The death of public service broadcasting?
Monday
8 April 2002
Printable version
Speech to the Royal
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
Discussing the death
of public service broadcasting at the time of the funeral of the Queen
Mother, might seem inappropriate but in fact it is at times of national
and historical significance, as we find ourselves at the moment, that
the role, expectations and cohesive nature of the 大象传媒 is thrown into
sharp relief.
Few here
this evening could doubt how much the 大象传媒 participates in and contributes
to the corpus of British history after the events of the past week.
The sheer scale, skill and ambition of our coverage demonstrate our
purpose as narrator for the nation and the world.
For it
has not just been about reporting history but also recording it through
documentary highlights in primetime, online and in radio.
However,
the reach of public service broadcasting is far beyond simply these
major national and historical events and encompasses other aspects of
everyday life.
And, I
would argue, in an age of increasing media fragmentation, the need for
a publicly funded public service broadcaster is more relevant than ever.
As Tessa
Jowell made clear in her speech at the Westminster Media Forum last
month, the concept of public service broadcasting is far from dead.
Commercial
nay-sayers, who envision a digital future, where every niche will be
served by commercial broadcasters, with the 大象传媒 merely plugging the
gaps, have ignored the real purpose of public service broadcasting.
The reality
is that as channel choice extends, so commercial PSB requirements start
to disappear.
As Tessa
Jowell noted, public service broadcasting is about communality of experience.
It is about celebrating and nurturing diversity and developing creativity
in every segment of society. Equally, and where my own area lies, it
is concerned with broadening peoples聮 horizons.
A point
firmly made in the midst of the solemnity and spectacle of the Queen
Mother聮s passing by her great grandson Prince William when he revealed
that he and Harry had taught the Queen Mother to click her fingers like
Ali G and say "respec" to the Queen.
I suppose
after Ali G in Da House we聮ll now get Ali G in Da Palace.
Informing,
entertaining and educating without a preachy, didactic bent is a fundamental
purpose of public service broadcasting in the 21st Century and something
the 大象传媒 is fantastically well set up to do.
Because public service broadcasting is more than an economic or regulatory
matter - it is, in the Minister聮s words, "A matter of culture;
profoundly, it speaks of what kind of country we are."
And that
country today is culturally complex - it can accommodate humour like
Ali G聮s and the mystique of royalty and sombre ceremony.
The cultural
complexity of today聮s Britain is increasingly reflected in the
growing range and diversity of its broadcasting structure.
In the
last twenty years, we have gone from a cosy old pals network of three
public service broadcasters with mass audiences to a new digital world,
in which half the population can choose from over 200 television channels,
we can access the world wide web and will soon have hundreds of digital
radio channels.
Oh yes
and now more than 80% of the population now has a mobile phone and they
are sending millions of text messages to each other every day.
This growing
choice and complexity leaves us, I would argue, with a clear choice
- if we want to ensure that quality range and diversity can flourish,
then public service broadcasting and a publicly funded broadcaster,
free from the constraints of commercial market pressure, is essential.
The move
to the digital environment has inevitably meant a fresh look at regulation
of this burgeoning and increasingly inter-connected industry. It is
worth remembering that both the 大象传媒 and ITV share common ground under
the proposed new Ofcom structure.
So why
the necessity for us to keep editorial independence through the "back-stop"
powers of the DCMS, rather than Ofcom?
The fact
is that because of the unique way the 大象传媒 is funded, its core remit
and the fact that it is subject to parliamentary oversight and legislation,
means you cannot place it on a par with a mobile telephone operators
- however much our critics might wish it to be.
The way
in which we fulfil our core remit obligations under the Royal Charter,
to inform, educate, entertain, may have changed - there would be something
wrong if it hadn聮t - nevertheless the founding principles remain
sound. That charter, incidentally, is very short and the reason for
that is simple - for most of the 20th century the 大象传媒 has defined public
service broadcasting.
In the
modern world there is also a fourth purpose to public service broadcasting
- connectivity. The 大象传媒 is the only serious tri-media - TV, radio and
online - broadcaster in the world and connectivity underlies everything
we now do.
