Hendre

glynbeddau said...

I'm not surprised that there a similar perception in Scotland. It does seem that the Bigwigs at BBC Cymru/Wales and BBC Scotland feel the need to promote the Union and wil only produce safe programmes. Thought Still Lives was one of fumiest comedies on the Beeb and wonder why it wasn't promoted more.
Hendre.
Yes Merlin is an example where there is nothing to relate to the Welsh origins and it could easily have been called Fred.