The BBC needs an overhaul according to its director-general Tim Davie and one of those things is the axing of some comedy shows that are too leftist.
According to The Sun, Davie sees the network as being too “one-sided,” and as such, he has his eyes set on a few hard-left shows to toss so that “trust and confidence” can be restored at the BBC.
It doesn’t’ just stop there either. Davie will take the network into a place where television networks haven’t been for some time, and that’s true diversity of opinion:
BBC programme creators will be expected to find a better balance of targets on the shows, rather than just aiming jokes at the Conservatives.
Those running comedy panel shows will also be encouraged to book guests with a wider range of opinions on issues in the UK.
Tory MP Ben Bradley told the Daily Telegraph: “In recent years lots of BBC comedy shows are just constant left-wing rants about the Tories and Brexit.
If the BBC is to truly represent all licence fee payers, that needs to change.
“I’d like to see more right-leaning comedians given a chance rather than being effectively blacklisted for their views.
“Tim Davie appears to be talking a good game on sorting bias at the BBC, but whether it’ll lead to real change, time will tell.”
The ridiculous idea that racism or homophobia automatically equates to being right-leaning proves that many have no idea what “right-leaning” thought really is. If we had more cultural programming that allowed the right to speak out and express themselves in a mainstream setting without a leftist filter then more people would know that all the “ists” and “phobes” commonly attached to the right in mainstream settings are a load of bunk.
If Davie’s plan actually ends up happening, and the BBC returned to ideological diversity in spite of all the gnashing of teeth and rending of clothing that the left will do in response, then the BBC will actually be a far better network than the vast majority of networks, not just in Britain, but all across the globe.
The wailing as already commenced. Over at the Independent, writer Shappi Khorsandi sarcastically noted that the BBC has had right-leaning programming for ages, and pointed to all the racist and homophobic things that happened at the network in the past:
What’s that? Such comedians don’t exist? What tosh! We had that nice Jim Davidson with his hilarious Paki jokes, do you remember? Only he got “cancelled” because we all went too far to the left, political correctness went mad and we weren’t allowed to point at LGBTQ+ people and laugh anymore.
She went on to write that the reason there are so many leftists on the BBC right now is that the leftists are the ones doing all the artistic work:
It seems to me that it’s political comedy people are objecting to and that is always bound to lean towards the left, because most comedians and indeed most artists are left-leaning. We are, after all, the communicators, the dreamers – if we weren’t, we’d be bankers.
Nevermind that right-leaning artists, actors, and more are constantly blacklisted for their beliefs. Here in America, confessing your opposition to anything popular on the left immediately earns you derision in Hollywood circles. The bubble is the bubble for a reason and I’ve watched as many right-leaning actors who are very good at what they do have trouble finding work because they professed a right-leaning stance on things or, worse yet, supported President Donald Trump.
Cancel culture has been around in the arts sector for far longer than it has in the general public.
If Davie actually does carry out his plan and he does inject more ideological diversity into his programming, then I’m excited to see what the BBC will look like in the future. What’s more, I hope the BBC becomes an example for many other networks to follow.
(READ: The BBC Just Proved It Has More Ethics Than the American Media)
