BBC Radio Scotland ripped off

[caltonjock]

https://caltonjock.com/2016/04/17/bb...-poke-rip-off/

[bekisman]

who's carltonjock? can't see him/her on member list

[caltonjock]

I am Caltonjock and a member. I happened across the forum whilst researching the MSP Tavish Scott. The forum seemed starved of political comment so I joined. I am a supporter of a free and independent Scotland. It seems to me that the Isles need to put the Lib/Dem's out to pasture since they have doing nothing to advance the well being of the islanders. Tavish Scott is a very rich man who is intent on remaining in politics just long enough to get a peerage.

[bekisman]

Oh I see, you've put 15 posts and had, let me see, nope, can only see posts that think you are a sock puppet.. I, like the others will let you get on with it..

[Bystander1]

So what has this Tovitch Scott got to do with Caithness.

[caltonjock]

There is a tangible link. If You read my blog you'll find it.

[pig whisperer]

I don't have a landline so my broadband connection is by a dongle, you don't say anything just give a, go to my blog or whatever, as my connection is slow I really cannot be bothered to wait for it to load, if you have anything useful to say, for crying out loud, SAY IT

[caltonjock]

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – An instrument of the State?

The BBC is funded by compulsory public subscription in the form of a Licence Fee. Licence payers paid £2.7billion in fees in (2002-2003) making the BBC the most extensive and best funded Public Service Broadcaster in the world. The delivery of Local, national and international news, current affairs, entertainment, social services and documentaries through the medium of radio retains it’s place at the head of broadcast media. Distribution of financial resources in support of the foregoing should reflect the financial contribution of all who purchase an annual licence fee. The BBC is in breach of the trust the people of Scotland have a right to expect of those who levy the compulsory annual licence fee against them.


Broadcasting and the Scottish Parliament – Scottish Broadcasting Commission Report: When the Scottish Broadcasting Commission published its final report in September 2008, the final recommendation was that “Scottish Ministers report should overall progress on implementing the report to the Scottish Parliament. This extract is from the final report.

A proposal to establish a Scottish Digital Network received unanimous support from the Scottish Parliament in October 2008 but little progress has been made on implementing the key recommendation — the establishment of a Scottish Digital Network to ensure secure and sustainable competition to the BBC for public service broadcasting in Scotland. Since broadcasting legislation is reserved, responsibility for establishing a network rests with the UK Government, which refused to implement the proposal. But notwithstanding the lack of Westminster support the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Digital Network Panel to investigate funding models for a Scottish Digital Network. It’s final report supported a publicly funded network financed by the BBC licence fee.
In October 2010, the UK Government and the BBC Trust secretly agreed a licence fee settlement for the BBC, to last until 2016-17. The agreement, which was decided in a matter of days, with no external consultation, had contrasting consequences, It endorsed the principle that television licence fee revenues could be used for public service broadcasting purposes other than the funding of core BBC services.

For example, from 2013-14, the S4C network in Wales will receive a significantly increased level of licence fee revenue support. But the new settlement also made it almost impossible for licence fee revenues to be allocated to a Scottish Digital Network before 2016-17. The UK Government also made it clear that it is not inclined to reconsider the licence fee settlement before 2016-17, and because the licence fee negotiations took place in private, Scotland’s public service broadcasting needs do not seem to have been considered during the decision-making process for the settlement.

It is imperative the Scottish Government is granted the power to establish broadcasting organisations in the Scotland Bill. Scotland’s public service broadcasting needs to implement recommendations which attract a consensus across the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Parliament should have greater powers to take action itself. However until the UK Government agrees to work with the Scottish Government on the establishment of a digital network for Scotland, the work of implementing the Broadcasting Commission’s report will remain unfulfilled. http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/127313/0121552.pdf


UK Networked Radio Stations

The BBC has ten Radio Stations broadcasting UK wide. All of these are based in London with very little, or in most cases no, Scottish output. London and the south-east of England accounted for 69 per cent of all BBC output in 2002-2003, with the other English regions accounting for most of the rest. These ten Radio Stations broadcast 63,740 hours of programmes between them in 2002-2003. Only four of the ten broadcast programmes that had originated in Scotland and the other six had no Scottish output at all. The Scottish output from these ten Stations was minuscule in comparison to their total hours of broadcasting i.e. 779 hours from a total of 63,740 hours (1.2%).



