From an email received today:

For further information on the Green Paper and the consultation, please access our website at www.bbccharterreview.org.uk <http://www.bbccharterreview.org.uk>. Please note this consultation closes on 31 May 2005. BBC Charter Review Team What do you think of the BBC? We are consulting on the key proposals and questions contained in the Government's Green Paper 'A strong BBC, independent of government', and would like to receive your views. Please complete our online questionnaire at www.bbccharterreview.org.uk. Thank you.

http://www.bbccharterreview.org.uk/

From the questionnaire:

At the moment, the BBC airs a range of programmes on TV and radio, some of which are made by the BBC itself, and some of which are made by other producers. The Green Paper proposes that the most important thing is that the best programmes should be aired. For this to be achieved, the Green Paper proposes that the BBC needs to give other producers more opportunity to compete against BBC programme-makers for programme commissions. If you want to know more about what the Green Paper says about this topic, click to the relevant chapter "Organisation and Infrastructure" (this is available to view online or download as a pdf document).

I am thinking about my answer to this one. My instinct is to say that I do not like it, as it will make it that much more difficult to get our work in front of the 'right person'. I feel that the best programme is most likely to be aired if the BBC has the maximum number of submissions to work with. Market information on independent producers is harder to track down; besides, how are the independent producers going to operate? Will they be open to submissions at all? Won't this just close the door that much more?

What do others think about this?

I'm not sure. I have to say I've heard an awful lot of gumpf on R4 recently, much of which makes you wonder how on earth it got commissioned. On the other hand, there's been some wonderful stuff so on the whole I don't grumble too much.

The big question for me is why this change is thought to be necessary and why the new infrastructure is expected to be any better. As I believe someone has already said on t'Radio, if the BBC ends up being run on a purely financial basis, with monies being apportioned to departments 'fairly' then that could effectively mean that bean counters will get to choose what gets made and how well.

Look forward to lots of in depth programmes on the abacus and the fascianting new mini-series 'The Bought-Ledger of Suburbia'.

J