Hazel on MediaCity: ‘get on board or get out of the way’
Posted: 9 August 2010
Dear Editor,
Anyone reading the criticism about MediaCity over the last week could be forgiven for thinking the move to Salford will be the end of the BBC.
Staff were ‘being forced to crawl sobbing up the M1′, lamented the Daily Mail, while unhappy presenters were left wondering how the show could possibly continue outside London. According to one presenter, “It will be practically impossible to get the Prime Minister on set, as we do at the moment.”
I know the ’silly season’ is upon us but this is taking nonsense to a new level.
It’s long been accepted that the BBC needs to relinquish its London-centric grip in order to genuinely represent the whole of the nation. The move to Salford is good news for everyone outside of the M25. But it’s especially good news for local people because it hands them the opportunity to make their mark in changing the BBC’s identity.
The director of BBC North has said he wants the move to Salford to “open up the BBC to people who previously had neither the opportunity nor likelihood of working here”. Casting their talent net into new territory is the best way of ensuring the Beeb is more in touch with real Britain.
In Christopher Eccleston, Paul Abbott, Caroline Aherne and others, we already have a wealth of talent in the north. The BBC’s move to Salford gives us the potential to add many more to this list.
Those who resist moves to devolve the BBC miss the point. There is enough local talent, energy and diversity here to help the BBC power ahead into a new era. The dinosaurs should get on board or get out of the way.
