This comment on a post at the ASI Blog (another rant about the BBC) is yet another example of detachment from reality:-
Just been going through my RSS feeds this morning and one of the stories from the BBC was a review for a game called 'Prince of Persia'. The graphics caught my eye (I've never played the game and am very unlikely to), and so I read a paragraph or two.
Then it hit me - what on earth is the BBC reviewing a computer game for? Surely that's something that computer gaming magazines do? Suppose the BBC puts just one computer gaming magazine out of business (or, what's more likely, sales for all of them are diminished by some margin), then surely that's an abuse of their position?
In my opinion, this is some of the worst behaviour of the BBC - encroaching on wealth producing businesses using public money as a lever.
I'm not sure in what world the writer lives but it certainly isn't mine. By what bizarre logic is a broadcasting organisation debarred from reviewing an entertainment product? By this logic the BBC shouldn't broadcast films because that would put Blockbuster out of business. But then of course at the ASI it is impossible for the BBC to do anything right - even putting out programme making to the private sector which in another bizarre twist of logic is not a reduction on jobs.
Most of the proposed ("2,500") staff reductions are not real, and amount to ... outsourcing their jobs to cheaper private-sector providers.
Against such an intellect what can we do?