BBC Radio Scotland: BBC Radio Scotland is something of part-time service. It concludes each evening at midnight, carries a number of repeated programmes and broadcast for only 6,029 hours in 2002-2003. Radio Scotland/nan Gaidheal / Community Radio together broadcast for only 9,267 hours for the year. Such a limited service is grossly inadequate for a national community of over 5 million people. This London and south east of England bias at the BBC not only in its network broadcasting but on BBC Scotland television has no place in a fair and equitable society and certainly not in today’s age of advanced technology.


The BBC – Provision of Regional radio services

The BBC has eleven regional television services in England. These regional channels produce their own local programmes as well as commissions for the BBC network. They are:

BBC North, BBC West, BBC North West, BBC South, BBC North-East and Cumbria, BBC South East, BBC West Midlands, BBC South West, BBC East Midlands, BBC London, BBC East.

Excepting London and the South East, the BBC English regions have similar, or indeed smaller, populations to that of Scotland. However, this “similarity” in population is where the similarity ends. Unlike in Scotland, each of these English regions has a number of local BBC radio stations. The West Midlands region has five. East Midlands region has four. BBC West region has six. BBC East region also has six. The North region has four. The South East and South West regions each have two, The North West three and the North East and Cumbria region four.

A Scotland of over 5 million people can have only 9,267 of local BBC radio broadcasting hours per year while the BBC provides anything between 14,000 to 30,000 hours of local broadcasting for individual English regions defies belief and is nothing short of a national scandal. Not only is Scotland being short-changed by the BBC in its London-based UK Networks, Scotland is also being very much under provided for in the Corporation’s local services, and most notably radio provision.


English BBC local Radio Output: According to the BBC’s 2002-2003 Report and Accounts, there were 38 local BBC Radio Stations in England. These range from BBC Radio London with an adult catchment area of over 10 million to BBC Radio Guernsey with a catchment area of 50,000. UK network radio broadcasting aside, Scotland has a population equivalent to 10.5% that of England. One would therefore assume that BBC Radio Scotland should be broadcasting approximately 10.5% of the radio hours that the BBC English Regions broadcast. Indeed, given Scotland’s national status, one would think that BBC Scotland would be broadcasting more hours per head than the average English Region or County. But BBC Radio in Scotland broadcast only 3.9 % of what which is broadcast in England.


BBC local radio broadcasting hours in Scotland is paltry in comparison to the individual English regions despite Scotland having a larger population than most of them. That Scotland with over 5 million people can have only 9,267 of local BBC radio broadcasting hours per year while the BBC provides anything between 14,000 to 30,000 hours of local broadcasting for individual English regions defies belief and is scandalous misappropriation of Scottish taxpayers compulsory financial contribution.


Financial considerations: Finally, this overall London/English bias at the BBC is not in the best interest of the licence payer with London and the South-East of England being the most costly place to produce and broadcast programmes in the UK. The BBC produced 69% of all its radio programmes in London and the South-East in 2002-2003. Costs per Hour of Originated Programmes.

BBC Radio1: £ 2,700 per hour
BBC Radio2: £ 4,200 per hour
BBC Radio3: £ 4,000 per hour
BBC Radio4: £11,000 per hour
BBC Radio5: £ 7,900 per hour
Nations (Scotland) and Regions £500 per hour

As can be seen from the costs above, not only is it culturally and economically disadvantageous to the Nations and other regions of the UK that 69 % of the BBC’s output originates from London and the south-east, it also doesn’t make economic sense for the BBC and the licence payer. By its own admission, the BBC accepts and acknowledges that these programmes can be produced so much less expensively elsewhere.But the corporation insists on doing it’s own thing regardless of public concern.


