The dwarfs Of Lime Grove
Sir: Mr Sherman (Letters, 23 May) is offensive; to me personally and to the BBC. His suggestion that the Bac 'puts me on to 'bark at' its critics is completely without foundation, and I trust that the spectacle of Lord Hill and Mr Curran cowering behind me (or the likes of me) is so ludicrous as not to be entertained by even the most credulous among your readers. I wrote, of course, on both occasions, as a private in- dividual expressing my own views, and the fact that I am at present a member of a regional BBC Advisory Council (and am therefore chiefly concerned with broadcast- ing policy within my region) is totally irrelevant.
I can only suppose that, shocked and angered by a state of affairs which existed only in his imagination, he saw my letter through a red mist of rage, thereby finding in it opinions which I never expressed and certainly do not hold. Nowhere do I 'declare outright that all criticism [of the uric] is eo ipso impious and ill-intentioned' (how could it be?) and I certainly have my fair share of that 'healthy irreverence' of which Mr Sherman evidently approves. I don't know what the 'new establishment' is, but I think it unlikely that I am a member (who are the others?). As for 'humourless pomposity'—well I regard pomposity as an almost exclusively masculine failing, and most people who know me find me quite funny, intentionally as well as otherwise. Ha-ha rather than peculiar I suppose I should add, in case of further misunder- standings!
Mr Sherman says that the main argument is about who should have the control of 'this powerful communications monopoly'. Well, for a start the Bac no longer has a
monopoly except in sound radio, but if that is Mr Sherman's main argument it is not mine. Mine, briefly restated, is that the current fuss about political bias and 'smutti- ness' at the BBC is being used to discredit public service broadcasting so that the elec- torate may more readily accept the intro- duction of commercial radio to this country. These tactics may not be admirable but they are certainly not new, and since I am aware that the SPECTATOR is in favour of commercial radio it was, I consider, a reasonable assumption on my part that they were joining in the game.
No, the BBC is certainly no sacred cow to me; I just happen to prefer its pro- grammes to those made by the ITA. It is quite obvious that broadcasting financed by advertising revenue must go for mass audiences and cannot afford (in any sense of the word) to make such programmes as (the then) Sir Kenneth Clark's Civilisation series. Not only do I personally enjoy such minority programmes but, in an altruistic sort of way, I consider it important that they should continue to be made.
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