It is a
key point for modern public service that I shall return to.
If informing
the public is one of the cornerstones of public service broadcasting,
then news is the actual foundation.
Last week聮s
preposterously contrived media furore, over the allegedly insufficiently
dark colour of Peter Sissons tie, shouldn聮t detract from the massive
role that 大象传媒 News plays in British cultural life and its equally vital
role globally.
If I can
offer a few facts - 大象传媒 News has the largest global newsgathering operation
of any broadcaster with 58 bureaux, 13 of which are in the UK. It provides
news output across 15 outlets and 60% of all tv news and current affairs
viewing in the UK is to 大象传媒 News.
The key
is that 大象传媒 News maintains a volume, scale and quality of coverage that
is second to none. This is especially important during major news events
when the majority of television news viewers consistently turn to the
大象传媒 for coverage.
This was
demonstrated during the tragic events of September 11, more than 33
million people watched News 24聮s coverage of the terrorist attacks
in New York.
And it
is significant that our television coverage of the events leading up
to the Queen Mother聮s funeral attracted three times as many viewers
as the commercial broadcasts.
However,
informative public service broadcasting, and in particular news and
political coverage, does face real challenges.
The 大象传媒
recently initiated a study into the public perception of politics and
political commentary called Beyond the Soundbite.
The study
was very revealing, it suggested that many of those under the age of
45 are disillusioned with conventional politics and political coverage
and feel disconnected from both. Both Parliament and the 大象传媒 are considered
part of this remote establishment.
So how
do we tackle this? We cannot sit back and watch the foundations erode.
How do we engage people with politics and develop new ways of doing
political programmes alongside our established programmes
One way
to do this may be drama - a British West Wing perhaps? - to specifically
appeal to the under 45 audience. We are also looking at how the interactive
medium might be used to connect the audience with political debate,
improving Parliamentary coverage and reflecting the increasing importance
of local politics in the UK.
Current
affairs and documentaries are crucial to informing audiences and a commitment
to key journalistic programmes such as Panorama and Question Time as
part of our peak schedule is essential. But how to reach those wider
audiences?
Innovation
- a core purpose of public service broadcasting - provides one answer
and new current affairs programming in the past year has included current
affairs singles at 21:00, Macintyre -style investigations, 4X4 and drama-documentary
ties ins such as Smallpox.
Entertain
- this is in many ways the most difficult area because it is where consensus,
if it ever existed - breaks down completely.
I know
what I like but I couldn聮t possibly account for your tastes is
the major difficulty facing regulators - wherever they sit.
Even when
they have decided where to draw boundaries, those boundaries are constantly
shifting. It is a societal issue - and broadcasters are at the sharp
end, particularly if you still regard us as mirror to society.
In her
Fleming Lecture last month, at the Royal Television society, ITC head
Patricia Hodgson won predictable headlines when she drew a contrast
between what she perceived as the 大象传媒聮s participation in a ratings
war, with the screening of Celebrity Sleepover and the more clearly
defined PSB success of Blue Planet.
She said:
"It (the 大象传媒) should accept the challenge to make the market, that
is to make it different from what it would be if the 大象传媒 didn聮t
exist. Beating ITV with Blue Planet is a triumph! Beating it with Celebrity
Sleepover is a tragedy!"
Yet the
television critic for the Daily Express and Daily Star, Charlie Catchpole,
who is paid to understand the popular taste of his millions of readers,
struck a different note and I quote: "Celebrity
Sleepover proved to be more provocative and informative than the title
would indicate, offering a real and unflinching psychological portrait
of individuals shed of their celebrity facades."
So who
is right?
Are regulators
the best guardians of culture or can the audience decide for themselves?
The 大象传媒
is often accused of pursuing a long-term trajectory of dumbing down,
by listening to what the audience wants and providing accordingly. And
our entertainment content is most often quoted as proving this.