Conclusion: Due to the underfunding of BBC Scotland, benefits of radio are limited or simply denied to the people of Scotland and the few that we do have are completely reliant on the decisions and whims of others. Those benefits are very much concentrated in London and the south-east of England, with the other English regions taking a lion’s share of the little that remains. Scotland having 25-30,000 hours of BBC radio broadcasting, which would be more proportionate to the service currently available in the English regions, could mean the creation of other national and/or local BBC Scotland services. This would not only produce a much more diverse service for the Scottish licence payer with an inevitable increase in jobs and opportunities but would end the national travesty and embarrassment of Scotland having only one national BBC Radio station trying to be all things to all men and all women and all age groups. Having a more abundant and diverse BBC Scotland service would be entirely in keeping with the situation in similarly sized and smaller neighbouring countries where they have a more extensive service from their Public Service Broadcaster.

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/bin...ihil_annex.pdf

[Bystander1]

What a load of regurgitated waffle - Calton Joke indeed

[gleeber]

Caltonjock asked a question. Is the BBC an instrument of the state? He then went on to develop an argument. Its what people with opinions do.
Insults on the org have become the rule rather than the exception. People with opinions are no longer welcome here. They are shot down with one line insults from people who think they are being smart. Its embarrassing.
The org used to be an award winning website and the forums were vibrant and informative. Now it's on it's knees.

[rob murray]

I am Caltonjock and a member. I happened across the forum whilst researching the MSP Tavish Scott. The forum seemed starved of political comment so I joined. I am a supporter of a free and independent Scotland. It seems to me that the Isles need to put the Lib/Dem's out to pasture since they have doing nothing to advance the well being of the islanders. Tavish Scott is a very rich man who is intent on remaining in politics just long enough to get a peerage.

"The isles" ahem...........Caithness. org ???? I didnt know I came from an island or are you geographically challenged, why not find an isle web site forum and post there, you come across a bit like Cameron "forgetting" what football team he supports and your misunderstanding shows the divide between power house central / west scotland and the rest of the country, particulary the highlands and islands, long neglected by NATS eg the SNP manifesto does not include any reference to the upgrading of the A82 : as for starved of political comment I dont think so..............look at all the threads before you jumped in to feed the politically starved, you only came on here a few weeks ago conveniently in the run upto the election. Dunno why you bother, as NATs will walk Caithness SUtherland and Easter Ross. Go play somewhere else eh

[rob murray]

There is a tangible link. If You read my blog you'll find it.

So your agenda is to drive traffic to your blog where amongst other pieces of your work they can gaze at your obvious totallly pro NAT stance, your just a junior wingsoverscotland why would we go to a second level NAT site eh ?

[caltonjock]

Oh dear! But could we address the content of my post. The BBC are dead set on maintaining their London centred control over the airwaves.

[rob murray]

Oh dear! But could we address the content of my post. The BBC are dead set on maintaining their London centred control over the airwaves.

So what about the rest of regional England Wales and NI, what about them equally neglected by London centric media, and if we get more scottish coverage £100 says it will be dominated by the west of scotland, to use a football example central scotttish teams are sick of having to travel up the A9 to the far north theyd rather ICTcand RCFC werent in the SPFL..( in ENgland Carlisle to Plynouth = twice as lonmg as Weedgie land - Inverness / Dingwall, so what makes me think that more scottish coverage will cover all of scotland equally ??? Judging by A82 neglect and abandonment of Caithness by anti nuclear NATS I dont see how the highlands and islands would get a fair coverage, more than likely 5 minutes after main ( central belt news ) .....in your view the BBC are London centric, you maybe correct but as ive said what about other regions, is it time thatv London decalred indy / UDI ??? just get your geography correct eh

[caltonjock]

The English regions are well catered for by the BBC. Even the smallest region is better served than Scotland. I agree all Scottish regions should be provided with their own radio programming distinct from each other. I am not a great soccer follower bu I accept your comment about travelling in Scotland. But the decision to avoid developing the highlands was taken in Westminster by a Labour government. A policy further developed and extended by the Tory Party. The SNP in Holyrood decided to reverse the policy hence the upgrading of the road to Inverness

[bekisman]

Org members: 10,050. active members: 1,046 says it all.. where did it all go wrong, or maybe simply posting links, instigates apathy?

