Murdoch papers to charge for online viewing,

[London_Calling]

If there's any news worth having with the BBC online, I've missed it.

 

[smokedout]

Not if Murdoch has any say in the matter. Which he does.

yep, he's bought off the tories to dismantle bbc online if they get in

 

[kyser_soze]

Good point. I stand corrected. Just as car tax isn't in fact a tax but a vehicle licence.

Its one of those semantic technicallities. Like when the US say it isn't torture because they changed the definition of torture in their guidelines.

Its still money the government demands with menaces.

It's not a semantic technicality. There's a significant legal difference between being taxed & funded directly from central government and the licence fee, not least that the BBC has way more freedom to act than any other comparable state broadcaster.

But I really can't be fucked to go through the BBC arguments again - quite simply, legally it's not state aid or funding so can't be seen as such.

 

[maldwyn]

With my local library card via a site called NewsBank I'm able to access articles from all british dailys for free (including today's FT/Guardian - the most recent Times is yesterdays).