BBC World Service
The UK does like to reduce its ‘soft power’ with ill considered cuts. With impeccable timing…
‘Some language services that were moved to digital-only distribution saw overall audiences fall 63 percent, while their digital reach also dropped 39 percent. In Nigeria, audiences were hit after social platforms deprioritized news content, further cutting visibility for BBC material’
https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/17/bbc_world_service_digital_pivot/
It looks like (relative) good sense has broken out at the Treasury, a likely deal on a in real term's neutral (which is to inflation adjusted) budget agreement for the BBC World Service.
Given its centrality to the UK (dwindling) soft power, alongside the Govt's professed interest in maintaining (or at least not further damaging) UK influence in the world, this prospective settlement looks as good as it would likely have got in the current fiscal circumstances.
#WorldService #politics
h/t FT
Today:
#BBC #WorldService Radio - Newshour
Interview with Marina Lacerda who was abused by Epstein from ~14yrs old.
(Begins at around ~32mins)
Worth your time - the BBC WS interview today (playing now but available for some time). Audrey Tang: bringing digital diplomacy to the world
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct8c45
The Interview
Zoe Kleinman speaks to Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital ambassador at large about her life and career: aligning big tech with community
#ai #GenAI #taiwan #digitalliteracy #academia #academicchatter #bbc #worldservice
INTERVIEW: Dave Clarke's seminal 'World Service' was released on this day in 2001. A couple of years back, we caught up with the Baron himself to discuss how one of the most influential techno/electro mix CDs came together. #daveclarke #techno #electro #worldservice
fwiw, I think this is stupid.
The BBC has been cutting back its news and journalism offerings with reckless abandon for years now, with the World Service having faced already swathing cuts through the Tory years.
The wisdom of trading foreign aid for defence spending has some worthwhile nuance to it, but allowing the World Service to decline at a time when it's most sorely needed is monumentally stupid.
Wen
Human after all
Emeritus Prof Christopher May
Grant
Dr Pen
David Palk#RejoinEU 💖🇪🇺🕊🌈
909originals
Thomas
merely rhys