In the government’s proposed review of the BBC, the huge BBCi website is sure to be one of the main areas for consideration. The main complaint, it seems, is not that BBCi is too big; it’s actually seen as being too *good*. Victor Keegan, writing in the Guardian, hits upon exactly the right tone of indignant disbelief.
The very thought of somehow restricting, financially or otherwise, such a comprehensive and user-friendly information resource is shocking. It’s also patently untrue that the BBC is unique in having a particular advantage in this area – MSN, Vivendi or BSkyB have the money and facilities to compete directly with the Beeb, but choose not to.
BBCi isn’t perfect by a long shot; there’s no way it could investigate any of the thousands of subjects covered in real detail. But as an ‘information portal’ of sorts, it’s unbeatable. Could this be the problem? His cult of personality already irreparably tainted, does Tony Blair feel threatened by the fact that a website (run by the corporation which employed Andrew Gilligan) can be so hugely popular? More popular than his own government, perhaps?