Wednesday 9 February 2005
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Ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure to be invited to address
the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. For anyone from the ´óÏó´«Ã½,
this is family.
It's a particular pleasure to be here on the 60th anniversary of the
meeting that led to the founding of the Association.
That first conference, in Broadcasting House in the closing months
of the Second World War in February 1945, still lives in the meticulous
minutes that were kept.
They're still on file in Elizabeth Smith's office in Fleet Street.
They give a glimpse into a vanished world of short days, long lunches
and broadcasting executives with military titles - Major this and Colonel
that - holding earnest discussions about whether the conference should
actually take a decision on the same day that it discussed an issue.
But underneath that stiff and bureaucratic end-of-empire veneer, there
is a real sense of a new world emerging and new battles ahead.
There was, for example, a long discussion about the role of ´óÏó´«Ã½ foreign
correspondents once the war was over, and in particular their precise
relationship with what the minutes tactfully call "local organisations,
broadcasting and otherwise."
That "and otherwise" was code for those in power who might feel they
retained the right to censor what ´óÏó´«Ã½ correspondents reported even after
the war was over.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s then Director-General, William Haley, was admirably brisk
and to the point.
"There was no intention," he told the conference, "to allow any outside
authorities to censor the news or views of its correspondents.
"The country in which the correspondent was based was not always
the best judge of his impartiality.
"The ´óÏó´«Ã½ had no politics, and its aim would be to broadcast truthful
news accurately and without bias."
It is as good an expression of ´óÏó´«Ã½ verities as I have ever read, and
a useful guide in replying to the letters the Corporation still receives
from outraged ambassadors respectfully drawing its attention to the
manifest failings of ´óÏó´«Ã½ foreign correspondents.
Ladies and gentlemen, these are interesting times for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Governors.
We've had the aftermath of Lord Hutton's report to work through, and
we've had to do that in the closing stages of the Charter Review process.
As you know, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Charter expires at the end of next year.
Within the next few weeks we expect to see the Green Paper setting
out the Government's proposals. And that will be followed by a White
Paper later in the year.
The case we've made for a new ´óÏó´«Ã½ Charter hinges on the idea of "public
value." By which we mean that the value created by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ is more than
simply the sum of its output.
Great output - on radio, television and the internet - is crucial.
But this output must support wider public purposes.
So, for example, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ can be said to create "democratic value" through
its provision of trusted and impartial news and information that help
to underpin and sustain an informed democracy.
Or the ´óÏó´«Ã½ can be said to create "cultural value" by bringing together
talent and audiences to break new ground together.
What I'd like to discuss with you today is the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s role in creating
what we've called "global value".
It's rather a grandiloquent phrase - global value. It means a number
of different things. Some of them you will be very familiar with: ´óÏó´«Ã½
World Service, for example, and ´óÏó´«Ã½ World television and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ international-facing
online services - all presenting news and information (and much more)
to the world.
We shouldn't forget, either, that many domestic ´óÏó´«Ã½ radio stations
are now effectively global services since they can be listened to via
the web.
By providing international audiences with trusted and impartial news
and information these return a dividend to Britain in the form of enhanced
esteem and influence.
Or there's the World Service Trust, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s independent international
charity, that does such immensely valuable work, applying ´óÏó´«Ã½ values
and the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s media expertise to support critical health and education
work in developing countries, and to train journalists around the world.
Or there's ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide, part of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ commercial enterprises. Through
its global sales of programmes, formats, books, DVDs and so on, it acts
as an international global showcase for the best of British culture
and British talent - and, in the process, returns a financial dividend
that helps support licence fee funded production.
These are all to do with projecting a certain idea of Britishness to
the world. Not shoving it down people's throats. Not promoting the Government
line. But embodying values we like to think of as British: tolerance,
fair-play, honesty, impartiality, straight-dealing, and so on.
But though promoting an idea of Britain to the world will always remain
a very important part of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s international role, there is another
aspect of this too. And it's an aspect that's less well understood.
And it's this I'd like to concentrate on today.
