There was a column in the Sunday Washington Post about programming from
the BBC showing up on local non-profit FM stations in the DC area.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...3/10/AR2006031
001721.html

http://tinyurl.com/zg4g2

Radio News With A British Accent
Sunday, March 12, 2006; Page B08

You may have noticed a lot more British accents on local radio these
days. The BBC World Service has become a fixture on WETA and WAMU,
bumping the local programming that once was dominant.

WETA-FM, for example, now airs at least four hours of BBC World Service
Radio -- unfiltered -- each weekday. WAMU-FM also is airing much more
BBC programming, including on its overnight schedule.
.....

There were some LTTE's this morning on this column.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...3/15/AR2006031
502070.html

http://tinyurl.com/z2x3y

The BBC's Window on the World
Thursday, March 16, 2006; Page A22

David Pitts ["Radio News With a British Accent," Close to Home, March
12] said that it was disturbing that the BBC has taken a prominent role
in U.S. public radio and implied that the British Foreign Office exerts
editorial control over the BBC World Service. That is false.

The BBC World Service is funded by a grant from Britain's Parliament,
administered by the Foreign Office. But the Foreign Office has no say
in the BBC's editorial agenda.

On editorial matters, the World Service is responsible only to the
director general of the BBC and the BBC Board of Governors. These
principles are laid out in the broadcasting agreement with the United
Kingdom.

PHILIP HARDING

Director
English Networks & News
BBC World Service
London

.... goes on to page 2....
The last letter is really funny.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...3/15/AR2006031
502070_2.html

http://tinyurl.com/g45q5

The BBC's Window on the World
I strongly disagree with David Pitts's commentary lamenting the
abundance of BBC World Service content on WETA and WAMU-FM. I'm
fascinated by the world perspective provided by the BBC's news and
commentary, as well as by the "World Have Your Say" show, which
features callers from around the globe, including the United States.

While the BBC news does displace local content, I'm hardly alienated
from my locality, considering the availability of neighborhood
newspapers and The Post; local news on radio (including WAMU and WETA)
and television; local news and commentary e-mail lists; and many Web
sites.

Mr. Pitts suggested that while government funding makes Voice of
America "to some degree" a propaganda organ, we should beware the BBC's
coverage because it is tainted by government funding. I'm happy to
trade the lost hours of local gabfests for the BBC's world window.

Wouldn't the world improve if more people broadened their perspectives,
rather than hearing from only their like-thinking neighbors?

GABRIEL GOLDBERG
Falls Church


David Pitts said that BBC World Service Radio is the main competitor of
Voice of America (VOA).

That used to be true, but the Board of Broadcast Governors, which
controls the VOA, has announced that it intends to discontinue almost
all English-language radio broadcasting at the end of September because
so few people are listening. That just might be the case because the
board has turned off many VOA transmitters.

Travelers abroad who want to hear news of the United States might try
Radio China (Beijing). It has 24-hour English-language radio service.

NEIL CURRIE

Potomac
The writer is a news anchor at Voice of America.