After admitting they would be inviting BNP chairman Nick Griffin to sit on the panel of Question Time, the BBC has attracted a depth of criticism not seen since Andrew Gilligan exposed the lies behind the sexed-up dossier used to justify the illegal war in Iraq.
The debate about the right or wrong of inviting Mr Griffin fail to mention the real reason behind this decision.
Of course the BBC has to follow impartiality rules, but maybe its move has more to do with its battle to survive in its present form.
In the last 12 years the public broadcaster has had good relations with the Labour government and this was useful in shrugging off the growing opposition to the way it finances itself, through a levy on any household having a television.
The TV licence is seen by many as unfair, regressive and difficult to justify at a time when technological development means anyone for a fee, can receive a myriad of TV and radio channels offering all kind of programmes.
Next year Conservatives have a better than good chance of being in power, things for the BBC may change, and not for the better.
Some Tories would like to sell it off, but even if David Cameron will not go that far, he will surely try to rein in its power by reducing the TV licence fee or force the BBC to share its revenues with other broadcaster.
Conservatives know they will have to face a strong opposition from the left-wing establishment well entrenched in the civil service, justice system and the media; also they are aware that the same media who are helping them to power can destroy them at anytime.
Unlike the BNP the Tories are badly equipped to deal with hostile media using smear stories against them so the easiest option is to curb the power enjoyed now by the BBC, after all the arrangement will be reviewed in 2012 and anything may happen.
BBC executives know this full well, they are also aware the BNP has strong support in some parts of the country, ignoring those Nationalist voters is not an option at a time when its survival is at stake.
By offering an invitation to Mr Griffin, the BBC is both giving a strong signal to Labour that their time is up and trying to engage with the kind of people who have Nationalist feelings and may give it the support it needs.
Time will tell if this assumption is right.
GIUSEPPE DE SANTIS
I will personally never forgive the BBC, or any news channel or television producer or the Labour or Tories. If it all comes down to bad press I hope the BBC powers really will get cut. Unfortunately the same 'choice' of stories filed by the same feeders will be only be available at Reuters so the 'news' channels only have a pretty lame choice to choose from, that being that all stories on offer are positioned within the Robot's Rebellion safety valve, and nothing will cause a fuss mind or get anyone to think independantly. If governments and people are controlled by the media, big changes will be seen when any one member of those groups stops depending on it.