I remember
once reading a history of British television, in which a producer talked
of introducing an American to the 大象传媒聮s Head of Light Entertainment
in the 1960聮s.
In amazement
the American turned to his friend and said - "So does this mean
you have a Head of Heavy Entertainment as well?"
So dumbing
down, surely one of the laziest clich茅s in journalism, is a complex
issue and has taken on a variety of meanings.
But often
the criticism has more to do with changing society, lifestyles and expectations
than fact.
It聮s
not just the 大象传媒 under fire by the way.
Recently
both the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery have been
accused of "Dumbed Down Disasters" for their recent supposedly
"populist" exhibitions.
One was
Mario Testino聮s exhibition of celebrity photographs, the other
an exhibition of Genoese baroque painting.
And that
is the point isn聮t it? Like other great cultural institutions,
a public service broadcaster has to stay relevant while having a cultural
span that can schedule a Top of the Pops or Celebrity Sleepover at one
time and Simon Schama聮s History of Britain or Blue Planet at another.
However,
relevance should not be confused with dumbing down.
Quality
programming for everyone is absolutely relevant and there is nothing
dumb about producing quality popular programming.
Take the
quality of dramatic writing of EastEnders - even if soap operas are
not to your taste.
EastEnders
is popular because it is good and making the good popular and the popular
good - to quote Huw Wheldon - "has been a core purpose of the 大象传媒
since its foundation."
Indeed
the Evening Standard聮s former television critic Geoffrey Phillips
said that today聮s EastEnders would probably have had Dickens as
a scriptwriter, as it follows so closely Dickens聮 own episodic
structures, featuring often extreme characters and tragic action.
The 大象传媒
should be the standard bearer of public service broadcasting in its
ability to provide high quality, entertainment for everyone.
And it
is vastly popular, for by definition public service must be seen and
listened to by millions of people, otherwise it is narrow or niche casting.
The real
danger to a public service broadcaster here is that it is forced into
narrow areas of content and a more conservative approach by over regulation
and the special pleading from vested interests.
Take criticism
of our arts coverage as evidence of the decline of our PSB commitments.
That arts
remains central to the 大象传媒聮s output, is reflected in our highest
ever expenditure in the genre - 拢53 million in 2002/03 - or nearly
three times as much as ITV and Channel 4 combined.
Indeed,
our flagship channel 大象传媒 ONE shows more factual, education and arts
hours than five or ten years ago. We have recently launched 大象传媒 FOUR
because of our belief that cultural coverage of breadth and depth is
vital in the new multi-choice digital world in addition to, not instead
of, arts on 大象传媒 ONE and TWO.
And when
we are accused of dumbing down it is worth recalling how our entertainment
schedule has changed with the support of the licence fee.
In 1972,
American imported drama was a staple of the 大象传媒 peaktime schedules,
accounting for 220 minutes of peaktime programming.
Today they
have all but disappeared.
Peaktime
programming on 大象传媒 ONE, apart from films and sport, is now filled with
original UK production.
That is
our own UK culture, with British writers, stars, values and quality.
Quite simply,
if we were to produce low quality entertainment, we would fail to deliver
the public service remit. Ratings are an indication of our success in
delivering quality to a mass audience but they not the driver.
The trouble
is that a lot of the other qualities we value aren聮t so easily
measurable and are, if anything, even more important.
They are
to do with ambition, innovation and inspiration; making a statement;
taking risks and pushing boundaries; giving people a voice; allowing
creative talent headroom; trusting that talent so you let their passion
for a project silence your own doubts.
Which brings
me to the third part of our public service broadcasting remit.
Education
is the area that defines the 大象传媒聮s public service - an area where
we produce hundreds of hours of programming every year, where we have
won many awards and the respect of the education sector.
What we
have not won is wider recognition. If education hasn聮t featured
in the dumbing down debate, well that - almost - is something for regret.
I would like the public to regard the 大象传媒聮s education services
as fundamental - and therefore as controversial - as its news and entertainment.
But there
is the beginning of a shift here. We are now putting a new emphasis
and a new interpretation on the PSB obligation.
