An army of creative talent awaits Auntie Beeb here

This time it's personal. The BBC Fair Share campaign has become more than a job to me.

The Birmingham Post's BBC campaign started off calling for a fairer share of licence fee cash to be reinvested in the Midlands – but it has now become about saving the nation's broadcaster from itself.

Financially, it's a huge issue for this region. We'd be something like £800 million a year better off if the Beeb invested here as it does in other regions – but it is about more than that to me.

The BBC is one of this country's most treasured possessions.

Without broadcasters like Peter Allen, David Dimbleby and John Simpson, I might never have got into journalism. But Auntie has found herself on the wrong side of history.

Britain is increasingly becoming a place where you can't just represent a nation from the heart of London.

Localism isn't a buzz word - it's real.

Increasingly, and reluctantly, our overlords in the capital are accepting money raised in the regions should be spent there.

The BBC has given a nod to this, shifting swathes of roles to Salford, but we are a decade on now and that is not enough.

And it's a real issue - Birmingham is the youngest and most diverse city in the country - if the BBC loses this audience, it ceases to be relevant.

This is not lost on the people working for BBC Birmingham.

Regularly, I am contacted by people imploring me to keep up the pressure, or we risk seeing our proud broadcasting heritage ebb away even further.

Within a matter of weeks, we will know whether the Government really takes the scandal of BBC investment in the Midlands seriously.

Lots has been said about the issue - this region invests more than £940 million in our national broadcaster and will see less than £150 million of it reinvested this year.

Ultimately, it will be the decisions of very few people that matter - BBC director general Lord Tony Hall and Secretary of State for Culture John Whittingdale.

The youngest city in Europe is producing an army creativity minds - but if they want to make it in television they would have to pack their bags for London or Salford.

We could make broadcasting magic here.

Just give us the chance.

The BBC would be better for it.