[sids]

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – An instrument of the State?

The BBC is funded by compulsory public subscription in the form of a Licence Fee. Licence payers paid £2.7billion in fees in (2002-2003) making the BBC the most extensive and best funded Public Service Broadcaster in the world. The delivery of Local, national and international news, current affairs, entertainment, social services and documentaries through the medium of radio retains it’s place at the head of broadcast media. Distribution of financial resources in support of the foregoing should reflect the financial contribution of all who purchase an annual licence fee. The BBC is in breach of the trust the people of Scotland have a right to expect of those who levy the compulsory annual licence fee against them.


Broadcasting and the Scottish ParliamentWhen the Scottish Broadcasting Commission published its final report in September 2008, the final recommendation was that “Scottish Ministers report should overall progress on implementing the report to the Scottish Parliament. This extract is from the final report.

A proposal to establish a Scottish Digital Network received unanimous support from the Scottish Parliament in October 2008 but little progress has been made on implementing the key recommendation — the establishment of a Scottish Digital Network to ensure secure and sustainable competition to the BBC for public service broadcasting in Scotland. Since broadcasting legislation is reserved, responsibility for establishing a network rests with the UK Government, which refused to implement the proposal. But notwithstanding the lack of Westminster support the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Digital Network Panel to investigate funding models for a Scottish Digital Network. It’s final report supported a publicly funded network financed by the BBC licence fee.
In October 2010, the UK Government and the BBC Trust secretly agreed a licence fee settlement for the BBC, to last until 2016-17. The agreement, which was decided in a matter of days, with no external consultation, had contrasting consequences, It endorsed the principle that television licence fee revenues could be used for public service broadcasting purposes other than the funding of core BBC services.

For example, from 2013-14, the S4C network in Wales will receive a significantly increased level of licence fee revenue support. But the new settlement also made it almost impossible for licence fee revenues to be allocated to a Scottish Digital Network before 2016-17. The UK Government also made it clear that it is not inclined to reconsider the licence fee settlement before 2016-17, and because the licence fee negotiations took place in private, Scotland’s public service broadcasting needs do not seem to have been considered during the decision-making process for the settlement.

It is imperative the Scottish Government is granted the power to establish broadcasting organisations in the Scotland Bill. Scotland’s public service broadcasting needs to implement recommendations which attract a consensus across the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Parliament should have greater powers to take action itself. However until the UK Government agrees to work with the Scottish Government on the establishment of a digital network for Scotland, the work of implementing the Broadcasting Commission’s report will remain unfulfilled. http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/127313/0121552.pdf


UK Networked Radio Stations

The BBC has ten Radio Stations broadcasting UK wide. All of these are based in London with very little, or in most cases no, Scottish output. London and the south-east of England accounted for 69 per cent of all BBC output in 2002-2003, with the other English regions accounting for most of the rest. These ten Radio Stations broadcast 63,740 hours of programmes between them in 2002-2003. Only four of the ten broadcast programmes that had originated in Scotland and the other six had no Scottish output at all. The Scottish output from these ten Stations was minuscule in comparison to their total hours of broadcasting i.e. 779 hours from a total of 63,740 hours (1.2%).



BBC Radio Scotland: BBC Radio Scotland is something of part-time service. It concludes each evening at midnight, carries a number of repeated programmes and broadcast for only 6,029 hours in 2002-2003. Radio Scotland/nan Gaidheal / Community Radio together broadcast for only 9,267 hours for the year. Such a limited service is grossly inadequate for a national community of over 5 million people. This London and south east of England bias at the BBC not only in its network broadcasting but on BBC Scotland television has no place in a fair and equitable society and certainly not in today’s age of advanced technology.


