THE BBC'S RUSSIAN SERVICE SIR,—Two points appear to have been
overlooked so far in this controversy :
I. The BBC Russian Service is designed for listeners in the Soviet Union, not for experts on Russia domiciled in Britain.
2. Broadcasting to Russia is by general consent one of the hardest assignments in oversea broad- casting, because of the nature of the audience. The object of the operation, as in any broadcasting, is to gain listeners and keep them. It is axiomatic that listeners only listen because they want to. To get Russians to listen, the BBC has to break
through a deep suspicion of the West and not only ignorance but also the most fantastic distortions about life in Britain which are widely believed in the Soviet Union. Superiority and cleverness are a waste of time. When common ground exists it is naturally used to attract the interest of the listener,
but this does not mean that truth is subordinated to expediency.
In the past I have been a regular contributor to the Russian Service. I still occasionally contribute. I have never been instructed to 'pander to the suscep- tibilities of the Kremlin.' On the contrary, I have been encouraged to take the strongest line on many occasions regarding some news or statement from Moscow. In projecting Britain, I have always been allowed to stress the contrast between our conditions and way of life and those in the USSR. I assure Mr. Wiles that his rumours of anti-Americanism on the fifth floor of Bush House are nonsense. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, ami I any sort of a Marxist and my least ambition is to fellow-travel with Mr. Khrushchcv or Marshal Zhukov.
Sir, in his original paragraph of June 21, Pharos made the grave charge that the BBC Russian Service 'has lately become a notorious waste of time.' In your article of July 19, you sought to substantiate this by such generalities as reference to 'widespread anxiety' among 'those best able to judge.' I certainly do not claim to be qualified to judge, but I am familiar with much of the output of the Russian Service over the past four years or so. I am profoundly convinced that if those really best able to judge (with no personal axes to grind) were invited to give an opinion, they would find Pharos's serious allegation utterly un- founded. Indeed they would probably congratulate the small staff of the Russian Service on what it does in the little time available on less money.—Yours faithfully,
137 Bishop's Mansions. SW6 [We inquired last week if it were true that a group of experts, asked by the BBC to investigate the Rus- sian Service, had sent in a highly critical report which was virtually ignored? If the answer to our question is 'yes'—as the absence of any denial by the BBC would suggest—'anxiety' was felt not merely by !those best able to judge,' but also by those who were actually invited to judge by the Corporation itself. Pharos also refers to this letter.—Editor, Spectator.]
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