Because They Are Worth It

For the second year running, the US version of the BBC website has won the top award in the US for its international news coverage. Nobody else has the same 80 years of infrastructure, or can bring in content from other branches of their network, but don’t take my word for it.

BBC.com won the accolade for overall excellence, with its online operation described by the judges as “uniquely situated” to cover world events.

Quite.

In their citation, the Peabody judges highlighted the BBC’s global reach and long history of covering events in all corners of the world.

No kidding.

The award for BBC.com comes after a year of increased focus on news operations in the US.

Steve Herrmann, editor of the BBC News website, said the Peabody Award was “fantastic news”.

“It is recognition of BBC News as a whole against very strong competition. Investment into BBC.com has helped us expand our operations in the Washington bureau to create an even better showcase for BBC News for audiences in North America.”

Well, that is part of their remit, bringing the UK to the world. But let’s face it: this is all done in the search for ad revenue – evil profit. Good thing the BBC isn’t as sacred as the NHS, for which no profit motive shall be permitted.

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