This is the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s duty to reflect the world back to UK audiences. To
open windows on the world for all its audiences. To enable all its audiences
to understand the world and its concerns and opportunities. And maybe
even to encourage all its audiences to engage with those concerns and
opportunities.
The starting point here is that knowledge and understanding of the
wider world is now an essential part of responsible citizenship.
Of course everyone gives priority to concerns close to home. But we
do live in an interconnected world. Increasingly, we do understand that
decisions taken by others thousands of miles away impact on us, just
as decisions we take impact on them.
So the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has a clear role in facilitating that understanding of the
wider world.
How does it do this? Well, the obvious way is through its huge investment
in establishing a global newsgathering presence.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ now has more than 40 overseas bureaux, and it has maintained
its high level of investment at a time when many of its competitors
have been cutting back, relying on coverage from London, or on generalists,
flown out when an international crisis erupts.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½, however, takes the view that the best reporting is first-hand
reporting based on real knowledge of the area - and that only comes
from having experienced correspondents living and working among the
communities on whom they report.
It's expensive, but there really is no substitute.
It also has the entirely practical benefit that when news happens,
´óÏó´«Ã½ people are there on the ground. There's no delay while people are
flown out from London.
Let me give you an example. When the earthquake struck Indonesia, the
´óÏó´«Ã½ correspondent in Jakarta, Rachel Harvey, was providing live coverage
on the effects of the tsunami well before some of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s competitors
had even reported that the quake had happened.
And the investment has other benefits too. It means the ´óÏó´«Ã½ can commit
to covering the story when others have moved on.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ will not just cover the devastation of the tsunami and then
forget it. Its correspondents on the ground will stick with the story,
reporting the after-effects and the progress of reconstruction.
That's particularly important for an increasingly multicultural UK.
There are many British Asians who have family ties to the affected region.
An important benefit of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s international role is in enabling
the many ethnic communities in Britain to keep in touch with their international
roots.
And, of course, now that the World Service is available on DAB in this
country, that too is creating new opportunities to reflect the world
back to Britain and to promote the World Service's language services
online to those language speakers living here.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ investment also means it has the resources to cover the full
range of international stories - not just the tsunami, but, at the same
time, events in Iraq and Sudan, and elsewhere.
The CBA itself helps here. As you know, it offers bursaries, funded
by DFID, worth three quarters of a million pounds over three years to
British TV producers to help with exploratory filming costs in the developing
world.
The programmes transmitted as a result of these bursaries have added
greatly to the range of coverage offered.
And the World Service Trust gives many ´óÏó´«Ã½ staff additional opportunities
to work on secondment to media projects in some of the farthest corners
of the world.
These add an important dimension to their work when they return to
London.
But of course when we say that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has a duty to reflect the world
back to the UK, we are not just talking about news and current affairs,
crucial though these are. News only ever gives a partial view of the
world. News reports the extraordinary. By definition it ignores the
ordinary.
And yet it is the ordinary that defines most people's experience of
the world. A rounded picture of the world must include the ordinary
as well as the extraordinary.
It's often said, for example, that news tends to portrays Africa as
a place only of suffering, hunger and death. And of course we must never
ignore those aspects.
But we need to find a way to balance that perpetual portrayal of "dying
Africa". We need to round out that portrait by reminding our audiences
that there is a "living Africa" too.
Since news will inevitably tend to concentrate on the images of despair,
that means finding ways of bringing Africa to our audiences outside
news and current affairs. Portraying "living Africa" means putting Africa
centre stage in the non-news genres too - in drama, sport, music, entertainment,
children's and so on.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is particularly well-placed to do this because of its expertise
across many genres. It can do this, and it has the potential to do it
well.
But there's a problem. Are ´óÏó´«Ã½ audiences ready for it? It's no use
the ´óÏó´«Ã½ filling its mainstream schedules with worthy windows on the
world if no one looks through those windows beyond the loyal minority
who can be relied on to turn out for serious current affairs coverage
of international affairs. That's a problem.
But we do have a shining example of how it's possible to generate large
mainstream television audiences for programming that engages with international
concerns.
