Voices: As an American, I know Britain doesn’t appreciate the BBC nearly enough
I first fell in love with the UK by visiting Walford in East London. As a child growing up in a working-class community in the American Rust Belt, my only entertainment was often the big box TV my parents put in the bedroom I shared with my brother.
It was on PBS that I first met Dot Cotton, the chain-smoking Christian grandma, and the other denizens of Albert Square. “EastEnders” was only the second time I’d seen people like me – proper working-class people – depicted on television (the first was “Roseanne”).
Little did I know how much it would change my life, instilling in me a lifelong love of Britain and inspiring me to pursue a career as a journalist with a professional interest in the United Kingdom.
That is the power of the BBC, which on Tuesday 18 October marks its 100th anniversary. For a century now, the nation’s broadcaster has been, in effect, the world’s broadcaster. Available in more than 200 nations, the BBC World Service produces calm, reasoned, factual reporting in 40 different languages.
In doing so, it has become perhaps the most valuable tool Britain has in its soft power arsenal, fostering a respect and love for the UK that would be lacking without it. Simply put, the BBC remains today – as it has been for 100 years – one of the single greatest diplomatic and foreign policy tools the United Kingdom will ever possess.
No one has apparently told the Conservative Party, however. Earlier this year the government of then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £2bn in cuts to the BBC while pledging to abolish the license fee – its primary source of funding, ostensibly paid by every British household that watches the BBC – within five years. And while the current Prime Minister Liz Truss expressed support for the BBC World Service as foreign secretary, she backed then-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries’ plans. Despite her other walkbacks, she has shown no signs of U-turning on this license fee or funding cuts. That means, come 2027, the BBC could be completely gutted.
That would be a disaster for not only British entertainment, but Britain’s standing in the world. The immense soft power flexed by the United Kingdom is derived largely from the BBC. That contribution should not be undervalued.
Shows like “Keeping Up Appearances” and “Are You Being Served?” have found loyal audiences around the world, introducing global audiences to British humour. Characters like The Doctor and The Stig have become iconic across the globe. All of this conspires to create a positive image of the UK, allowing it to punch above its weight in global affairs by endearing it to the world and fostering a warm appreciation of British culture in the world’s population from a very early age.
It also serves a vital role in combating the global spread of disinformation. After announcing £2bn in cuts to the broadcaster, in March the government gave the BBC £4.1m in emergency funding to support its Russian and Ukrainian language services “to help it continue bringing independent, impartial and accurate news to people in Ukraine and Russia in the face of increased propaganda from the Russian state.” It has served the women of Iran as they demand freedom by identifying students who have been killed and having its disinformation and Persian desks collaborate on factual reporting from that nation. And, of course, it was vital in defeating the propaganda of the Third Reich and helping the Allies defeat the Nazis to win the Second World War.
As stated earlier, it also helped foster a lifelong love for the UK in the heart of a tiny American lad. My own love for the UK began with the BBC.
As a child, I would wake up in the middle of the night to listen to the BBC World Service. I learned about stories I’d never seen reported in the US, including the ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone and abuses of my own government abroad. It opened my eyes and my heart to a much wider world.
This may seem unimportant and even not worth the money. After all, why do you care if a little boy across the world gets to hear the news or watch a soap opera? Why should the British taxpayers continue funding my “EastEnders” addiction? Because you need trade deals. You need alliances. You need tourism revenue. When the United Kingdom left the European Union, Brexiters told us that it was so the nation could look not just to Europe, but outwards upon the entire world. That is a noble goal. Britain should be a world player. But it can only be a world player if it continues to engender the admiration and affection of the world’s population.
Let me put it another way: you need people who love the UK if you want to advance the UK’s interests around the globe. Want a trade deal with the United States? It helps to have people here who love your country and can call their congressperson and senator and champion your cause. You need people who not only love but understand Britain advancing Britain’s interests in all corners of the world.
That is the role of the BBC in foreign policy – entertaining but also educating the world in who the British people are and what it means to be British. Its job is to engender respect and admiration and a warm fondness for the UK. There’s a reason I’m writing in the Independent and not the Washington Post. There’s a reason I’m doing a masters in Appalachian Studies but researching politics here in Appalachia and in the Pennines. There’s a reason why my dream is still to live permanently in the UK.
This kind of soft power is incredibly effective, but it can only remain so if the BBC is properly funded and allowed to remain a global player. Sadly, that is not guaranteed. The World Service has already begun cutting services.
This is a mistake. The people of the world have come to rely on the BBC, and the people of Britain – whether they realize it or not – have come to rely on the soft power the BBC allows it to flex. As we celebrate the centenary of this esteemed broadcaster, I ask the British people to appreciate what they’ve had for 100 years – and commit to preserving the BBC for 100 more.
