Although the VLV’s active membership is tiny the BBC’s senior managers regard it as the only organisation that speaks from the licence-payer’s perspective while offering passionate support for public service broadcasting. A senior insider explains: “The VLV is the voice of our articulate, middle-class, heartland loyalists. They believe in the vision of the BBC but they watch the detail like a hawk.”That leads to accusations that the VLV is a fawning stooge, wowed by its capacity to attract important BBC people and willing to say nothing to offend them. Some critics regard it as the liberal equivalent of the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association (NVLA), set up in 1965 to hold back the tide of modernity by that other suburban female powerhouse, Mary Whitehouse. A BBC manager says, “Whitehouse was charismatic and she gave a voice to a lot of people who felt they were not being listened to Jocelyn Hay is attractive and charismatic. The difference is that she is intelligent, she is not a rentaquote and she can do business at the top table.
Mediawatch [the successor to the NVLA] can’t do that.”Mediawatch – who were at the forefront of the protests against the TV broadcast of Jerry Springer – The Opera, holds its AGM later this month, at which the anti-Springer ex-Radio 3 producer Anthony Pitt will speak.For her part, Hay does not object to being called supportive. “I think there is tremendous support for the BBC in the country People value it even more post-Hutton It is independent It does stand up to government. It is trying to serve the needs and meet the interests of 60 million people. I think it does it very well.” But she also admits that “I can’t think of anything we have criticised the BBC for, not anything specific, but we do sometimes criticise them and they listen.”Is the VLV useful, or just a comfort blanket that lets top BBC personnel meet tame licence-payers? Philip Schlesinger, director of the Media Research Institute at Stirling University, says: “VLV has very carefully and assiduously cultivated people of influence It works within a broadly establishment orbit.
But debate about broadcasting in the UK is usually very limited. If you go to most conferences you see the same faces and the cost of getting your foot in the door is enormous. VLV has a certain use as a sounding board.”Jocelyn Hay endorses that. “The normal viewer and listener cannot afford to attend media conferences They cost £500 a day We admit the public Michael Grade does not know what questions he will be asked.
