Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I'm not sure it was wise for the BBC to pay Fearon although there is a logic to it in the context of providing a rounded picture to ensure a rounded debate. I'm certain though that picking up one tiny element of BBC programme decision making does not constitute a solid argument against the licence fee.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Two words "My Hero" and countless other DREADFUL sitcoms. And just to make a point let's look at this evenings programming for bbc 1 & 2.

BBC 1 - A Question of sport (yawn), Top of the Pops (double yawn), Eastenders (more yawnage), My Hero (*GAG*), Comic Relief does Fame Academy (Sorry if it sounds heartless, it may well be for charity but it's still fame academy and it's still tediously boring), then the news (which I can watch on any news channel) then MORE bloody Fame Academy.

BBC 2 - Bill Oddies "How To Watch Wildlife" (wow .. I'm bristling with anticipation over this one :rolleyes: ), Gardeners World, Timewatch, Dear Television, Grumpy old women then newsnight.

This is the sort of utter crap I fund with my license fee? It's a disgrace!

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

One evening does not prove anything. I can list lloads of programs such as Horizion, BBC News and Newsnight, Grumpy old men/women, Have i got news for you, The Office, Yes Minister, Only Fools, Fawlty Towers, State of play, The one off dramas they do, and so on :tu:

They also do many programs that teach people, such as the current push to teach people about china. Also the school programs they do. Then too mention all the documentrys they do and all the projects they fund too find talennt and help people. How many other people have an action line oopen after programs to help people deal with the issues raised? Watch a eposide of eastenders which has a tragic story and at the end they show a number peoople can ring if affected.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Actually, Channel 4 do for their programmes. Not sure if ITV do, but I think they might.

I have to admit that I don't watch an awful lot of television, but, when I do, it tends to be the BBC channels (mainly 1 and 2), Channel 4 and (increasingly) Channel 5.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Don't take this the wrong way Damien, but at 18, you really haven't got a clue.

Last month, I paid over £1k in tax an NI. To go towards stupid bloody child trust funds, and free housing for pikeys who can't be arsed to work amongst other. I strongly believe I should have a right to decide whether more of my hard earned wages goes towards a broadcasts of a Corporation that I have no interest in, just because I choose to own a tv :mad:.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Translation: Screw the rest of you, I'm alright Jack...

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Frankly, yes. A grand a month I think is plenty to involuntarily contribute. I work my arse of at two jobs, have never been unemployed or claimed benefit, yet I get jack ***** out of the state. I'm ******ed off with funding other peoples wants and needs.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Fine.

And as someone said in another thread words to the effect that: "If you don't like it, why don't you leave the country"

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Because I was born here, so was my father, so was his. Why should I have to leave a country that I've worked ghard and paid my way in. And lets face it - if muppets ike me don't stay here to fund all the lazy waster chavs, who will? :rolleyes:

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

all you need to do is click on this link

http://www.tvlicensing.biz/

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

A prompt and helpful reply to my email:




So, from the horse's mouth. If you don't receive TV broadcasts, you don't need a licence and you don't need to tell TV licencing anything.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Some on you should really see the type of programming countrys in europe show. Anything NEAR the quality of the BBC is no where to be seen. In france there main channels all jostle for ratings by showning the lowest programs.

Any comedy programs are focused on the worst type of cheap comedy. Current affiers comedy is reducing to people wearning masks of famous people and putting on funny voices (really! and this program is very popular). The news is VERY anti-american, they always refer to the iraqi war as 'ilegal' and so on. They also show a lot of items about englush yobbishness. They present some storys as the sun would here. Over there it is a FACT that the war was for oil and that blair did it to suck up to america. This isnt presented as a opinion. its news. While they dont focus that in the last election they had a choice between a nazi and a crook.

Drama over there is about the same as a soap here. Eastenders would be seen as a very good drama there (and eastenders is awful!). ALso forget about doucmentrys getting anywhere near the big channels (unless its a negative story about briten and america or a postive story aboout france!). Horzion, newnight? No chance, they just do not have that sort of programming. Its too heavy and requires too much attentsion for them.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Don't get mad with the Beeb, get mad with tax avoiders - estimated cost to the nation of £25bn a year!! (those familiar with my posts will know this is one of my favourite statistics though nobody ever seems to want to acknowledge it. C'est la vie!).


Edit: Oh and my partner works with disadvantaged youth. Try getting by on what they do. Now that is a tough life.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Fine, but as an example I hope you never have children. Some of my tax contributions will have to go towards paying for their education. I`m never going to have children, so why should I pay towards your's should you have them?

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

A lot of countrys still have a licence fee but dont have channels like the BBC!

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Difference is I work and have contributed to the country education system for 13 years. So effectively, I've paid for my childs education before it's even born. Although if standards of schools stay as they are, I'll being paying for that out of my own pocket too, and sending them private.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

No, you have paid for an element of your child's education. I sincerely doubt your tax contributions will fully cover the costs when you factor in that only a small part of your tax contributions will be going to education. How about if you need medical treatment that costs more than the NI contributions that you have made? Are you going to top that up with your own money? I strongly suspect the answer is no.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Hmm 24, ER, West Wing, CSI .. the list is pretty extensive (even compared to the BBC)

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I was talking about french tv. American TV does come up with some good dramas. Although (unlike the bbc) they are spread across many channels.

