Don’t let President Trump cloud the real debate about the BBC. Of course, his demand for damages of no less than $5bn has dominated our thinking about the corporation over the past few weeks, as has its cause. But let’s get this into perspective. This was a serious own goal and journalists make mistakes. Salvation in this case would have been a line of script between the clips, or once a mistake had been discovered, a very speedy public acknowledgment. Now, though, the BBC is right not to yield on this. It has apologised. And, unlike other broadcasters and institutions in the United States, it doesn’t need the president’s support. This is a chance to demonstrate the BBC’s independence. Fight on.
But we must not let this derail the conversation about what sort of BBC we all want and need, and I hope that is what dominates discussion in the crucial coming year. The government’s green paper, published in December, starts off with a reminder of what, despite all its travails, the BBC delivers for the country. “It’s not just a broadcaster,” says the introduction, “it’s also a national institution … if it did not already exist, we would have to invent it.” The secretary of state, Lisa Nandy, is even more forthright: “I believe the BBC, alongside the NHS, is one of the two most important institutions in our country. While one is fundamental to the health of our people, the other is fundamental to the health of our democracy.” Seeing the BBC not just as a media organisation, but as a cultural organisation helping to define who we are, is crucial to next year’s debate about what we want the BBC to be. It should be seen as part of our social infrastructure.
