Commercial Reality

Commercial Reality is a term I often use in the office, usually when finding a compromise between what we’d like to do in terms of some research or development, and what we have to do because we’re a business.

I’ve watched most of Euro 2008 but the last two nights have really summed up the meaning of Commercial Reality. On Wednesday, Germany vs Turkey on the BBC. Gary Lineker, Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer and Martin O’Neill in a palatial studio in the heart of Vienna. Ray Stubbs and the enigmatic Euro 2000 winner Marcel Desailly pitch-side, offering precious little more punditry than the boys in the studio had already mustered. Oh, and a young whipper-snapper reporter getting soaked in the UEFA official fun area. All on good salaries, in nice hotels, at our expense.

When disaster struck and the single TV feed – that UEFA forced every country in the world to take – went down, some countries had to revert to a fan in the stadium offering commentary by mobile. We in Blighty of course could fall back on fabulous BBC radio (for they are all over there too) with two more commentators, plus Chris Waddle (it was Graham Taylor’s night off).

Last night, it was ITV’s turn. Steve Rider, Didi Hamann (why?) and Andy Townsend (why-oh-why?) in someone’s living room with some orange boards and a plasma TV on the wall. “Budget” doesn’t do it justice. But can you blame them? With no home nations involved, it’s the same old tired adverts playing at half-time (anyone understand the Cantona one?). They’re probably barely breaking even and would rather be showing Emmerdale. Not really something Gary and the team need to worry about. ITV have even realised it’s not worth showing the final as we all watch it on the Beeb anyway so they’re not bothering.

In spite of all this, I wouldn’t change the BBC one bit. After the Second World War, they set up services across Eastern Europe throughout the communist era to give people hope and a link with the West. Now after 68 years, the Romanian service is closing after a job well done so that the BBC can continue is expansion of similar activity in the Middle-East. No commercial operation could ever justify this sort of activity because while its value may be obvious, it just doesn’t fit with the commercial model. So, long may it continue and long live the BBC.

Blue Coat School’s row with the Church of England

I’m on the mailing list of the former-pupils’ society at my old school, and today I found out about a strange row that has been going on since 2003 (finger on the pulse as always), as described in the Guardian’s education pages, no less. To cut a long story short, in 1708, when the school was founded, one of its principles was to educate children “in accordance with the doctrine of the Church of England”. This is not a huge surprise seeing as at the time, accordance with any other doctrine was illegal. According to the church, the law says that at the time when the school became a Grant-Maintained Grammar School, it should have been recognised officially as a C of E school due to this founding principle.

The school is firmly against this and I have a lot of sympathy with the school’s position. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I learned good basic values at school which are sourced from Christianity, but at no time was Anglicanism, or even Christianity at large, force-fed to me. It’s an interesting approach, and to explain it to outsiders (i.e. the C of E), it’s a bit like when you tell a hilarious story and no-one else gets it: “you had to be there”. Yes, there is an assembly with hymns and sermon every morning; yes, we have a chapel with a pipe organ and pews; yes, Founders’ Day includes a special service held at the Anglican Cathedral every year… but it’s not a church school and it doesn’t feel like a church school when you’re there.

The school welcomes pupils and teachers from all faiths, purely on ability. I hope it stays that way.