I've just finished watching the latest incarnation of BBC2's Newsnight review programme - which has conventionally looked at traditional arts subjects such as novels, plays, films, TV programmes, and even music.
Everything about this programme has declined in quality and execution over the last few years. It used to hosted by a serious and well-briefed chair who orchestrated opinions from four guests who had differences of approach, but who articulated them in an intelligent and sophisticated manner. They would agree to disagree, speak one at a time, and respect their differences.
Now, under the non-control of the over-paid Kirsty Wark, the show is a complete shambles - with at some points all four people talking at once. There is very little visual content to the programme - so it might as well be on radio as on TV. The chair is intrusive, undisciplined, over-emotional, and the result is no better informed than a saloon bar rant with occasional name dropping and insider references.
In the end I simply switched off, and I will not watch it again. I'm not sufficiently well informed to know where a complaint would have most effect. The BBC has programmes (such as Feedback) which are specifically designed to pour cold water onto any complaint made about the way it conducts is business.
And this business, we should remind ourselves, is conducted at our expense. They receive millions and millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to run these shows.
