These results prompted the campaign group 38 Degrees to warn the government to leave the BBC alone.
Lorna Greenwood, the campaign manager at the organisation, which launched a petition signed by 400,000 people calling on the BBC to be protected, said: “There is huge public support for a properly funded and fully independent BBC.
“It’s been rumoured that the government has declared ‘war on the BBC’. But this huge show of public opinion proves that they need to back down. The government now needs to listen to the views of the public and protect the BBC from further cuts and government interference in news reporting.”
Which came first, the public response or 38 Degree’s claim that this response shows….? The fact is 38 Degrees manufactured the response.
The below may show how those responses to the government’s request for public involvement in the Charter review may have been ‘massaged’ by campaign groups in order to get the pro-BBC repsonse required.
As far as I can see this is actually a petition from 38 Degrees itself [See ‘our people’] which judging by this page on its site is very pro the BBC and anti-Murdoch…..this is what they are sending out in emails to members referencing this…,…..the obviously far from independent 38 Degrees says….
Keep the BBC independent
This is the biggest threat to the BBC so far. John Whittingdale, the minister who’s deciding our BBC’s future, just announced he wants the Westminster government to choose the people who run the BBC. [1] It means our most trusted news source could become controlled by Westminster.
Whittingdale sneaked out his devastating plan at the weekend, to a newspaper that’s behind a paywall. [1] He knows that another scandal might put a stop to his plans to undermine the BBC for good. [2] So he’ll be hoping that 38 Degrees members aren’t paying attention.
We’ve got to act fast. If enough us sign an emergency petition in the next 48 hours demanding the BBC stays independent, 38 Degrees members will deliver it to him in person before Sunday. And exposing his plans in public will shine a light on his real agenda to dismantle our BBC.
Please can you add your name to the emergency petition now?
The way decisions are made in the BBC is under review. [3] But John Whittingdale’s using this as an opportunity to push his anti-BBC agenda and put his people in charge. They would have the power to decide news coverage and which BBC programmes are made. [4] It could mean the end of the BBC as we know it.
Whittingdale’s feeling the pressure right now after a series of damaging revelations on his plans for the BBC – including being caught lying about reading responses to the public consultation. [5] If we turn up the heat now, Whittingdale will have no option but to back down.
If thousands of us sign this emergency petition, then deliver it to him in just a few days, we could make Whittingdale realise that he’s fighting a losing battle and leave our BBC alone. This week could become the turning point in our people-powered campaign to protect the BBC.
Can you sign the emergency petition now? It’ll take less than 2 minutes:
Thanks for being involved,
Lorna, Bex, Laura and the rest of the 38 Degrees team
NOTES:
[1] The Sunday Times: BBC will be ruled by No10 appointees: (this article is behind a paywall, which means you need to sign up in order to read it. But you can read a version of this story from the Guardian below)
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Arts/article1677767.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2016_03_13
The Guardian: Government will choose most members of BBC board, says Whittingdale:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/13/government-choose-bbc-board-john-whittingdale
[2] Here’s a few examples recently where John Whittingdale has been feeling the heat over his plans to rip the heart out of our BBC:
BBC News: BBC Charter renewal ‘may be delayed’:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35725452
The Telegraph: Radio Times threatens John Whittingdale with judicial review over BBC consultation:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12193836/Radio-Times-threatens-John-Whittingdale-with-judicial-review-over-BBC-consultation.html
The Guardian: BBC News most trusted source for more than half of people in the UK:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/10/bbc-news-most-trusted-source-for-more-than-half-of-people-in-the-uk
[3] BBC News: BBC Green Paper: Key points:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33556009
[4] The Guardian: Government will choose most members of BBC board, says Whittingdale:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/13/government-choose-bbc-board-john-whittingdale
[5] The Telegraph: Radio Times threatens John Whittingdale with judicial review over BBC consultation:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12193836/Radio-Times-threatens-John-Whittingdale-with-judicial-review-over-BBC-consultation.html
38 degrees are typical of the lefty opportunists who feign “campaigning and advocacy”…but are lefty vehicles for constant agitation who happen to spare Corbyn and Russell Brand ANY petitions or criticism.
Just lefty whining by clickbaiting activists who`ll never rest until socialism steeped in lime wash of green cant is achieved.
Who the hell PAYS for them-time to pull any state plugs and treat them as we would any National Front supporters…utter traitors, left lying bastards who`d start a fight in a minibar,
38 degrees is run by a bunch of anarchists with a history of giving a highly biased view (to put it mildly) and rabble-rousing in support, an approach that echoes that of the bBBC itself.
38 Degrees. Yet another unofficial political party, neatly sidestepping democracy to nudge us all in their chosen direction. The BBC are only the ‘most trusted news source ‘ if you are an intolerant, Guardian-reading, control freak. The centre-right will defend the lefts’ freedom to express themselves but know that this will never be reciprocated. A BBC that steadfastly refuses to houour its charter must be brought to heel by the Government. The path to ‘independence’ is in their own hands.
I signed a petition on 38degrees a few years ago. I often get email messages thanking me for signing another petition, one which I wouldn’t sign in a million years. It’s clearly being manipulated and it’s very obvious.
Surely that is identity theft? Taking your details and entering them into further petitions, without your knowledge, sounds dodgy to me. Worth a look from the Police?
It can’t be right that a tax payer-funded organisation can operate without any public accountability, yet that is exactly what the BBC and its ‘supporters’ seem to want.
It is as if the plan to fund political parties out of public funds has gone ahead – except that only the Labour party gets the money. If this is the game that they want to play then the licence fee should be split up and handed out to the varies parties on a vote cast basis and the parties can commission their own programmes with the money.
I’ve replied to many of their emails, always totally disagreeing with what they say, and they never respond. I don’t bother any more.
There is a tendency in some quarters to mistake interest with support.
I have signed up to many organisations who appear to interpret this (and erroneously claim) as being in favour.
As rather awkward disparities between election polls and results have shown, this can be a foolish delusion.