I challenge you to find one company that has producing as much good tv as the bbc

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Hardly fair to compare the output of multiple companies to one. Bear in mind that due to the amount of TV the Americans produce, they are bound to produce at least some good shows. Hollywood does produce tens of thousands of hours of TV a week. Bear in mind that generally, we only see the better ones.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Now there's a worrying thought :rolleyes: :)

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I wouldn't judge American TV based on the tiny proportion of it that finds its way over here. It might look like a long list, but the list of dross is even longer. All we generally get in the UK is the good programmes from the US, cherry picked from the very wide choice available. Thankfully we are never exposed to the majority of American TV output. Just try finding decent drama or comedy mid-evening most nights of the week on American telly. It's all local news, chat shows and shoddy documentaries. HBO has a decent stab at producing an eclectic schedule, but let me tell you, most of it is not up to the standards of Sex and the City.
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I promise you, when you're stuck in a hotel room all evening with nothing else to do, it's a very depressing thought indeed.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I know... :)

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

The really scary thing is do you have any idea how many films are actually released by Hollywood? When I worked for Blockbuster, we were told that Hollywood released about 150 movies a week. Only a small percentage of which suceed, but they generate enough money to pay for the failures. They make TV shows based on that principle.
I know. I have an Aunt that lived in Barbados. I went to stay with her, and the TV was a combination of English repeats, local news & shows and American shows. God they showed some crap. Although I did p*ss myself laughing at how bad "Days of our lives" was.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

All this could be Irrelevant soon any way.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/03/pc_tax/

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

And so were the people you mention. Why should *you* consider yourself more important than them?

Why should *anyone* have to leave a country just because *YOU* don't like them?

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I think your being a bit harsh

I think the point OB was making is that she believes that as someone already paying a lot of taxes and making a positive contribution to society and to others less fortunate that may not be making the same positive contribution, she feels aggrieved by having to pay a further tax for television channel she doesn't particularly want to watch.

I don't think she thinks herself more important, just ****ed off

I don't think she said anyone shouldleave the country - that was you, in fact telling her to leave the country.

Sorry, no logic to it at all, Fearon is a **** sucking toerag with a conviction list as long as your arm and we (yes, we -it's our money) are paying him £4,500 grand. Thats approx 450 licence payers' money going out of their bank account into his. It's disgusting and dispicable.

And it's not just this single point that is the argument against the Licence fee, this is just one of many.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I'm no apologist for Fearon but he was paid because he was the only other person present when a 16 year old boy was shot in the back (not a typical self defence strategy hene Tony Martin's conviction). Without his input rounded coverage of the event would not be possible because Fearon's voice had not previously been heard. Martin's version of events, on the other hand, have been widely publicised and one newspaper paid him a six figure sum for his story.

The answers aren't easy and as I said I'm not sure it was wise to pay Fearon, precisely because of the media furore that has transpired. Not to have paid him though, would have meant the rug would have been pulled from under the reasoning behind the programme in the first place, so it would have had to have been pulled.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Fine, then don't do the programme. Is this programme in the public interest anyway. Everybody knows what happened.

Martin had been robbed umpteen times, he'd had enough. These two toe rags decide to try and rob him, he's waiting for them and disturbs them. They run away and he shoots one of them.

We all know what happened after that.

Whether you think him right or wrong.

But you can see what angle the PCBBC are going to be playing this one before they've made it.

You can see who the poor victims are going to be. :(

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

I don't. I think OB was being totally excessive.

So she doesn't like the taxes she has to pay. Tough. That's a fact of modern life. You don't get to pick and choose what you do or don't pay for and trying to blame this (as it seems) on people who are less well off seems unnecessarily petty.

I was quoting her words from another thread (the Muslim/ school clothing one IIRC). What's sauce for the goose...
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Excuse me, but this seems to be saying that your objection to the programme is that it isn't going to portray the story in the way that *you* think it should be.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

as long as im not left with another itv1 im happy i couldnt handle more rubbish appealing to LCD

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Bit off topic but I'm a little annoyed. I've been red repped because of my opinions regarding the Tony Martin programme on the grounds that "I'd change my mind if I was robbed at 2 a.m" For the record I've had three cars stolen (only one recovered) and been burgled 3-4 times (one time disturbing the the buggers) assautled on the street and assaulted in my mate's home by strangers who knocked on the door. So my opinion is grounded in a fairly active reality of the impact of criminal behaviour.

(I should point out that not all these things happened in Bury; wouldn't want to upset the tourist people!).

Rant over.

Re: Scrap TV license fees?
 

Not at all, I'm all for a balanced programme, my point was that the BBC is so preoccupied with taking the PC role I predict that it make Tony Martin out to be the bad guy.

We all now know the facts of the Martin case. I cannot condone what he did, but I can sympathise.

Fearon and his accomplice went into that house knowing it was not their property and to steal from it.

They had a choice from the outset.

Martin who had been broken into many times also had a choice.

Make no mistake, Martin deserved to be charged and convicted for what he did, but also make no mistake Fearon and his accomplice had it coming.

So if it is portrayed like that I'll have no complaints.