Broadcasters are corseted and cossetted - it's time to set them free. We need to scrap the TV licence and give broadcast journalists the same freedoms their print colleagues enjoy, argues Richard D. North. It made sense 80 years ago to treat broadcasters as special - but not now.

The BBC holds a special place in the world of broadcasting. It derives its funding from a compulsory levy on people who may not even use the service. The protection it receives is justified on the grounds that it contributes to national welfare because of its role in ‘public service broadcasting’. The authors of this book argue that the BBC’s funding model is becoming untenable as technology changes. Furthermore, technology has also undermined the justification for government support for public service broadcasting. There is also major concern about bias at the BBC. However, the book concludes that bias is not confined to the BBC, but is common to all media providers. The problem is not bias as such, but the link between the BBC and the government, together with the compulsory funding model which does not allow people to not fund content of which they disapprove. Various options for reform are presented, concluding with a proposal for fullblown privatisation. It is concluded that this is the only way to realise the potential of an organisation that should be international in scope and which, under the current funding model, will become marginalised by media players operating worldwide across a range of platforms. This book is essential reading for anybody involved in public policy or the economics of broadcasting.

There's a war on against the BBC. It is under threat as never before. And if we lose it, we won't get it back. The BBC is our most important cultural institution, our best-value entertainment provider, and the global face of Britain. It's our most trusted news source in a world of divisive disinformation. But it is facing relentless attacks by powerful commercial and political enemies, including deep funding cuts - much deeper than most people realise - with imminent further cuts threatened. This book busts the myths about the BBC and shows us how we can save it, before it's too late.

Is western civilisation based on a mistaken understanding of humanity? Fundamental to any society is its comprehension of human nature. It shapes attitudes and policies on a whole range of issues: interpersonal relations, child-rearing, discipline and punishment, economics and welfare. For millennia western societies were based on the idea that human nature is flawed. This was turned upside down 300 years ago during the Enlightenment by writers such as Rousseau, who argued that we are born good and later warped by parents and society; a liberal view of human nature which is now being challenged by scientific discoveries in the fields of the mind, the brain, and genetics (including the Human Genome), evolutionary psychology, and anthropology.This fundamental change has had profound effects. If we are essentially good then we can safely maximize freedom and abandon morality, religion and tradition. Many aspects of life have been liberalised - sexual behaviour, alcohol consumption, censorship, gambling, divorce laws and economic activity. Economic liberals thought free markets were rational and good and favoured minimal government interference and light-touch regulations. This led to the credit crunch and the greatest financial crisis since World War Two.Many parents now hesitate to discipline their own children. The belief that we are essentially good but corrupted by society has also influenced penal policy. Liberals see criminals as victims, not as wrongdoers; because surely no-one would choose to do something wrong. This is a world far removed from the self-sacrifice and fraternity shown during World War Two. It has not brought happiness but rather more alienated individuals. The outcome of egalitarian aims or methods has often missed its mark: e.g., in education it has led to the dumbing down of academic standards, grade inflation and a decline in social mobility. Egalitarian regimes from the French Revolution to the Soviet era have been amongst the most bigoted, brutal and bloody in history. The drive for greater social justice and fairness must remain an essential objective. There is, therefore, an urgent need to separate out the positive from the negative aspects of liberal thought and practice, as otherwise there is the risk of descent into moral anarchy and social disintegration.

"I'm a Stephen King fan, but Stephen King did not participate in the making of this novel, nor is he affiliated with it in any way. I hope he likes it." --JAMES PATTERSON BookShots LIGHTNING-FAST STORIES BY JAMES PATTERSON Novels you can devour in a few hours Impossible to stop reading All original content from James Patterson

Incorporating HCP 314 i-viii, session 2006-07

In the run-up to the general election of May 2010 it was universally acknowledged that whatever the outcome, this vote would start a fresh chapter in British political history. But no one anticipated just how fresh that chapter would be - Twists and turns made it an election like no other. David Cameron launched the Tories' poster campaign with an unblemished photograph of himself - and it became the most parodied image of the election. Nick Clegg went into the fi rst of the leaders' television debates derided as 'The Other One' - and emerged as a major player, with 'I agree with Nick' the campaign's unlikely catchphrase. Mrs Gillian Duffy went out to buy a loaf of bread in Rochdale - and happened to encounter Gordon Brown, with disastrous consequences for the Labour cause. But none of the soap opera of the weeks leading up to 6 May could match the drama of the days following the election's inconclusive result: the positioning, the posturing, the negotiating and the bargaining which eventually saw David Cameron moving into 10 Downing Street in a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. A fresh chapter in political history - and a fresh level of political theatre incisively described by Nicholas Jones.

Almost everything about the good doctor, his companions and travels, his enemies and friends. Additionally the actors etc. Part three contains all summaries of all TV episodes.Compiled from Wikipedia pages and published by Dr Googelberg.