PD James talks to BBC director general Mark Thompson on theToday Programme

[FunnyLittleChap]

This Thompson guy is a pure example of homo blaireticus. Glad I left the UK when I did..

[g0ldb3rg3r]

Amazing 2 facist gun yeilding settlers are apprehended by the Palestinians and it's news for days, yet when Palestinians are killed daily, children kidnapped, houses torn down witth the residents still inside, the zionist BBC is quite as a mouse.

Lets just change the name to israeli Broadcasting Company; we'll all know where we stand then

[guyfroml]

My God, I have always been a fan of this great lady's writings, but I never realized what a level headed person she is - full of common sense. I am going to have to forward this to my conservative friends througout the U.S. Americans have had enough of the obvious progressive agenda of its Public Broadcasting System. Thank you for posting this - it is truly inspirational.

[solomonkane23]

typical suits, taking all the money and leaving shit do do broadcasting with.

[SuperTruth77]

Every word he says is true- the BBC must pay top dollar to the sort of people who produce 'The Only Way Is Essex' in the private sector so that they can come to the BBC and produce the kind of TV gold we see on BBC3 every night of the week.

[stockmain]

What a pity she is not running the country .

[maxfm83]

@stockmain yes... but her books are awesome. A children of men is one of my favourites.

[guyfroml]

@stockmain I could not agree more!

[chatham43]

.....Mark Thompson......850k worth of cretin....a greedy freeloader who jumped on the BBC gravy train...a despicable man........

[g0ldb3rg3r]

Thopmson is a sick Pro israeli, who makes sure israel's barbaric nature is covered and hidden from the UK public, the recent massacre of the Flotilla ship proves this.

[guyfroml]

@g0ldb3rg3r You are joking, right? The Flotilla ship was backed by radical American socialists-communists funded by George Soros. It has been exposed for the fraud that it was. It is funny how time eventually reveals the truth - which has no agenda.

[Squaddieskin]

The BBC are one of the most biased and most powerful broadcasters in the world.

Has anyone noticed how in this election, not all parties are being given equal airtime, either on radio or TV, and the manifestos of the others have been totally ignored?

The 'Have your say' page?

The BBC sees to that by 'moderating' postings to their way of thinking.

The public view? I think not!

Its time the BBC had a huge shake up from the top down to stop this corruption.

Starting with Mark Thompson.

[gdsure]

Yes! Time to bring this gravy train to a halt. Go to petitions.number10 (DOT) gov(DOT) uk and search for tv licence to see petitions against it. There are quite a few but sadly appear not to have many signatures. Add yours.

[benjclark]

Please post part 1! This is fantastic, though. Thank you!!

[gnafpnain2]

What a slimy man...

[MaidNoMore]

Brilliant! We obviously need more 89 year old interviewers. Thank you for uploading, was looking for this.

[eblanaken]

Love the way she remains calm and quiet and lets him dig his own grave and sound flustered. If only the shouting head political program presenters would take a leaf.

[treceiri]

Wonderful stuff! Perhaps for dessert, the great lady can cross-examine Blair on his WMD smokescreen ...

[AustinSomerset]

He worked at Channel 4 before taking on the DG's job. Or put it this way - he helped Channel 4 on it's way to the dire state it's in today - and someone thought that was good enough for the BBC!

[bloodaxeable]

How on earth did this nanny-goat voiced baying fool get to where he has got? I've never heard such an inarticulate, stuttering and side-stepping set of so-called 'answers' to such probing and intelligent questions. The 'public service' points were excellently made - bring back P D James! Mark Thompson ought to become a politician - he'd fit in well.

[copywritingondemand]

Thank you, P D James. An articulate broadcast. Wonderful. Pity about the DG!

[mataharihaha]

PD James for DG!  The disastrous Mark Thompson earns double the salary of Greg Dyke which wasn't that long ago - unfortunately, the BBC has become a gravy train for useless overpaid managers who sack programme making staff, dragging down the reputation of the BBC.

