David Shield

The BBC has always been in times of flux. Even at the beginning in the 1920s, it had to work hard against sceptics about its role and value. So this latest wave of questioning is nothing new. But the BBC has also been our greatest cultural asset promoting British values abroad. It was a beacon of truth in the dark days of the 1940s. It created what was one of the first significant news websites that could be trusted. It transformed the way we could see natural history on TV. With BBC Bitesize, Play School and Open University, it made television an education resource. It led with investigative journalism and provided a platform for world class cultural events and much more. When I worked in rural India, I could hear waves of repeated mutterings as the word that "...the BBC is here" which meant something of value to all that heard it. So when the BBC faces its latest challenges and the need to cut back on spending, it is disappointing that we hear from the leadership only the language of accountancy, with salami cuts of budgets. Together with that, what we need to hear is the language of leadership and what the BBC's value is to the nation. From an organisation which is all about the telling of stories, it has not been great at telling its own story. We need to hear, what the BBC can still provide. What it can do that no one else can. How on foreign shores, it still can promote the best of Britain. When society is fractious, it needs to explain the mission on its own coat of arms, that : 'Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation.' That's what we need to hear from the top at the BBC, now more than ever.