This week it goes to Auntie (ie the BBC).
For why?
Just ask Baroness Bakewell, who is campaigning to have a statue of George Orwell erected (can I say "erected"?) in the piazza outside of the new Broadcasting House.
It is a good idea, Orwell warned of the dangers of communism and (via 1984 and Animal Farm) gave us a chilling vision of what the future might look like under a totalitarian regime where every communication was monitored and our daily lives subjected to state control and intrusion.
Orwell also worked as a BBC journalist, producing radio programmes at Broadcasting House during the Second World War before leaving to publish Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
So why have I nominated the BBC for my award?
Well it seems that the BBC don't want to have an erection in the piazza, even though the cost would be covered by donations.
Why?
Mark Thompson, the Corporation’s outgoing director general, said the statue could not be erected on BBC premises because Orwell was “too Left-wing”.
Eh?
Lady Bakewell is quoted in the Telegraph:
I suspect, if you conducted a poll as to whether people thought George Orwell or The State's Broadcaster were the most left wing, I suspect most would say Al Ja-Beeba.
ReplyDeleteToo left wing for the Beeb??? Yer 'avin a larf...
ReplyDeleteRoom 101 wasn't a conference room - it was a small office on the first floor. I walked past it every day many years ago. It was reputedly where you got your personal file stamped for security clearance. I heard they used a little Christmas tree.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the impression that Orwell was left wing. Anyone who worries about totalitarianism, must reject this left-right idea, as the only thing that changes is how the respective proponents seek to enslave us.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC don't want it out there because the BBC themselves are helping 1984 along.
ReplyDeleteCan't we give Mark Thompson a leaving present that reasonably represents his work at the Taxpayers BBC, where he earned about One Million Pounds a year? - HANG THE BASTARD
ReplyDeleteAn award justly bestowed! George Orwell too left wing? That's rich, coming from an organisation that's about as left wing as you can get! I bet if the proposal had been for a statue of Marx, Lenin or Stalin they'd have been all for it! Speaking personally, I am all in favour of honouring Deorge Orwell, who has done the world a great service in his prophetic warnings in "Animal Farm" and "1984".
ReplyDelete