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Ray Snoddy trashes Ofcom
The following article is from Brand Republic (15 June). It is also being debated on the Ofcomwatch blog (see the links list on the home page to access the blog).
23/6/05: Ofcom has fallen in love with its own theorising. It is time to say thank God for Tessa Jowell. The culture secretary was supposed to be promoted after the general election. Indeed, many even believed that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would have have been broken up by now.It is very lucky that the rumours were a little exaggerated. After a shaky start, Jowell has sorted out the Wembley stadium mess and contributed greatly to giving London a real chance, against all the odds, of staging the 2012 Olympic Games. Circuses are fun, but the main reason we should celebrate Jowell's continued presence is that she has important, unfinished work to do.
She now has to use her hard-won knowledge to build up to a final aria and produce sensible legislation for the future of the BBC and the commercial sector, turning her back on the siren voices that would lead her to the rocks. Lord Birt's is clearly one such voice, but she has already seen off the great visionary on several occasions, despite his considerable influence in Downing Street. Now she must tackle the even greater threat posed by Ofcom and its vision of the future of public-service~broadcasting.
To some extent we have all allowed ourselves to be duped by the new, converged, modern regulator. So rational. So hard-working. So efficient. So intelligent. Now we must add to the litany - so wrong.
With enormous energy and the best of intentions, Ofcom has come up with mistaken and potentially damaging solutions for the transitional years on the way to universal, multichannel digital television. The evidence that Ofcom has fallen in love with its own theorising and, in the process, has managed to dupe itself, is there for all to see in its two latest pronouncements: the response to the BBC Green Paper and its Statement on Programming for the Nation and Regions.
The two documents have to be read in unison to understand what Ofcom is trying to foist on us. Once stripped of its sophistry, the meaning of the circular arguments is all too clear, as one fallacy and unproven assumption is built upon another.
It goes like this: because the digital revolution is gathering pace, commercial broadcasters have to be relieved of many of their public-service responsibilities. The need is urgent, and programme-makers in Norwich and Manchester have to lose their jobs now; there is not a minute to lose. But reducing the public-service offerings of this sector - a move ITV plc is more than happy to embrace with indecent haste - has created a problem for Ofcom.
It does not want the BBC to be the sole exponent of public-service broadcasting - there must be competition, after all. The BBC should, therefore, have an 'enhanced' licence fee, so that some of the money can be given to~those who have been encouraged to dilute their responsibilities. Fat chance.
The reality is that roughly the same amount of money will have to be sliced many ways.
Naturally, when money is flowing in ever-more complex directions, a BBC Trust is an inadequate model of governance to cope, meaning a new external body will be needed to handle the money; that is, if you allow yourself to be sucked into a false trail of logic.
These are solutions to problems that do not yet exist and can do great damage as we await the digital nirvana.
The most profound problem facing ITV is a lack of creative ambition; for Channel 4, it is finding half-sensible things to do with the tide of money being generated. It is time to stop being nice to Ofcom and for Jowell to reject much of the nonsense it is spewing out - a task I think she is up to.
Last modified: Thursday, June 23, 2005
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Previous stories
Ofcom
Ofcom adjudications published
Ocom publishes reaction to Ultra Wideband consultation
Ofcom publsihes latest broadcast bulletin
Ofcom awards 15 community radio licences
Ofcom Update: Television Broadcast Licensing Update May 2005
ITV - The Future? ITC & 2008 Franchises Awards
ITV - The Future? ITC & 2008 Franchises Awards
Ofcom publishes Race Equality Scheme
Latest Ofcom Broadcast bulletin (35)
Ofcom strategy for Community Radio Fund
Consumers and the Communications market
New Ofcom broadcast bulletin
Ofcom updates published
Digital Deadlines -who pays?
A public service publisher?
Ofcom: 192 want to run community radio
Jowell's independent panel publishes BBC charter renewal ideas paper
Response to the BBC’s Contribution to Informed Citizenship
Campaign responds to Ofcom PSB review
RSA publishes response to Ofcom
We must save regional TV...
ITV regions face more job cuts
NUJ launches protest at job losses in the ITV regions
Charter Review Monthly Report No 6 - October 2004
First tranche of October Ofcom documents published
Ofcom publishes report on BBC's digital services
Consultation on OFCOM broadcast code
Ofcom review: A flawed, contradictory document
ofcom watch
Ofcom Consultation - Principles for setting Licence Fees and Administrative Charges
