...with a phrase like "distinctive content"?

than Monty Python. It's still funny 40 years later. The dead parrot skit is hilarious. I know every line, but I crack up every time.
But we need more things like that, and less Pawn Stars.

because I can't see any DUer familiar with him wanting anyone to think like him. His long term plan is to privatise or close down the BBC. His preferred way of doing this is to stop it showing programmes that might be popular, or at a time when people might watch them rather than ones on commercial channels. That way, the Tories can say "look, the average person is more interested in the commercial channels, let's shut down most of the BBC and make it a subscription channel".

For some background, and how he was in the pocket of the non-BBC media because they held an embarrassing news story over his head, try this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10889660

See how the recent British TV awards ceremony was largely people warning how the BBC is under threat from Whittingdale: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/may/08/wolf-hall-director-says-bbc-is-under-threat

How he joked that abolishing the BBC is a 'tempting prospect': http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/04/bbc-john-whittingdale-impartiality

How his department leaked the idea to force the BBC to move popular programmes if a commercial channel had a popular one at the same time: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3567477/BBC-faces-charter-ban-Saturday-Strictly-New-plans-stop-Corporation-entering-primetime-ratings-wars-ITV.html

Take, for instance, from that Mail article, "he has already voiced concerns that the BBC’s flagship evening news is aired at the same time as ITV’s News At Ten". What happened with the evening news was that the BBC used to show a half hour at nine, and ITV, the most popular commercial channel, half an hour at ten. Then ITV decided it couldn't be bothered showing its news then, and moved it to later, and not always at the same time. The BBC decided it wanted to be able to show hour-long programmes starting at 9 (there's a convention on British TV called 'the watershed', which says programmes with a significant amount of sex or violence have to be after 9, so that's quite handy), and they moved their news to 10. That was popular, and many more people were watching the BBC news than ITV. ITV realised it had given up a good slot, and has now started showing its news at 10 again - most of the time, anyway. But now it's trying to get the government to order the BBC to move its news away again, because the BBC still gets far more people watching its news than ITV - because it's better done (more reporters round the world, for instance).

And you can't trust Whittingdale an inch. The Tories really don't like public broadcasting; they much prefer Rupert Murdoch and his TV empire, and the Daily Mail and its anti-BBC crusade (the Mail sees the BBC as an online competitor, since it now has the most popular English language newspaper website in the world; the BBC's website is still more used, though).

The white paper proposals just seem so tame, mundane, uncontroversial. Like changing the BBC Trust to a Board. (yawn, how did we end up with the Trust in the first place I wonder?) Sending regulation over to OFCOM. Charging the BBC with providing "distinctive content". Bringing charges to the iplayer service. Keeping the licence fee but increasing in line with inflation.

They want to get the BBC charter renewal process over and done with and to leave out all the hullaballoo. Whittingdale may be all for forcing the BBC to do PBS style fundraisers but Cameron isn't that thick.

To say that you really don't want politicians with his attitude is an understatement.

He's currently most well known for his rather messy private life.