The British Broadcasting Corporation is cutting 3000 jobs, and moving about 1800 employees from London to Manchester. While these are positive developments, meaningful reform of the broadcaster would consist of full privatization and an end to the amndatory "fee" (a tax) paid by the owners of televisions and radios to the support it.

De—concentrating the most powerful UK media organization out of London is particularly important, and should be noted by the likes of CBS, NBC, and — yes — Fox News Channel. The clustering of media giants always ends up with an inward focus and elitism. Arguably, America's broadcasters are already spread out, with major operations in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. But these coastal enclaves are all different from the rest of the country — what we now call "blue state" cultures.

Manchester is a very different kettle of fish. Although already home to major private broadcaster Granada, Manchester is very much conscious of being unglamourous, the city which gave the world the Industrial Revolution. The north of England is the poor cousin of the south, and feels very much like some of our Rust Belt areas.

I have always had a great fondness for Manchester, in part because the people there are down—to—earth, and in part because of its enormous significance to world history. My very first professional experiences in Europe took place in Manchester, when I wrote a Harvard Business School case on a company located there, and I have never forgotten the warm welcome I got from my Mancunian friends. I am glad the Beeb is moving operations there. It can only help make the BBC less unbalanced.

Thomas Lifson  12 7 04