Hard on Soft Power

It's not the BBC but it is the BBC but it will be the BBC in 2014.  The World Service which is paid for by the Foreign Office will see more than 600 jobs go together with cuts in programmes.  This has to be a sad day for British Broadcasting.  Many peoples across the world have seen the 'BBC' as a trusted source of news, it is great cultural export for the country and has a value far beyond the walls of Bush House.

You can hear the BBC World Service on DAB in the UK I suggest you give it a listen, right now as I listen my good friend, colleague and neighbour (he lives a few doors down from us) is reading the news, I fear for his job and the impact it will have on his wife and teenage daughter if that happens. 

Last year I was tutoring someone from the Chinese version of our world service. They are busy expanding their network, they must also realise what a powerful relationship listeners have with their radio, and how much listeners trust what comes out of their radio, far more so than TV. That trust is often called soft power and our government have gone stupidly hard on that soft power.