save the world service (r)

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

BurmaNet: BBC Should Answer Its Critics
July 20, 1996

A planned reorganization at the BBC World Service is in the offing. 
Those critical of the reorganization, including former staff, have
warned at some length on BurmaNet that these changes will damage the
language services--including the Burmese service.  Now, the BBC has
answered with a reply that seeks to reassure but is distressingly vague. 

The BBC has a special responsibility in Burma if for no other reason 
than its high quality reportage has led so many millions to rely on 
it.  While Britain may not owe Burma a high quality news service, there 
is a sense in which Britain's poor preparation of that country for 
independence is among the many causes of Burma's current distress.  
This history adds an incentive for Britain to get this one right.

It isn't altogether clear what the reorganization portends but it
appears that it may lead to a less independent service: something that
looks more like the Voice of America.  If so, it would be a loss.  VOA's
provides and invaluable service but its greatest problem is that it is
too subject to domestic American political considerations.  BBC's
relatively greater freedom from interference has been reflected in
better, more and more credible coverage of the news in Burma.  The 
people of Burma seem to realize this because by all accounts, the BBC 
is THE source of news for most people.

If the BBC is to reorganize, they owe it to their audience to explain 
what they are doing and answer their critics.  The World Service is too 
important to do less.

   Strider