Richard Baker
@rchrdbkr.bsky.social
Composer based in Ceredigion, Wales, UK. Research Fellow at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. Own views here. Weithiau yn Gymraeg.
Profile photo: Claire Shovelton
Artist website: https://rchrdbkr.com/
Profile photo: Claire Shovelton
Artist website: https://rchrdbkr.com/
Reposted by Richard Baker
John Le Carre was right about the British establishment and how the alumni of the best schools will sell out their own country for status and money and in particular a desperate desire for American attention
November 11, 2025 at 10:52 AM
John Le Carre was right about the British establishment and how the alumni of the best schools will sell out their own country for status and money and in particular a desperate desire for American attention
Reposted by Richard Baker
Discussed this with my husband (Barrister) last evening. A UK court would not allow this to proceed.
There is no reputational damage as he has no reputation to damage. His many convictions and history of being a vexatious litigant weigh against him. He is an extortionist, not be countentanced.
There is no reputational damage as he has no reputation to damage. His many convictions and history of being a vexatious litigant weigh against him. He is an extortionist, not be countentanced.
November 11, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Discussed this with my husband (Barrister) last evening. A UK court would not allow this to proceed.
There is no reputational damage as he has no reputation to damage. His many convictions and history of being a vexatious litigant weigh against him. He is an extortionist, not be countentanced.
There is no reputational damage as he has no reputation to damage. His many convictions and history of being a vexatious litigant weigh against him. He is an extortionist, not be countentanced.
Reposted by Richard Baker
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
November 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
Reposted by Richard Baker
Politico: "Veteran BBC presenter David Dimbleby told Channel 4 last night that it is “one of the most violent assaults on the BBC’s independence that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” while Playbook is told staff have been voicing “a lot of anger towards [right wing BBC board member] Robbie Gibb.”
November 11, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Politico: "Veteran BBC presenter David Dimbleby told Channel 4 last night that it is “one of the most violent assaults on the BBC’s independence that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” while Playbook is told staff have been voicing “a lot of anger towards [right wing BBC board member] Robbie Gibb.”
Reposted by Richard Baker
I do not understand the Labour government's reticence over defending the BBC and social media regulation. Their long-term survival basically depends on it. Their cowardice in the face of it may be the single thing they are most remembered for.
on.ft.com/3JVxC1Z via @FT
on.ft.com/3JVxC1Z via @FT
BBC faces ‘existential’ threat after exit of top executives
Broadcaster’s deepest crisis in recent history comes amid fresh questions over its future role in British society
on.ft.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:35 AM
I do not understand the Labour government's reticence over defending the BBC and social media regulation. Their long-term survival basically depends on it. Their cowardice in the face of it may be the single thing they are most remembered for.
on.ft.com/3JVxC1Z via @FT
on.ft.com/3JVxC1Z via @FT
Reposted by Richard Baker
The Zeiten, they are wending.
61% of Germans say their country invested too little in its military capabilities.
66% say we relied too much on the US for our security.
61% of Germans say their country invested too little in its military capabilities.
66% say we relied too much on the US for our security.
November 11, 2025 at 6:47 AM
The Zeiten, they are wending.
61% of Germans say their country invested too little in its military capabilities.
66% say we relied too much on the US for our security.
61% of Germans say their country invested too little in its military capabilities.
66% say we relied too much on the US for our security.
Reposted by Richard Baker
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
Reposted by Richard Baker
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
Reposted by Richard Baker
One nice detail that can easily be lost in this graph - even right wingers trust the BBC more than the right wing tabloids
Here’s the same data, but with trust broken down by political views (circles are trust among people on the left, +s the right).
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
November 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
One nice detail that can easily be lost in this graph - even right wingers trust the BBC more than the right wing tabloids
Reposted by Richard Baker
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
Reposted by Richard Baker
Lots of people comparing Senate Democrats to Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, but that analogy only works in a version where Lucy has told Charlie Brown she's going to pull it away, and also that afterwards she's going to have Snoopy executed in a foreign prison
November 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Lots of people comparing Senate Democrats to Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, but that analogy only works in a version where Lucy has told Charlie Brown she's going to pull it away, and also that afterwards she's going to have Snoopy executed in a foreign prison
Reposted by Richard Baker
Private Eye cartoon of mine from early 2024.
November 10, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Private Eye cartoon of mine from early 2024.
Reposted by Richard Baker
If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee
If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee
Replacing the TV licence with a means-tested alternative may help disarm the right of one of its most effective weapons, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:32 PM
If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee
Reposted by Richard Baker
I *still* believe that the BBC is excellent, despite its ever growing list of flaws.
*When* it's sold off for parts future generations won't know what they missed
*When* it's sold off for parts future generations won't know what they missed
There are many subtle and complex arguments one can have about the future of the BBC — but I guarantee you that no other channel or streaming service will be as committed to factual programming, children’s education, history shows, religious discussion, poetry, arts, or state of the nation debate
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I *still* believe that the BBC is excellent, despite its ever growing list of flaws.
*When* it's sold off for parts future generations won't know what they missed
*When* it's sold off for parts future generations won't know what they missed
Reposted by Richard Baker
In 'How They Broke Britain', I do a pretty good job of detailing the depth & breadth of Tufton Street/Tory/Murdoch/Mail attempts to scupper the BBC, even as I castigate some presenters for going too easy on precisely the people who seek the Corporation's abolition. But I should have done more. 1/2
November 10, 2025 at 9:23 AM
In 'How They Broke Britain', I do a pretty good job of detailing the depth & breadth of Tufton Street/Tory/Murdoch/Mail attempts to scupper the BBC, even as I castigate some presenters for going too easy on precisely the people who seek the Corporation's abolition. But I should have done more. 1/2
Reposted by Richard Baker
If you've ever needed a reason to rally behind the BBC then this is it.
November 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
If you've ever needed a reason to rally behind the BBC then this is it.
Reposted by Richard Baker
Should Gibb be sacked? yes, obviously. He's an abomination of basic journalistic standards. His GB News channel spreads conspiracy theory & disinformation. His Jewish Chronicle newspaper spreads invented stories. He is plainly trying to undermine the BBC so it's as bad as everything else he touches.
November 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Should Gibb be sacked? yes, obviously. He's an abomination of basic journalistic standards. His GB News channel spreads conspiracy theory & disinformation. His Jewish Chronicle newspaper spreads invented stories. He is plainly trying to undermine the BBC so it's as bad as everything else he touches.
Yes. But a rather clumsy one imho.
November 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Yes. But a rather clumsy one imho.
Reposted by Richard Baker
Reposted by Richard Baker
What you’re witnessing is a populist assault on the BBC.
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
November 10, 2025 at 10:52 AM
What you’re witnessing is a populist assault on the BBC.
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
Reposted by Richard Baker
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
November 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
I’m sure cleverer people than me have made this point, but: the BBC is, from its founding a liberal institution, embodying (broadly speaking) liberal values. The fact that it exists at all is testament to a particular world view/ideology. Whole thing collapses if you challenge it.
November 10, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I’m sure cleverer people than me have made this point, but: the BBC is, from its founding a liberal institution, embodying (broadly speaking) liberal values. The fact that it exists at all is testament to a particular world view/ideology. Whole thing collapses if you challenge it.
Reposted by Richard Baker
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
Re BBC nonsense: nothing irritates me more than the debasement/hijacking of the word ‘bias’ in popular discourse.
November 10, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Re BBC nonsense: nothing irritates me more than the debasement/hijacking of the word ‘bias’ in popular discourse.
Reposted by Richard Baker
The Today Programme.
November 10, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The Today Programme.