\u201cGood journalism is as crucial as ever,\u201d she said. \u201cToday we live in a world of fake news, vitriolic social media, malevolent conspiracy theorists and bigotry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe BBC is often criticised because it has a responsibility to the public who pay for it. Somehow, through a jungle of misreporting, the BBC needs to tread a careful, objective path.\u201d<\/p>
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But what of the broadcaster\u2019s role in shaping the next generation of viewers?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe viewers need it desperately, but I\u2019m not confident about the BBC\u2019s future,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do we fund the BBC going forward, to ensure it\u2019s available to everyone, and free of government interference? And stays confident enough to fend off the attacks by competitors in the media who are jealous of its place in the public\u2019s hearts and minds? Those are vital questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"BBC](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/02\/bbc_logo_-be9d0f1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"bbc_logo_\\"\/"){kind=logo}
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>The BBC has faced plenty of criticism in recent years, with funding frozen and plans to scrap the licence fee by 2027<\/a> announced.<\/p>\n Rantzen, who has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer<\/a>, also spoke about her latest campaign \u2013 to change the law on assisted dying.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m optimistic about the prospect of that being legalised within ten years because there is now a huge majority of the public in favour of change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Read the full interview with Esther Rantzen in this week\u2019s issue of Radio Times<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Looking for something else to watch? Check out more of our <\/strong>Entertainment<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0<\/strong>TV Guide<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong>Streaming Guide<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n The veteran presenter opened up about her latest campaign and the broadcaster’s future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":46266,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-scaled.jpg",2560,1705,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/02\/esther-rantzen-im-not-confident-about-the-bbcs-future-2048x1364.jpg",2048,1364,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The veteran presenter opened up about her latest campaign and the broadcaster's future.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/46265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Rod](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/1-SE-9-1-CoverLowres2-7e5dfff.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C830\" "\\"Rod")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n
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