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Campaigning for quality television
DATELINE: 28/10/08
There are plenty of ways of financing quality television, industry chiefs were told by union leaders at a conference in London on Tuesday 21 October.
Unions put forward a number of ways to provide the funding needed to ensure that national broadcasters could afford to stick to their public service broadcasting (PSB) remits. There could be a levy on downloading equipment or on companies from rebroadcasting PSB footage, or subsidised access for broadcasters to the high-definition terrestrial spectrum.
The conference was called by the Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) to discuss the report on the future of PSB issued by the regulator Ofcom on 25 September. The report highlighted Ofcom's belief that as broadcasting moves unto a multi-channel digital world, it would no longer be possible to maintain PSB under the current arrangements.
And it indicated that Ofcom would give a green light to ITV in particular to reduce its public service content, such as news and current affairs. The report came out as ITV advanced its plans to cut back its regional news programming and shed more than 400 journalists' jobs.The FEU consists of the NUJ and unions representing broadcasting technicians and other staff, musicians, actors and writers. NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear took the lead at the conference in criticising both ITV and Ofcom. He said: "We want to see Ofcom investigating other possibilities of funding PSB, but as far as ITV is concerned the horse has already bolted." He revealed that the NUJ and BECTU had commissioned a study from a leading think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, into the feasibility of alternative funding models to underpin PSB programming.
Ofcom was represented at the conference by its Partner for Content and Standards, Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief at ITN, who said they were open to consider such suggestions. Stewart Purvis was challenged by the NUJ's national organiser for broadcasting, Paul McLaughlin, to explain how it had "stood idly by while the crime was committed" at ITV regional news. He replied that in some areas the reduced regional news service would still be better than the BBC's.
Representatives of the BBC and of Channel 4 were also at the conference, including BBC Director General Mark Thompson, who outlined plans the corporation was working on to develop "partnership" arrangements to share facilities with other public service broadcasters.The deadline for responses to Ofcom's second public service broadcasting review is Thursday 4 December. The NUJ along with other media unions and the CPBF will be responding.
The future of public service broadcasting will also be the subject of a one day conference organised by SERTUC on Saturday 15 November at the TUC. Further details: sertucevents@tuc.org.uk or phone 0207 467 1220.
Last modified: Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
Public Service Broadcasting
The future of PSB - postponed
Opting Out
Citizenship and Public Service Broadcasting
How do Ofcom and the BBC Trust see their Roles?
Commission recommends new TV channel for Scotland
Ofcom's 'smash and grab' raid on the BBC licence fee
World Service threatened
Wales, Devolution and Democracy
CPBF responds to Ofcom public service review
NUJ slams 'simplistic' top-slicing arguments
PSB on ITV - No thanks!
BBC unions ballot for action on jobs
Crisis looms in kids' telly
Scottish Broadcasting Commission wants to hear your views
Begin the fight back: How corporate strategists neutered the BBC
Joint statement from the BBC, BECTU, the NUJ and UNITE
BBC unions ballot for action
New Labour takes revenge on BBC
Future of ITV PSB at stake
Crunch time for TV
Digital switchover and the Whitehaven experience
BBC Trust agrees to cuts
CPBF responds to Ofcom's second PSB review
CPBF welcomes Scottish Commission
Save Storyville
Broadcasting Commission in Scotland
Saving Storyville
Stopping Murdoch Now 4
Stopping Murdoch Now 3
A new approach to public service content
PSB a dead theory
