Gerry Hassan makes some interesting points about broadcasting in Scotland (Opinion, 13 May). However, many of his contentions bear little semblance to reality.
Scotland is, as he notes, changing as a nation, culturally and politically. Against such a backdrop, the choices broadcasters – and print media – have to make are indeed challenging.
Where I completely disagree with him is in his contention that t
he BBC is out of touch in such a changing landscape and failing to serve audiences. If he doubts the BBC's commitment to Scotland, he need look no further than the £188 million investment made last year in the digital broadcasting centre at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
Like every publicly funded organisation, we have to make the best use of limited available resources. We are absolutely committed to investing in high-quality programming and journalism content for UK-wide and Scotland-specific audiences that resonate and connect with them, on television, radio and, increasingly, online.
We care passionately about our audiences. That is why we make every effort to ensure that modern Scotland, in all its rich diversity, is reflected through our output. We aim to do better but we can be proud of what we already achieve.
MARK BYFORD, Deputy director general, BBC Pacific Quay, GlasgowThe full article contains 212 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
