A new Scottish channel?

You really know your history!

If wasn't for Scotland there would have been no United Kingdom of England Scotland Wales and (Northern) Ireland. BTW Northern is in brackets aas when the union first came about it was one whole nation that was part of the kingdom.

It is true to say that if you ask any "northerner" we do no want to be associated with "southerners" - but what do us northers call a southerner - in my case it is anyone from Greater London and the Home Counties. This is because we ARE different from them and our expectations of many things are totally different. In fact Northerners do want to be separated from the south - its just that you don't hear us moaning about it all the time.

Remember there are two capitals in England - London and Manchester. I know which capital I'd rather have - the one which has its own SUCCESSFUL television station for the city region (Channel M)

I think you'll find I can.

I hate to break it to you, but no - the Government doesn't speak for me. I speak for me.

This may also shock you to the core, but no - we weren't balloted on whether this broadcasting review should take place.

I didn't ask for a local income tax either.

I may have voted for Blair in 97, but I didn't expect him to take us to war - and I don't recall him asking my permission either.

Are you just arguing for the sake of it?

Being a Yorkshireman currently living in Scotland, I find some of the points being made both ridiculous and futile.

Alex Salmond has only been voted for by a minority of the population of Scotland. He is egotistical, and likes to think he has more power than he does. But you have to admit, he's a talented polititian who knows how to spin the best out of a 'Scottish' issue. He likes to cover up his failiures (e.g. more police, student debt removed etc.).

As for the union issue, Scotland is stronger (and England/Wales a beneficiary) of being part of the union. Statements such as 'why don't the Scottish just go away' do nothing but help the pointless SNP gain advantage in its minority view. Why don't you just grow up and realise that your taxes would be spent elsewhere if we didn't share the entire country's revenue with each other.

Yorkshire is not a nation, correct. But, Yorkshireman share a similar identity andc ulture to our Scottish cousins, and when asked where we come from we invariably say 'Yorkshire' first. We had our own TV channel - Yorkshire Television, and we were all quite happy with that.

As for the Commission proposals, what a joke. Where's the money coming from? What are you going to fill it with? 24 hours of country dancing or caber tossing. This is 2008, and the majority of Scots are a bit more cultured than that. As for drama, do these jokes realise how much it costs to produce an hour of drama? River City is shakespeare in comparison to what these idiots are proposing.

As for BBC Alba, just how many people actually speak this language as part of their everyday lives? I guess we're talking penny numbers. Trying to keep languages alive just because they local is economic suicide. I know of a school which teaches only Gaelic - surely a recipe for economic disaster for the children attending this Western Isle school. They'll never be able to find work outside of the local area, and will be hamstringed by somebody elses ideas of community and nationhood.

Reminds me of Hitler does all this - control the media, speak well in public, hide all the crap.

Only you Lancastrians can try and claim Manchester ( a city smaller than Sheffield, Leeds etc., but like to think it's bigger because it steals Salford, Trafford, Oldham, Bolton etc. populations to claim they are Greater Manchester) as a capital! We all know the capital is on the Eastern half of the Pennines!

its worse than THAT, there are tone of spoit papers, and there are at least 5- 7 seats that have a majority SMALLER than the number of spoit papers!

Still has does this included the STV/BBC plans for there own channel?

I assume you mean the “Scottish Government”. Why then did you elect them? Are you suggesting the removal of the Scottish Parliament, already, after all that expense? Are they an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy?

I wasn’t aware that Scotland had introduced a Helvitian style referendum system for every government decision either. Didn’t you elect a government to do that for you?

Yes, because…

pick and choose bits I want to argue about when it suits!

Christ almighty I can't cope with you at all.

You talk a lot of guff, you really do.

I'm not wasting any more time.

Another Culloden.... running for the hills!

Everyone... Just Breathe...

What's actually interesting about the report is just how much of a slap in the face it is to those who want to break up British broadcasting - rather than improve Scottish broadcasting within the Union.

*No call for a Scottish Six let alone a separate SBC.

*No call for a wholesale transfer of power over broadcasting to Edinburgh.

It basically says BBC Scotland could do better and that BBC Network should spend more in Scotland. Nobody's going to argue against either of these two statements even if you might defend BBC Scotland's existing output or argue that regional quotas are not the right way forward.

I'm looking forward to hearing how C4 responds to the idea of a Scottish quota - of course it sounds good politically but it simply isn't going. Having said that I'm sure Stewart Cosgrove will continue doing his best to champion output from outside the M25.

As for stv, read the report and - from their point of view - it makes depressing reading. It says they should forget any idea of public money for news and current affairs programmes. The report merely argues that Ofcom shouldn't allow them to make further cuts. Again a predictable political argument.

As for the separate Scottish channel... Remember Ofcom's plans for a new PSB channel which have bitten the dust? This may well go the same way. Unless after 2012 the licence fee is top sliced (which may well happen) where's the money going to come from? Does anybody really want a TV channel paid for directly by the government (either London or Edinburgh) in a democratic country? And before anybody mentions Gaelic or Welsh broadcasting they are special cases - and the money is spent to help preserve the language as much as to help independent production companies.

Now let's debate these points instead of any Scotland v England rants!! lol

What an arse!!!

Indubitably.