Time & Perspective Quote by Jonathan Dimbleby

A public broadcaster lives or dies on confidence, and Dimbleby is poking at the BBC right where its self-image hurts most. “Obligation to think big” isn’t a bland encouragement; it’s a reminder that the BBC’s legitimacy rests on ambition that commercial rivals can’t or won’t fund: long-horizon journalism, risky cultural programming, national moments done with authority rather than clicks. By framing it as an “obligation,” he implies the BBC owes the public more than competent output. It owes scale.

Then comes the neat twist: the “clarion call” that “sounds an uncertain note.” A clarion is supposed to be unmistakable, martial, galvanizing. Dimbleby turns that instrument against itself, suggesting the BBC’s rallying cry has become muffled, even self-doubting. The line works because it’s critique disguised as concern: he’s not accusing the BBC of malice, but of drift - the more damning charge for an institution built on purpose.

Context does a lot of heavy lifting here. Dimbleby, a veteran voice of British broadcast authority, is speaking from inside the cathedral, not throwing stones from the street. His skepticism lands in an era when the BBC is squeezed by political pressure, funding fights, competition from streamers, and a general crisis of trust in institutions. “Uncertain” can mean editorial timidity, but it can also mean strategic confusion: chasing the rhythms of the platform economy while still claiming the mantle of public service. The subtext is blunt: if the BBC stops thinking big, it stops being the BBC.