The BBC – Provision of Regional radio services

The BBC has eleven regional television services in England. These regional channels produce their own local programmes as well as commissions for the BBC network. They are:

BBC North, BBC West, BBC North West, BBC South, BBC North-East and Cumbria, BBC South East, BBC West Midlands, BBC South West, BBC East Midlands, BBC London, BBC East.

Excepting London and the South East, the BBC English regions have similar, or indeed smaller, populations to that of Scotland. However, this “similarity” in population is where the similarity ends. Unlike in Scotland, each of these English regions has a number of local BBC radio stations. The West Midlands region has five. East Midlands region has four. BBC West region has six. BBC East region also has six. The North region has four. The South East and South West regions each have two, The North West three and the North East and Cumbria region four.

A Scotland of over 5 million people can have only 9,267 of local BBC radio broadcasting hours per year while the BBC provides anything between 14,000 to 30,000 hours of local broadcasting for individual English regions defies belief and is nothing short of a national scandal. Not only is Scotland being short-changed by the BBC in its London-based UK Networks, Scotland is also being very much under provided for in the Corporation’s local services, and most notably radio provision.


English BBC local Radio Output: According to the BBC’s 2002-2003 Report and Accounts, there were 38 local BBC Radio Stations in England. These range from BBC Radio London with an adult catchment area of over 10 million to BBC Radio Guernsey with a catchment area of 50,000. UK network radio broadcasting aside, Scotland has a population equivalent to 10.5% that of England. One would therefore assume that BBC Radio Scotland should be broadcasting approximately 10.5% of the radio hours that the BBC English Regions broadcast. Indeed, given Scotland’s national status, one would think that BBC Scotland would be broadcasting more hours per head than the average English Region or County. But BBC Radio in Scotland broadcast only 3.9 % of what which is broadcast in England.


BBC local radio broadcasting hours in Scotland is paltry in comparison to the individual English regions despite Scotland having a larger population than most of them. That Scotland with over 5 million people can have only 9,267 of local BBC radio broadcasting hours per year while the BBC provides anything between 14,000 to 30,000 hours of local broadcasting for individual English regions defies belief and is scandalous misappropriation of Scottish taxpayers compulsory financial contribution.


Financial considerations: Finally, this overall London/English bias at the BBC is not in the best interest of the licence payer with London and the South-East of England being the most costly place to produce and broadcast programmes in the UK. The BBC produced 69% of all its radio programmes in London and the South-East in 2002-2003. Costs per Hour of Originated Programmes.

BBC Radio1: £ 2,700 per hour
BBC Radio2: £ 4,200 per hour
BBC Radio3: £ 4,000 per hour
BBC Radio4: £11,000 per hour
BBC Radio5: £ 7,900 per hour
Nations (Scotland) and Regions £500 per hour

As can be seen from the costs above, not only is it culturally and economically disadvantageous to the Nations and other regions of the UK that 69 % of the BBC’s output originates from London and the south-east, it also doesn’t make economic sense for the BBC and the licence payer. By its own admission, the BBC accepts and acknowledges that these programmes can be produced so much less expensively elsewhere.But the corporation insists on doing it’s own thing regardless of public concern.


Conclusion: Due to the underfunding of BBC Scotland, benefits of radio are limited or simply denied to the people of Scotland and the few that we do have are completely reliant on the decisions and whims of others. Those benefits are very much concentrated in London and the south-east of England, with the other English regions taking a lion’s share of the little that remains. Scotland having 25-30,000 hours of BBC radio broadcasting, which would be more proportionate to the service currently available in the English regions, could mean the creation of other national and/or local BBC Scotland services. This would not only produce a much more diverse service for the Scottish licence payer with an inevitable increase in jobs and opportunities but would end the national travesty and embarrassment of Scotland having only one national BBC Radio station trying to be all things to all men and all women and all age groups. Having a more abundant and diverse BBC Scotland service would be entirely in keeping with the situation in similarly sized and smaller neighbouring countries where they have a more extensive service from their Public Service Broadcaster.

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/bin...ihil_annex.pdf

Too short Dude!

[sids]

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – An instrument of the State?

