The Foyle MLA said, "The BBC is a hugely important national institution and one which most people want to see survive and prosper. However, if the BBC or some within the Corporation attempt to dismiss calls for change or modernisation they only damage its very survival.
There is a real need for reform within the BBC, not least dealing with the valid criticisms around actually delivering on its impartiality pledge. Even Ofcom's most recent annual report on the BBC highlights that audiences "consistently rate the BBC less favourably for impartiality". Attempting to pretend these views don't exist doesn't serve the BBC well.
Similarly, there is a real need to look properly at the licence fee and whether the BBC should be funded through a model that has been largely unchanged since 1946. Whilst the rest of the media landscape has revolutionised, attempting to defend the status quo is actually more damaging to the BBC in the long term."