BBC Monitoring

History

The organisation was formed in 1939 to provide the British Government with access to foreign media and propaganda.

Funding

Although administratively and editorially part of the BBC, until 2013 BBC Monitoring did not receive any funding from the licence fee; instead it was funded directly by its stakeholders as well as by subscriptions from official and commercial bodies throughout the world. The principal stakeholder is the Cabinet Office and subscriptions were also received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the BBC World Service. Other customers include other government departments, private sector and voluntary sector organisations.

In the 2010 BBC licence fee settlement, the BBC agreed to take on the government's funding of BBC Monitoring from 2013/2014, finding the £25 million required from the licence fee.

Reported on BBC News (17 January 2011), BBC Monitoring cut 72 posts following a £3 million cut in funding over the next two years. Director of BBC Monitoring, Chris Westcott, said: "Regrettably service cuts and post closures are inevitable given the scale of the cut in funding."

The proposal was to cut £3m from the service's costs by closing the 72 posts – about 16% of its staff – but expected to create 18 new posts. The BBC agreed to finance Monitoring from 2013/14 as part of the 2010 licence fee settlement which froze the annual colour licence fee at £145.50 for six years. The agreement also saw the corporation agree to take over the Foreign Office-funded World Service from 2014.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees strongly condemned the gradual scaling down of BBC Monitoring's capabilities in two separate reports published in late 2016. The reports claimed that BBC Monitoring's operations have been adversely affected by cuts. Both Committees demanded proper funding to ensure BBC Monitoring's future.

Leadership

The following have served as Directors of BBC Monitoring since 1996:

• 1996−2003: Andrew Hills
• 2003−2015: Chris Westcott
• 2015−2016: Lucio Mesquita
• 2016−2019: Sara Beck
• 2019−present: Liz Howell

References

References

1. "BBC Monitoring: 26 August 1939". BBC.
2. [https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk BBC Monitoring] at [[BBC Online]]
3. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/not_in_website/syndication/monitoring/media_reports/default.stm Media Reports] at [[BBC News]]
4. Anon. (2018). "BBC leaves historic site after 75 years". BBC News.
5. "US to close CIA division’s UK intelligence monitoring unit".
6. Anon. (2016). "BBC Monitoring: MPs raise fears over service's future". BBC.
7. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101025190548/http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/therealstory/licencefee_settlement.shtml "BBC:The real story:BBC licence fee settlement"] Retrieved 16 January 2011
8. (19 October 2010). "BBC licence fee frozen at £145.50 for six years".
9. Marks, Jonathan. (2016). "Open Source Stupidity: The Threat to the BBC Monitoring Service". medium.com.
10. Anon. (2007). "Hills, Andrew Worth".
11. Anon. (2002). "Annual Review: A year in review BBC Monitoring". [[BBC World Service]].
12. "Chris Westcott: Director, BBC Monitoring". BBC.
13. Anon. (2015). "Lucio Mesquita appointed as Director of BBC Monitoring".
14. Beck, Sara. (2018). "BBC Monitoring: spotting fake news since the Second World War".
15. (2019). "Liz Howell".
16. Anon. (2021). "About BBC Monitoring".