The BBC is funded by compulsory public subscription in the form of a Licence Fee. Licence payers paid £2.7billion in fees in (2002-2003) making the BBC the most extensive and best funded Public Service Broadcaster in the world. The delivery of Local, national and international news, current affairs, entertainment, social services and documentaries through the medium of radio retains it’s place at the head of broadcast media. Distribution of financial resources in support of the foregoing should reflect the financial contribution of all who purchase an annual licence fee. The BBC is in breach of the trust the people of Scotland have a right to expect of those who levy the compulsory annual licence fee against them.


Broadcasting and the Scottish Parliament – Scottish Broadcasting Commission Report: When the Scottish Broadcasting Commission published its final report in September 2008, the final recommendation was that “Scottish Ministers report should overall progress on implementing the report to the Scottish Parliament. This extract is from the final report.

A proposal to establish a Scottish Digital Network received unanimous support from the Scottish Parliament in October 2008 but little progress has been made on implementing the key recommendation — the establishment of a Scottish Digital Network to ensure secure and sustainable competition to the BBC for public service broadcasting in Scotland. Since broadcasting legislation is reserved, responsibility for establishing a network rests with the UK Government, which refused to implement the proposal. But notwithstanding the lack of Westminster support the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Digital Network Panel to investigate funding models for a Scottish Digital Network. It’s final report supported a publicly funded network financed by the BBC licence fee.
In October 2010, the UK Government and the BBC Trust secretly agreed a licence fee settlement for the BBC, to last until 2016-17. The agreement, which was decided in a matter of days, with no external consultation, had contrasting consequences, It endorsed the principle that television licence fee revenues could be used for public service broadcasting purposes other than the funding of core BBC services.

For example, from 2013-14, the S4C network in Wales will receive a significantly increased level of licence fee revenue support. But the new settlement also made it almost impossible for licence fee revenues to be allocated to a Scottish Digital Network before 2016-17. The UK Government also made it clear that it is not inclined to reconsider the licence fee settlement before 2016-17, and because the licence fee negotiations took place in private, Scotland’s public service broadcasting needs do not seem to have been considered during the decision-making process for the settlement.

It is imperative the Scottish Government is granted the power to establish broadcasting organisations in the Scotland Bill. Scotland’s public service broadcasting needs to implement recommendations which attract a consensus across the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Parliament should have greater powers to take action itself. However until the UK Government agrees to work with the Scottish Government on the establishment of a digital network for Scotland, the work of implementing the Broadcasting Commission’s report will remain unfulfilled. http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/127313/0121552.pdf


UK Networked Radio Stations

The BBC has ten Radio Stations broadcasting UK wide. All of these are based in London with very little, or in most cases no, Scottish output. London and the south-east of England accounted for 69 per cent of all BBC output in 2002-2003, with the other English regions accounting for most of the rest. These ten Radio Stations broadcast 63,740 hours of programmes between them in 2002-2003. Only four of the ten broadcast programmes that had originated in Scotland and the other six had no Scottish output at all. The Scottish output from these ten Stations was minuscule in comparison to their total hours of broadcasting i.e. 779 hours from a total of 63,740 hours (1.2%).



BBC Radio Scotland: BBC Radio Scotland is something of part-time service. It concludes each evening at midnight, carries a number of repeated programmes and broadcast for only 6,029 hours in 2002-2003. Radio Scotland/nan Gaidheal / Community Radio together broadcast for only 9,267 hours for the year. Such a limited service is grossly inadequate for a national community of over 5 million people. This London and south east of England bias at the BBC not only in its network broadcasting but on BBC Scotland television has no place in a fair and equitable society and certainly not in today’s age of advanced technology.


The BBC – Provision of Regional radio services

The BBC has eleven regional television services in England. These regional channels produce their own local programmes as well as commissions for the BBC network. They are:

BBC North, BBC West, BBC North West, BBC South, BBC North-East and Cumbria, BBC South East, BBC West Midlands, BBC South West, BBC East Midlands, BBC London, BBC East.