[gushoodwink]

@mataharihaha The BBC pays much less than comparable media organisations. PD James is utterly wrong, as are you. If you continue to watch shows you are a thief. No better than a common thief. The BBc is the most well-regulated and respected media institution in the world.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink Every part of that statement was pure, unadulterated BS.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 I have travelled to India, Palestine, Israel, USA, Pakistan and Nepal and they turn to the BBC whenever they want to avoid government propaganda. If you watch shows and do not pay for them your are stealing, Nothing controversial about that at all. We will miss it when it is gone and we have the tv of America or Spain. Watch ITV if you want to know the horrible future without the BBC. Would they have uncovered the care homes abuse scandal, saving people's lives. No, no money in it.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink Again, BS. The BBC uses its dominating role in television and news in this country to shovel left-wing propaganda into people's homes. The BBC is nothing more than the left-wing equivalent of Fox News and can be accurately described as the broadcasting wing of the Guardian newspaper ... a newspaper that receives the lions share of BBC job advertisements. It is *hated* and *loathed* in this country except by the left-wing. Put some BBC job ads in the Daily Mail. They sell more papers

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 They advertise in the Guardian, Independent, Times and Observer because these are the more intelligent newspapers.The Daily Mail/Express/Sun and Mirror are tabloids and are very much dumbed down.The quality of writing in the Times is on a different level than the Daily Mail.It's corporate sense to recruit from Guardian readers above the Mail.I know Mail journalists and even they joke about the rubbish they write about the BBC because they know silly people will buy the papers.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink The Guardian gets the LIONS SHARE of BBC job advertisements. I wonder why. Could it be because they want to recruit like-minded lefties to their leftwing organisation?

I think so.

If you're going to BS about knowing DM journalists who joke about writing "rubbish" about the BBC for "silly people" to buy, at least make an effort to make the BS convincing.

Yeah "I know journos in the BBC who laugh at all the BS they write for the soppy lefties to lap up" NOT convincing. Try better

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 The thing that you don't understand and the source of all your wrong-headed anger is that you think tolerance, human rights and appreciation of difference are 'leftist' principles. Indeed, if they are then the BBC are leftist. But they are not, they are the default position of a society in the 21st century. It is you who has been left behind.The Daily Mail is a disgrace to journalism.I am ashamed of it and I am fairly right-wing myself.They are manipulating you and laughing at you.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink That was a straw-man argument. Not only that but you threw in a few erroneous assumptions about myself. You're trying to distract the debate away from the subject - the BBC - to another subject that you're more comfortable with - a paper that I don't read.

Lefties  always complain about the Daily Mail. Always.

For your information I read ZeroHedge. Google it and discover that it makes the Guardian/Daily Mail/BBC look like the Beano. Most of it you won't even understand.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 I did google it. Yes, excellent, they seem to have nearly 2 different correspondents on there. One of them appears to be nearly 30. Brilliant. I always want to consume my news on a site which sells T shirts and has a 'joke' as a motto. You are, I presume pretty young, my guess is between 18 and 25. You think you know things, you in fact know very little. I've had enough now. Don't concern yourself to reply.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink Again, erroneous assumptions, distractions AND a straw-man argument. 1) "Tyler Durden" is an alias that their whole staff use to protect themselves from possible litigation from the banking industry since the site is bitingly scathing about fraud. You should recognise the avatar as the film character of the same name 2) They get more traffic than the White House. 3) They are influential. Questions they pose get asked, word-for-word, at US committee meetings by Congressmen.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 You like the phrase 'straw-man' don't you? Did you learn it in your first year political science class? On what planet did you think that telling me that they have more traffic than the White House is going to impress me. They are not a news organisation they are an opinion site. That's fine, but the fact that no-one in America can tell the difference is what is tearing that country apart. Exactly what hasn't happened here because we have a publicly funded broadcaster.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink 1) If you did not use strawmen in your arguments, I wouldn't be pointing them out. 2) ZH do not report 'opinion'. Learn to read. You might have learned about Greece a full year before your BBC discovered the story. 3) We have a blatantly biased broadcaster that extracts money from the public via vile threatening letters and home visits by goons regardless of whether people have televisions or not.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 Just because you agree with it doesn't make it 'objective'. You are genuinely not worthy of talking to any more. You are full of that hubris that young 'activists' are and it normally pushes out the critical faculties. Have marked this as spam so won't be able to read any replies so save yourself the time. Have shown your comments to 5 other people and they think that you need help. In a very serious way. I know you don't think you do. I know that.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink "Just because you agree with it doesn't make it 'objective'" - Again, another assumption.

"You are genuinely not worthy of talking to any more" - Then stop.

"and it normally pushes out the critical faculties" - More insults.

"so save yourself the time" - I do as I please.

"Have shown your comments to 5 other people and they think that you need help" - Another churlish insult. If you wish to debate with me then you need to raise your game. You can't debate with insults.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink If the BBC really is so good, it should move to a subscription service rather than bullying everyone for money. Licence Fee evasion would fall to zero since no subscription = no BBC channels. They could even set it at £145 so there would be no change for the average person.

