About our BBC news
Latest news on the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC), the UK's national broadcaster, including opinion and analysis from mainstream and alternative sources.
The BBC is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and reportedly the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees.
The BBC is established under a royal charter and operates under its agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or watch using iPlayer.
The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and is used to fund the BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Non-payment of the licence fee where applicable is a criminal offence. Since 1 April 2014, the licence fee has also funded the BBC World Service, which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides TV, radio, and online services in Arabic and Persian.
Throughout its existence, the BBC has faced numerous accusations regarding many topics: the Iraq war, politics, ethics and religion, as well as funding and staffing. It also has been involved in numerous controversies because of its coverage of specific news stories and programming, and is regularly accused of bias, while asserting that it is "committed to achieving due impartiality in all its output".