It's called Comic Relief, which, as you know, raises money to combat
poverty in the UK and in Africa.
Comic Relief, which has its next edition in a few weeks time, gets
huge audiences.
Of course those audiences come for the comedy and the stars. But they
engage with the serious purpose behind the comedy too - and they demonstrate
this in the most practical possible way by digging deep into their pockets
to contribute money.
In 2003 they raised more than £60m - 60% of which went to Africa.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ hopes to raise even more money for Comic Relief this year.
So it is possible to engage mainstream British audiences in the concerns
of the world - as long as it's done with sufficient energy, imagination
and creative flair.
Later this year the ´óÏó´«Ã½ is going to take this idea one step further.
It's going to focus on Africa in a big way. It will do so across many
different ´óÏó´«Ã½ channels on radio, television and online.
And it will also - and this is crucial - feature many different genres,
not just news and current affairs.
Now there's a risk attached to this. Is it really possible to switch
on the mainstream ´óÏó´«Ã½ audience to the idea of Africa, even in this year
of Africa when the continent is the focus of so much world attention?
I was particularly pleased to discover that the person championing
this ´óÏó´«Ã½ focus on Africa is not someone from News, or from one of the
´óÏó´«Ã½'s niche channels, but the Controller of ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE.
She, more than most in the ´óÏó´«Ã½, understands that her heartland audience
wants popular home-grown entertainment above everything else.
It will take energy, imagination and creative flair to make Africa
work for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE audience. But programming of this scale and ambition
is what the ´óÏó´«Ã½ is all about.
´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE will be giving over a full week's schedule to programming
with an African theme.
This will include new work from Richard Curtis, one of the most successful
British comedy scriptwriters, plus special programming across arts,
entertainment, natural history and children's.
On other channels, on radio as well as television, there will be music,
film, documentary - you name it - all with an African theme.
One of the stated aspirations of ´óÏó´«Ã½ News is "to make the important
interesting". It's a very good motto for ´óÏó´«Ã½ journalists. But it's an
aspiration not just for ´óÏó´«Ã½ News.
There are moments - and the Africa initiative is one of them - when
making the important interesting should apply right across the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s
output. And, indeed, beyond that output.
One of the interesting aspects of this Africa initiative is the way
it's reaching out beyond the ´óÏó´«Ã½.
For example, you can hardly have failed to notice that there is a huge
six month celebration of African culture opening in London and other
cities tomorrow.
It links the British Museum, the South Bank Centre and Arts Council
England. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is associated with that as the official media partner.
There is also a much longer-term project called ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Class.
As part of this, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ aims to twin a thousand schools in the UK
with a thousand schools in Africa in 2005, using the resources of the
´óÏó´«Ã½ across radio, television and the internet and working with numbers
of external partners.
We hope this will build an enduring legacy for young people in the
UK and in Africa, building understanding and engagement.
It's about connecting.
When I last worked for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ I had the wonderful privilege of commissioning
work from the greatest British television playwright, Denis Potter.
Not an easy man. But a great writer - not just for television, but
about television too - although his remarks can be applied just as much
to radio and the internet.
This is what he had to say at the Edinburgh Television Festival about
connecting:
"Only connect, said E M Forster, that great novelist… what a
good word: connect. The verb, which far better than the merely technical
"transmit" is, if not actually, certainly what should be the defining
activity of all television, especially that threatened and peculiarly
self-threatened section which has no need, and indeed no remit, to package
up A, B, or C - defined groups of the allegedly passive on behalf of
predatory advertisers."
Potter was speaking 12 years ago, but his words are just as relevant
today.
All of us here, as international public service broadcasters, have
"connecting" at the heart of what we do.
Freed from the need to satisfy shareholders or advertisers, we can
concentrate on our core public purposes.
For the ´óÏó´«Ã½, key among those public purposes is fulfilling its duty
to reflect Britain to the world, and to reflect the world back to Britain.
At a time of increasing global instability, it's a profound privilege
to be leading an organisation able to take up that duty.
