Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 5, 2007 10:37:41 GMT
Call me cynical, but I'm willing to bet that changing the name of the present BBC Governors to BBC Trust won't mean a thing to the output of the BBC. Here is pure spin from Jowell promising "a new accountability to licence fee payers". You can be sure that the same lame excuses and reasonings will pop up every time they continue to disregard the values and needs of the society they are (supposed to be) serving to pursue their own interests.
BBC Trust will answer to the licence fee payers
Tessa Jowell: Point of view
Like much of Britain, the BBC turned over a new leaf this week — putting into action a new regime that will deliver a new accountability to licence fee payers. The BBC already has a new charter and agreement, which together form an exacting new contract with licence fee payers — and this week a new BBC Trust has taken over from the old Board of Governors.
The Trust will ensure there is no more confusion about governance, management and accountability in the BBC’s top structure. This new structure makes the BBC’s accountability to the licence fee payer explicit. The Trust will apply constantly the test of public value — that is to say, developing policies that are tested and retested against the views of licence fee payers. The BBC Trust may well, in time, prove a model for accountable governance and regulation in public bodies.
This is a time of change for the BBC — it will soon have a new Chairman and the licence fee settlement process is nearly concluded. It is also a time of challenge — the BBC’s TV audiences fell again in 2006, as multichannel viewing continued to grow.
So, is the future uncertain for the nation’s Auntie? I don’t think so. Much, of course, will depend on the new BBC Trust’s ability to engage in a systematic way with the public, and to win the confidence of the wider industry in the rigour of the new competition arrangements. Another key factor is the ability of the BBC to continue to nurture new creative talent, so that the current £3 billion annual income from the licence fee is really used as venture capital for the nation’s creativity.
Some media analysts still believe that, as the multichannel market matures, the need for the BBC will disappear, but the reverse seems to be happening. In a world of bewildering choice and change, the public tell us they want a trusted guide that they can use as a benchmark to measure others against. This will be even more true over the next six years, as the nation converts to digital television. There is more need than ever for a trusted institution able to help people through the demands of new technologies.
The BBC Trust will soon have a new chair. Michael Grade’s contribution at the BBC was substantial and lasting. And while he will be missed, strong institutions do not depend on individuals, however talented. It is a tribute to his work that the new BBC governance structure is now securely in place.
The new Trust is being ably chaired for the time being by Chitra Bharucha while we appoint a new permanent chair. That search is about to begin, with adverts appearing from this Sunday. The successful candidate will need different skills to past chairs. He or she will need the ability to engage with, and have a respect for the views of, the wider public. He or she will need the ability to define clearly the BBC’s place in the move to digital, and a clear understanding of how the views and preferences of licence fee payers are translated into judgments about the public value of the BBC’s wide range of programmes and services. Chairing the new Trust, shaping the future of a loved and valued national institution, is a challenge to be relished, and I am confident that we will attract a strong field of talented candidates.
The old BBC had a Board of Governors, a system that served the BBC and the nation well for many years, but which was creaking under the accelerating pace of change in the world of broadcasting. The Governors too often saw their first priority to be the protection of the BBC, against all comers and at all times.
The Trust’s first priority will be to represent the interests of the public, the people who pay the licence fee. When the BBC is wrong, they’ll say so publicly, and when it is right they will back it. But from now on the BBC’s delivery of “public service broadcasting” will be judged not by the BBC, but by the Trust on behalf of the public. The Trust must be mindful that the BBC does not exist in a vacuum. Its needs must be balanced with the needs of the other public service broadcasters and those of the commercial sector.
There is an economic case for the BBC too, one which the Government fully recognises. The British economy is becoming based increasingly on creativity and intellectual property, and driving the creative economy is something the BBC does well.
Take the British film industry — it needs writers, actors, designers, directors, post-production talent, all of whom have to start somewhere and many of whom start at the BBC. Commercial and subsidised theatres bring in millions of tourists every year — and they get their talent from (and feed it to) the BBC as well. And even if the Ashes tour is depressing us all, the BBC is still vital to the UK’s sport economy. Its coverage of events from football World Cups to the Olympics keeps sport at the heart of the nation’s water cooler conversations.
The BBC is recognised around the world as one of our most potent national symbols. In the past it was radio that earned this reputation; today it is the internet, with the BBC the only British presence on the web as yet able to hold its own with the international giants. If we want Britain to be understood and respected around the world then we need to recognise that the BBC makes a huge contribution, by making news people trust, by delivering programmes people learn from and enjoy, and by giving them a web service up there with the best.
Building a strong BBC for the future is not a matter of misplaced nostalgia by the Government. The creative, social and economic contribution to the nation is too great to be risked. The BBC begins 2007 secure in its future, with a ten-year charter in place, a vital role in the digital economy and a Trust to bring it even closer to the people it serves.
Tessa Jowell is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport