Happy 100th birthday BBC

On the occasion of the BBC:s 100th birthday celebrations Swedish Radios CEO Cilla Benkö writes about the importance of the BBC and cooperation amongst public service companies across the world.

I am delighted to wish all of you at the BBC a happy birthday on your very successful first 100 years. Long may you continue to produce the impressive and important content that you everyday offer your listeners and viewers. We here at Swedish Radio will be following your celebrations closely. Its is certainly a joy to see the material you have put together for your centenary. I recommend all to have a look at this amazing presentation of the BBC:s first 100 years: https://www.bbc.co.uk/100  

The BBC is the original public service company, and very much a market leader, not only in the UK but the world. As a smaller public service company we can often look to the BBC for trends while also acting as a partner in highlighting the importance of public service media across the globe.

In this day and age, when public debate often challenges facts and arguments that risk to polarize societies the role of public service everywhere is of the utmost importance. We must stand up for the values that connect us, impartiality, correctness in reporting and high quality content for those that we aim to serve, the wide ranging general public.

The BBC has always done this, in good times and in tough times. One recent example of this was the mammoth task of reporting to the nation of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Your factual reporting was intertwined with voices from the general public and captured the mood of the nation in a superb way.

Now, as we celebrate the first 100 years of public service we must also be vary of those that attack the free media and for whom a free press is a threat. We must stand up to them together and we see them both close to home in Europe and further away.

We are also facing new challenges from global giants that control much of the audiences attention and have also in the past decade transformed the media landscape. We must make sure that we develop and take on this challenge in order to continue to play an important role in society. We do this best together and by exchanging views, ideas and cooperating. I have very much enjoyed the close co-operation I have had with the last three Directors-General of the BBC with whom I have had many discussions about the role our companies play in society. We learn from each other, irrespective of whether it concerns technical development, local radio, podcasts, strategy, program formats or editorial work.

In this regard, it is also very interesting to watch this recent film from BBC that highlights the importance of the journalistic standards that guide the BBC in their editorial work. Much of this is in line with how we view our mission. The corroboration of facts and the need to report from the scene of events is very much part of our own thinking when we e.g. continually put strong resources into of foreign news reporting and have the biggest network of foreign correspondents of all media outlets in the Nordics. 

If we continue our discussion about how to best serve the audiences with high quality content that matters to them and that is available to them on relevant platforms I´m hopeful that public service media stand a good chance in continuing to play an important role for our democracies for the next 100 years as well. We at Swedish Radio look forward to this continued cooperation with the BBC and hope that you really enjoy your celebrations.

Cilla Benkö
CEO and Director General, Swedish Radio