BBC and Cook

How could I relate broadcaster BBC to cook in the kitchen? It occured to me after attending the BBC Trust AGM at central London on Tuesday.

It was the first meeting with audience for the six-month-old BBC Trust, which replaced the BBC governors under the new Charter early this year. It, however, turned out to be a strongly charged meeting, with some participants coming up with strong criticisms on BBC programmings and its political stand. Quite a few people questioned the impartiality of the BBC, for instance in those reports on middle east conflict and animal research. Some observed that the BBC programming often overlapped with those of the commercial broadcaster ITV. Some complained that the BBC should stop broadcasting programms with too much violence content which is not appropriate for children. Some people from ethnic minority groups such as African Caribeans also complained that BBC should have paid more attention to their life. Some argued that BBC programs should be less on celebrities but more on real people in every day life, less oriented to the world but more on UK news. Some also picked fault with the term BBC used in reporting, like alleged "islam terrorism" and so on.

I could understand why the participants made those critical comments. It is nothing but because they care about BBC. Most of the participants have been at least middled aged and have grown up by listening to or watching the BBC. There is a strong emotional bond with the broadcaster, whether they love or hate.

But it is really an impossible mission for the BBC to satisfy every and each of the license fee payers. Using a metaphor, a cook, skillfully amaizing as he is, can't make a dish which will satisfy the tastes of every customer. British African Caribeans complained that they are ignored by the BBC, but imagine how many ethnic minority groups are there in UK, and how hard it would be for BBC to satisfy every group? People might complain about BBC give too many reports to international events, but that is one of the big obligations for the public service broadcasters.
People may complain about the impartiality of the BBC, but that has a lot to do with which side you stand on. For example, scientists and animals rights activists could both complain that BBC favor the other side in reports on animal research.

So it is really hard for BBC to be a perfect "cook", however, it has no choice but try to be as close as possible to being perfect, after all it is funded by the license fee payers.