Oh wait ... the BBC would implode since voluntary subscription would pull in only a fraction of today's mandatory subscription system, considering the BBC makes little that is not garbage.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 Your lack of knowledge is frightening. The BBC license fee IS £145 and it has been fixed at that amount for the next 6 years.

The BBC makes the best programmes in the world. It is a breath of fresh air from the reality TV rubbish you get on commercial stations, It sells more programmes to other countries than any other single media organisation. Run along, won't be replying again.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink "The BBC license fee IS £145" - That's why I said there would be no change for the average person *facepalm*

"The BBC makes the best programmes in the world" - No. Most of what it makes is garbage, which is why people have to fork out more money, after already paying for the BBC extortion fee, for decent TV (Sky/Virgin etc)

"It is a breath of fresh air from the reality TV rubbish you get on commercial stations" - You are comparing garbage with garbage.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink "won't be replying again" - You've said this twice now. Feel free to admit defeat by walking away from the debate.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 Your lack of knowledge is frightening. The BBC license fee IS £145 and it has been fixed at that amount for the next 6 years.

The BBC makes the best programmes in the world. It is a breath of fresh air from the reality TV rubbish you get on commercial stations, It sells more programmes to other countries than any other single media organisation. Run along, won't be replying again.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink 4) You obviously understood none of the articles.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink Is it "corporate sense" to recruit Guardian readers over Times/Telegraph readers? hmmmmm?

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 You didn't read my post. I didn't say it made sense to recruit guardian readers over times readers I said it made sense to recruit Guardian/Times/Independent readers over the Mail. Because the Mail is a tabloid, as you must be aware. And readers of tabloids are generally less well-educated. A fact well illustrated by your inability to read, digest and respond to a pretty simple post. Maybe your brain fails you more often than you think and people just don't tend to pick you up on it?

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink "It's corporate sense to recruit from Guardian readers above the Mail" your words. But then we know from freedom of information requests that the vast majority of the BBC's recruitment budget goes on advertisements in the Guardian. I also note that you are descending into petty insults, which is the classic sign of someone losing a debate.

You are transparent and obvious.

[gushoodwink]

@0muffins0 The Guardian is (famously) the place everyone goes to look for jobs. It is where the best companies advertise. If you want to prove your case, go and get stats on which newspaper oil companies and multi-nationals advertise.Have you done that? Because if you haven't, your research is woefully inadequate.You will find they advertise there too, does that mean they are recruiting lefties? No, it means the Guardian is where all the best people advertise.Your opinions are unfalsifiable

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink "The Guardian is (famously) the place everyone goes to look for jobs". No it is not. Were it so then perhaps it would not be the loss making enterprise that it is. It is the place where *lefties* go to find jobs.

[0muffins0]

@0muffins0 Still waiting for this question to be answered.

[0muffins0]

@gushoodwink "If you watch shows and do not pay for them your are stealing" No. People pay for the channels they watch (Sky, Virgin etc). The BBC then tries to thieve and intimidate money from people who 1) do not watch the BBC 2) do not want to pay for the BBC's utter garbage 3) don't have a TV. The BBC then sends vile letters and goons round to people's houses with the express purpose of intimidating money from them, regardless if they have a TV or not.

The BBC is a VILE corporation.

[gantax]

Mark Thompson is an incompetent, money grabbing fuckwit. I stopped paying my licence fee as I will not fund this bastards pension fund.

[obrien3769]

Oh dear, captain pugwash really let his fellow executives down here.

[a2zpaul]

PDJ - you rock!

[ravensmead]

...now i know what the PD stands for !!!!!!

[ravensmead]

the urm urm erm best erm pee urm wee pee peeople thay we orm urm pee urm erm erm we erm have erm pay them urm the ee ee ee ee .....

oh dear !!!!

[dosser32]

What a corking interview! Well done PDW. She really bitch slapped that overpaid slaphead gud n proper!

[ravensmead]

he's supposed to be the Editor in Chief but he can hardly

string a sentence together ...!!!!

[ravensmead]

i worked as a cameraman at the BBC for a while ...when i

asked for a pay rise i was told "budgets were tight ...and we

can't afford it".....

3 weeks later they gave Jonathon Ross an !8 million

pound contract ....i left .......

thank you PD James for making this overpaid buffoon squirm .

[curvalecce]

Amusing to hear this liar producing the 'talent must get enormous salaries' mantra.