BBC In Pictures

Coming from Britain, I like British things.

Tea (in moderation), bland food (supposedly), ales and of course the BBC.

Now for those who don't know the Bitish Broadcasting Corperation is a publicly funded buisness that supplies to and answers tp the British people. Firstly they get money from a licencing system. To watch TV in the UK you must purchase a licence to watch it. This will set you back ~$250 a year. How do they enforce this? They have men in trucks drive around houses who dont own licences. If the detect the x-rays produced from the cathoray tubes in your TV, they will come in and have a look. Sounds like its straight out of 1984 right?

So what do you get for this draconian system? A news service second to none, 4 channels of commercial free tv, 8+ radio stations and quality programming such as The Office and Top Gear.

I did not realise how different it is from the USA. Its hardcore that you have to pay even if you want to watch only the free commercial channels not owned by the BBC! Now, Im pleased I dont have to sit through commercials every 7.5min but its a bit excessive. Plus on top of that they have to by law, publish a statement every year telling the British people how they spent their money. I would estimate it to be ~$2billion.

One of the many things I like about the BBC is the news. It has that British feel I have become so accustom to. Unlike MSNBC or CNN or any other of those american news programs (Except the Daily Show and the Colbert Report) it doesnt make me want to crawl into a hole cover my head in sand and shoot anything that approaches.

Their news website is very good, especially for those looking for a global view of what is going on.

Almost daily I visit the In Pictures website. It has the best pictures taken that day from around the world. Not really very much related to the news, but there are some corking photos that come up. I would advise anyone to log on and have a look. You might be inspired. The next time something is happening near you, take a camera and a few quick snaps. Luckily I live in Ohio. Nothing much happens here...

In Pictures

BBC News