Fuck off, troll.

Know what, exactly? I know you're a thrush for starters.

Yeah, the guy's a total thrush. Out of interest, @happychristmaseveryone:disqus where do you live?

Wow, I didn't know Conservative Central Office was trolling the AV Club now.

Oh I agree with you. But I see and hear people moan about the cost while happily shelling out hundreds more on Sky.

This. Those who slag off the BBC and the licence fee forget what it pays for.

Ha! A land grab? This coming from the guy whose company owns the rights to almost all the sports broadcast in the UK, meaning if you want to watch your soccer team you have to shell out £50 a month?

Is that supposed to be sarcasm or are you just a dickhead?

And with May in No10 it'll come back. Especially as the guy who was most opposed to it has been shunted to some other department.

£145 is not a "huge amount" in the slightest, especially when a basic subscription to Sky satellite TV is £240 a year rising to £890 if you want sports/movies/HD.

Because taxes go to the government and a government can slash funding to anything that's paid for by taxes - see mental health care, benefits, housing… At least the licence fee goes straight to the Beeb.

This is sadly true. Every time I go back to visit it seems there are more and more CCTV cameras in towns, and the so-called Snooper's Charter is terrifying.

But why would they do that when they can just broadcast endless blocks of that well-known BBC show Star Trek: TNG and the same five episodes of Top Gear over and over?

Winner.

Yeah, one small glimmer of good in my country's self-immolation is that it'll make my annual trip home to see the family a lot cheaper.

OK, I apologise. As someone who is pretty much staring obsolescence in the face every day I do get annoyed at jokes about layoffs in the industry.

"In my experience, people like newspaper layout that's clean, clear, neatly laid out, easy to follow: basically, pleasing to the eye. When you forget that, then you end up with a mess, and people either give up or never get on board, because they don't like the experience."

I'm a designer and I feel your pain. SEO is killing headline writing, which used to be an art form. Headlines are supposed to appeal to a reader, not a fucking algorithm.

I'd say yes, definitely. Unfortunately real investigative journalism costs money and takes time, and in these days of "get it online now!" no one wants to wait.

Hi! Newspaper designer here. Those laid off are generally given the boot because: