Media and broadcasting
The BBC is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world and a pillar of Britain’s cultural life. Yet with huge sums of money spent annually on services, the public deserves to have more of a say in the package of programs and services that are delivered. For the BBC to become truly accountable, all television license holders should be given real say over how the BBC Trust is run. There are also increasing opportunities for co-operatives and employee buy-outs to take over or start local newspapers and news websites, as demonstrated by the West Highland Free Press.
The BBC is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world and a pillar of Britain’s cultural life. We are committed to the BBC and ensuring that it remains an excellent and greatly valued public service broadcaster.
Yet the aftermath of a series of scandals there has led many to question how responsive the BBC is to members of the public. The replacement of the board of governors with the BBC Trust in January 2009 was the first step to increasing its credentials as the voice of the license payer. Unfortunately, this has not gone far enough. The Trust has had a mixed beginning with many commentators questioning the degree to which its governance is working in providing an effective challenge to the BBC executive.
Putting all arguments regarding the current arrangements to one side, the BBC should be accountable to license holders for one simple reason alone – because we pay for it. With huge sums of money spent annually the public deserves to have more of a say on the package of services and programs that are delivered.
For the BBC to become truly accountable, all television license holders must be given the right to become individual members of the BBC Trust. As a genuine mutual venture, the Trust would then give all of its members the right to elect representatives to the Trust board. BBC staff, the Government and other stakeholders would also be represented to ensure all interests are taken into account.
The BBC Trust would be structured so that all of its members have a voice. This could provide a genuine forum for informing, and where appropriate, consulting with citizens. It would provide a medium through which TV license holders could express their views on the services that the BBC provides and a focus for ensuring that its links with viewers remain strong.
