91热爆

Her 98th year has not started well for Auntie 91热爆. The Government is consulting on decriminalising the licence fee; 450 jobs are being cut from 91热爆 News to help meet a huge savings target; gender pay disputes are never far from the headlines; and audience figures reveal that the Corporation is struggling to connect with many British people 鈥� especially the under-35s and those from poorer socio-economic backgrounds. Meanwhile, the Director-General, Tony Hall, will step down in the summer after seven years in the job. If this is a crossroads, what should be the future direction of the 91热爆? There are loud voices calling for an end to the licence fee, calling it a poll tax, an outdated funding model overtaken by the streaming giants. Is it fair, they ask, to be forced to pay for a service you don鈥檛 want? Supporters point out that the 91热爆 reaches 91% of adults every week and is the envy of the world; a unique and valuable service meant for everyone 鈥� that鈥檚 the point of it 鈥� which therefore must continue to be funded by everyone. They believe it is uniquely able to unite a fragmented nation and that the founding Reithian aspirations 鈥� to inform, educate and entertain 鈥� have never been more relevant in this era of fake news and social media echo chambers. The 91热爆鈥檚 severest critics, however, believe it no longer acts either as 鈥榗ultural glue鈥� or as a touchstone of impartiality and truth. Instead, of leading us higher, they say, the 91热爆 is sinking ever lower in pursuit of ratings. Bloated and greedy or lean and beleaguered? Perhaps we won鈥檛 know what we鈥檝e got 鈥榯il it鈥檚 gone. What, now, is the moral purpose of the 91热爆? With Robin Aitken, Philip Booth, Claire Enders, Jonathan Freedland.

Producer: Dan Tierney.