"We are rather in the position that used to exist at the BBC, where you feel that you can pick up the phone to people who are experts in their field and they will be very favourably disposed to you and share their knowledge"
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There is a quietly barbed nostalgia in Bremner's picture of the old BBC: a place where authority wasn’t purchased, hacked, or “networked,” it was a phone call away. Coming from a comedian and satirist, the line does double duty. On the surface, it’s a practical compliment about institutional reach and a culture of expertise. Underneath, it’s an elegy for a media ecosystem that used to trade on trust - and a sideways jab at what replaced it.
The phrasing is doing the work. “Rather in the position” is classic British understatement, softening what is essentially a claim to legitimacy. “Used to exist” signals loss: not just budget cuts or restructuring, but a fraying of the social contract between broadcasters and the public. The idea that experts would be “very favourably disposed” suggests an older, clubbier Britain, where credibility came with a shared sense of mission and a certain deference to the BBC as a national institution. That warmth also hints at gatekeeping: who gets to pick up the phone, and who gets picked up?
Bremner’s subtext lands in the present tense. In an era of distrust, disinformation, and pundit-as-brand, the dream of experts eager to “share their knowledge” reads almost utopian. He’s not just praising access; he’s contrasting it with today’s attention economy, where expertise competes with outrage and where institutions spend as much time defending their right to exist as doing the work. The comedic voice isn’t cracking jokes here; it’s letting the contrast do the punchline.
The phrasing is doing the work. “Rather in the position” is classic British understatement, softening what is essentially a claim to legitimacy. “Used to exist” signals loss: not just budget cuts or restructuring, but a fraying of the social contract between broadcasters and the public. The idea that experts would be “very favourably disposed” suggests an older, clubbier Britain, where credibility came with a shared sense of mission and a certain deference to the BBC as a national institution. That warmth also hints at gatekeeping: who gets to pick up the phone, and who gets picked up?
Bremner’s subtext lands in the present tense. In an era of distrust, disinformation, and pundit-as-brand, the dream of experts eager to “share their knowledge” reads almost utopian. He’s not just praising access; he’s contrasting it with today’s attention economy, where expertise competes with outrage and where institutions spend as much time defending their right to exist as doing the work. The comedic voice isn’t cracking jokes here; it’s letting the contrast do the punchline.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
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