Unionist scaremongering

SLG · Unionist scaremongering

Aventinian seems to think that Unionists never use the 'usual arguments' when arguing that Scotland should not be Independent. Here's a classic example of one of those arguments, which is probably the most nonsensical of all of them and one which I thought would never reappear. Apparently (according to Brian Monteith) under the SNPs vision of an Independent Scotland with the break up of the BBC, we won't receive Eastenders, Blue Peter etc. We will in fact be forced a constant stream of the White Heather Club and it's like. What a load of pish. So much for Monteith's 'blue-sky' Unionist thinking... Rolling Eyes

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1131542006

Reluctant Hero

The phrase - Clutching at straws - springs to mind.

He knows independence is fast coming down the track and it is sending him potty. I mean why in the world would a Scottish equivalent of BBC want to show that pile of rubbish anyway Laughing

October1974

The Unionists will find a problem for every solution.

Cool

ENGLISH JEW

Why would anyone Eastenders, Blue Peter and all that other crap anyway.
Can't wait for the BBC to be disbanded as only then will it stop peddling the governments propoganda.

azzuri

Of course the fact that Irish TV currently airs these shows disproves this argument completely.

If you were a Scottish TV channel in a newly Independent Scotland, would you go to all the hassle of creating new shows which the public are unfamiliar with and may not like - or would you just buy the currently popular ones to air? Unless of course the BBC refused to sell episodes to Scottish TV channels - but I doubt that greatly given they sell their programmes to everyone else!

As a Conservative surely he would think the market would deliver what the customer wants or it would fail - unless of course he doesn't actually believe in the merits of the free market at all?

Reluctant Hero

neil8r

Morph

But their new24 coverage is second to none, i much prefer it to sky or itv news

SLG

So do I morph. I think news24 is the best 24hr news service serving Britain. I also think that many of the Radio and tv channels serve Britain well, as does the website. None of them serve Scotland well IMO and that is what needs to change. How can Sky News broadcast a special bulletin for Ireland yet they can't do that for Scotland?

Cymro

I'm a big fan of the BBC personally.

Anthropos · Re: Unionist scaremongering

SLG

Well, no he's not talking about the Independence issue per se. But if we are talking about an independent state broadcaster to replace the BBC in Scotland, then that is tied to Independence. Of course an SBC wouldn't be able to make all the programs that the BBC make. Essentially, all the BBC programs not made in Scotland are being imported by BBC Scotland anyway and in return most of the license fee raised here flows south. I doubt that any future EBC would refuse our money to buy in Eastenders.

I do agree that we shouldn't have a license fee in the first place.

Cado

I'm not entirely convinced by Monteiths arguments - he's failed to add the conditional "all things equal". I don't think expenditure on programming and the quality that comes out are a linear function ie twice the amount of money spent of a programme does not when it will be twice as good, twice as watched or twice as funny.

Take Hollywood/Film Industry, there are many films that have had a small fortune blown on them, yet they've been absolute flops/trash. Whereas there have been many smaller budget films that have done exceedingly well.

Art and 'economics' don't easily go together to form an easy relationship - TV IMO is just an extension of dramatics and other theatrical arts - its the skill and talent of those involved that make the difference.

The BBC has often been labasted as wasting money left right and centre, hence it could be argued where paying over the odds for what we're getting anyway. Secondly it is a public service like any other, these have often failed to nuture the culture of enterprise and original thinking within them since (IMO) the nature of the structure of many Govt owned institutions is generally against rocking the boat or taking risks. The bulk of the better programmes (ny which I mean most watched, most talked about) are produced by persons/organisations outwith the BBC itself.

I'm just thinking of the likes of Red Dwarf (going back a bit know) - but that was by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC - the BBC itself didn't have much involvement in its creation.

Anyway - the crux of this is for Brian Monteiths comments to stand true we need to assume that any Scottish successor to the BBC will be structured and operate in exactly the same way as the existing BBC.

If you assume that there will be solid changes in how a future SBC operates - then much of the basis of Brian Monteiths comments also change, this weakens his hypothesis in my view.

SLG

He is also making assumptions about how much it would cost to import these programs. Does he actually know - I doubt it? As others have mentioned, RTE is full of imports, how can they afford that?

Cado

OK, but again it is a slightly flimsy argument unless he can throw into his submission some 'heavy' pieces of industry opinion (we should remember that his comments came from a newspaper opinion column he write - Edinburgh Evening News was it?, anyway - more akin to loose pub chat than a serious concern IMO)

Many people have a Sky or Cable package these days. The whole BBC enterprise is very very broad, about 8 TV channels now, umpteen radio stations, local, national and international. Internet services etc

Topic wise it covers everything, news, sport, entertainments, 'serious'. I'll be honest and say that I do think the BBC is the best at what it does on a world basis (public service broadcaster, funded by compulsory public subscription).

All this costs money - I can't honestly see that a SBC would try and replicate all these services - therefore any purchase of programmes outwith Scotland would be done on a very selective basis I'd imagine - baring in mind the many genres are reasonably served by the other the other providers (which would still be available, I presume).

If the whole thing boils down to eastenders - then, bloody hell, I'm sure something can be worked out.

"ahem....yes, er, we the people of Scotland are fully in favour of independence and the freedom that will come from that....[hooray, cheer, hooray] but...
there is one wee snag that is preventing us, people, from taking this final step [stunned silence]... yes, er, and that is....eastenders, unless you live in Coldstream, we won't be able to get it anymore [sobbing coming from the crowd]. So, people, we've decided that in view of this.....we'll have to call the whole thing off. sorry. maybe next time......we'll wait until after the series reaches an end. yup, that's what we'll do. 'got the time tam?', oh, eastenders is about to start...well, er, i'm off."

<meanwhile, in the unionist HQ>

Mr Treasurer! Throw ever penny and the crown jewels into eastenders! Let the sun never set on Albert Square and let the Queen Vic thrive for a thousand years, then another thousand beyond that......

I mean?!?! With all the talk of economics, nations, culture, history, the future, politics,the present, the past....it'll all boil down to this:

Eastenders.

This is what Mr Montieth is trying to suggest? How desperate are they getting?

IF Convenor

River City, anyone?

Blackadder

Good grief NO!! .... Another bad Scots soap was never wanted ... but the West of Scotland-centric mentality of both the BBC and STV ... seem to think it was needed. And it is TERRIBLE!!! As bad as the rest of Soapland, if not worse. And I know several of the inmates of that programme!