LONDON -- The British Broadcasting Corporation was a pioneer of public-service broadcasting when it was established in the 1920s. It built up a strong reputation in its early years under its first director, General Lord Reith, although it also earned the nick-name of "Auntie" because it was regarded as prim and proper. During the war years, its news bulletins and its broadcasts of drama, music and discussion provided reassurance and relief in troubled times. To listen to the 9 o'clock news was for many a ritual that would only be missed if called away on duty. As Big Ben sounded the hour, listeners at home would put down their books, their needlework or their knitting and listen intently for news of the fighting around the world or of the damage caused by bombing at home in Britain. The BBC brought us Prime Minister Winston Churchill's speeches; it also gave us news of our friends in America, particularly through Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America," which became and remains an institution.

Of course, the BBC has had to face criticisms that it was biased in its reporting. But the fact that such criticisms came from both left and right suggested that its reporting was pretty balanced. In the days before television became universal, demand for commercial radio was muted, and only a few people listened to commercial broadcasts from overseas (e.g. Radio Luxembourg). But as television in postwar Britain, developed by the BBC, became increasingly popular, the BBC's monopoly of broadcasting channels became increasingly anachronistic. A duopoly was then created with the establishment of Independent Television (ITV), which was funded by advertising revenue. Gradually the number of commercial television channels increased and satellite broadcasting was developed. For its part, the BBC opened a second channel (BBC 2) which was supposed to provide rather more serious programs than on BBC 1.

In order to justify their license-fee income -- currently, annual licenses for color TV cost householders 104 pounds (about $170) -- and to maintain a significant share of viewers, the BBC felt impelled to put on more and more programs designed to appeal to the masses and to compete head on with commercial television. Serious programs were relegated to less popular times, or quietly dropped. This process of dumbing down attracted much criticism, and many argued that it undermined the case for maintaining the license fee. The BBC riposted that, on the contrary, in order to compete with commercial stations (for example, in televising sports, where promoters demand huge fees), the BBC's license fee should be increased.