The Reithian or Brechtian BBC?

This is a great site comparing what the BBC News site puts where in its agenda, and what users are actually reading. It's a basic list, but I've dipped into it a few times over the weekend already and nodding appreciatively at the thought.

For instance, the BBC's top story is the overnight rocket attack in Gaza. The top read, however, is the killing of a groom by police in New York City. Readers see the Gaza story as fifth on the list. The site exclaims that the BBC is "38%" in touch with what we're reading.

Now, other media stoats may want do a grand piece of analysis on this: social demographics of the site's users, editorial biases of the BBC's public service remit, and the like, all influencing the whys and wheres of the information, but that aside, it's an interesting comparison. It also fluctuates - I noticed it was up to 68% at one point yesterday!

So to explain the title, does this site answer the question: Is the BBC still Reithian in giving the masses the 'best of everything', or slowly turning to Brecht's partcipatory media (radio, but I'm sure he'd approve of the internet)? The news site is still giving users a list of stuff to read, but leaving it up to the readers to select their material.

Still, it's a miserable day and the cricket's miserable too. Grief...