Excepting London and the South East, the BBC English regions have similar, or indeed smaller, populations to that of Scotland. However, this “similarity” in population is where the similarity ends. Unlike in Scotland, each of these English regions has a number of local BBC radio stations. The West Midlands region has five. East Midlands region has four. BBC West region has six. BBC East region also has six. The North region has four. The South East and South West regions each have two, The North West three and the North East and Cumbria region four.

A Scotland of over 5 million people can have only 9,267 of local BBC radio broadcasting hours per year while the BBC provides anything between 14,000 to 30,000 hours of local broadcasting for individual English regions defies belief and is nothing short of a national scandal. Not only is Scotland being short-changed by the BBC in its London-based UK Networks, Scotland is also being very much under provided for in the Corporation’s local services, and most notably radio provision.


English BBC local Radio Output: According to the BBC’s 2002-2003 Report and Accounts, there were 38 local BBC Radio Stations in England. These range from BBC Radio London with an adult catchment area of over 10 million to BBC Radio Guernsey with a catchment area of 50,000. UK network radio broadcasting aside, Scotland has a population equivalent to 10.5% that of England. One would therefore assume that BBC Radio Scotland should be broadcasting approximately 10.5% of the radio hours that the BBC English Regions broadcast. Indeed, given Scotland’s national status, one would think that BBC Scotland would be broadcasting more hours per head than the average English Region or County. But BBC Radio in Scotland broadcast only 3.9 % of what which is broadcast in England.


BBC local radio broadcasting hours in Scotland is paltry in comparison to the individual English regions despite Scotland having a larger population than most of them. That Scotland with over 5 million people can have only 9,267 of local BBC radio broadcasting hours per year while the BBC provides anything between 14,000 to 30,000 hours of local broadcasting for individual English regions defies belief and is scandalous misappropriation of Scottish taxpayers compulsory financial contribution.


Financial considerations: Finally, this overall London/English bias at the BBC is not in the best interest of the licence payer with London and the South-East of England being the most costly place to produce and broadcast programmes in the UK. The BBC produced 69% of all its radio programmes in London and the South-East in 2002-2003. Costs per Hour of Originated Programmes.

BBC Radio1: £ 2,700 per hour
BBC Radio2: £ 4,200 per hour
BBC Radio3: £ 4,000 per hour
BBC Radio4: £11,000 per hour
BBC Radio5: £ 7,900 per hour
Nations (Scotland) and Regions £500 per hour

As can be seen from the costs above, not only is it culturally and economically disadvantageous to the Nations and other regions of the UK that 69 % of the BBC’s output originates from London and the south-east, it also doesn’t make economic sense for the BBC and the licence payer. By its own admission, the BBC accepts and acknowledges that these programmes can be produced so much less expensively elsewhere.But the corporation insists on doing it’s own thing regardless of public concern.


Conclusion: Due to the underfunding of BBC Scotland, benefits of radio are limited or simply denied to the people of Scotland and the few that we do have are completely reliant on the decisions and whims of others. Those benefits are very much concentrated in London and the south-east of England, with the other English regions taking a lion’s share of the little that remains. Scotland having 25-30,000 hours of BBC radio broadcasting, which would be more proportionate to the service currently available in the English regions, could mean the creation of other national and/or local BBC Scotland services. This would not only produce a much more diverse service for the Scottish licence payer with an inevitable increase in jobs and opportunities but would end the national travesty and embarrassment of Scotland having only one national BBC Radio station trying to be all things to all men and all women and all age groups. Having a more abundant and diverse BBC Scotland service would be entirely in keeping with the situation in similarly sized and smaller neighbouring countries where they have a more extensive service from their Public Service Broadcaster.

Come on CJ, post something decently long lol!

[golach]

Come on CJ, post something decently long lol!

Yawn oops I fell asleep with that one

[Bystander1]

Less of these one liners - its embarassing to some.
If the Calton Joke person had an original thought then maybe it would be worthy of discussion but when his posts are plaigarised and pasted from elsewhere do they deserve any consideration ?.
I notice this post has veered on to the "road to Inverness" after starting about Radio - is there some tie-up between the two ?