When Greg
Dyke joined the 大象传媒, he devoted his first public speech to education,
recognising that education is more important than ever in shaping the
prosperity and stability of the nation and setting out the major contribution
the 大象传媒 could make to the "knowledge society".
Part of the reason for education聮s low profile in the 大象传媒聮s
public personality has been uncertainty about what we mean by education.
We know for example what we expect from the 大象传媒 by way of high quality,
absorbing and intelligent documentaries. But education?
In 2001
the 大象传媒聮s most ambitious, popular and inspiring project was a factual
documentary series that received unanimous praise - so I make no apology
for reminding you of it and in doing so illustrate the way that education,
like public service broadcasting itself, is evolving to remain relevant.
Blue
Planet video
As one
commentator said, that聮s why I pay my licence fee. Our viewers
seemed to agree. The programme attracted almost a third of the available
television audience and one week reached over 16 million.
Compare
that with Jacob Bronowski聮s Ascent of Man shown on 大象传媒 Two in 1973
- and seen by less than two million a week.
Bronowski聮s
programme was no less in quality than Attenborough聮s and has remained
a landmark for 30 years.
However,
I expect if you ask anyone under 30 what they know of it they will look
fairly blank.
The fact
is that it was right for its time, just as Simon Schama and David Attenborough聮s
programmes are right for ours.
But entrancing
though the Blue Planet is, what has it to do with education?
It is true
that broadcasters have sometimes agonised over what is and is not education.
Some would
define it narrowly and esoterically, yet at the same time others have
taken a broader approach - both, I would argue, are an essential part
of public service broadcasting.
But there is also something new happening here - and it leads directly
from the ideas expressed in Greg聮s first speech.
You will
have noticed that I followed the Blue Planet programme clip with an
animated trail for the website.
Go there
and you will find interactive learning, building on the facts introduced
in the programme, and linked to short courses in marine biology from
Hull University and the OU.
This trebled
hits to the natural history site - during transmission there were nearly
three-quarters of a million a week - and over 600 people, the maximum
that could, have done the university course.
What we
are doing is using television and radio in a new way - to engage people聮s
interest, and then encourage them to go further. We maximise the educative
value of our programmes, by drawing on the existing relationship with
the mass audience.
And what
traditional educator wouldn聮t envy the numbers that we can reach?
For the
大象传媒, this has required a new approach - an acknowledgement that education
in the broadest sense is not the work of a single department. In theory
- and increasingly in practice - we can weave the learning element into
virtually any sort of programme. And we do so from the initial conception
of the programme - the learning is not tagged on as an afterthought.
This has
particular relevance to services for children, where we believe it is
not helpful to have a harsh dividing line between education and entertainment.
In the
past our programmes came from two separate places - the children聮s
department and the education department - although there was always
a certain amount of seepage - how else could you explain a programme
like Blue Peter?
We are
now exploiting that crossover even more - and the results have included
Teletubbies, Tweenies and Tracy Beaker. This approach also informs our
recently launched new children聮s channels.
Don聮t
think we聮re trying to pull a fast one on our younger viewers -
these programmes are first and foremost entertainment - we are not trying
to extend the classroom into the living room. But I see it as entertainment
with added value - which, I believe, is another defining mark of public
service broadcasting.
To many
people, the 大象传媒 as educator may not seem a very seductive proposition.
But we can interpret our obligation in different ways - by encouraging
people to explore, beyond that to participate, and only beyond that
to learn.
Exploration
is illustrated most obviously through Blue Planet - literally an exploration
of the deep. It聮s what we can also do in many areas of science,
history or current affairs. It means exciting curiosity and an appetite
for knowledge - and that is evidently something broadcasting has all
the resources to be superbly good at.
Participation
is about motivating people - and here we are working on new projects
to encourage participation in sport, music, the arts and citizenship.
The 大象传媒 acts as catalyst, reaching beyond the programmes and the websites,
working with grassroots partners.
Learning
- fully-fledged learning - is perhaps most readily understood as education
from the 大象传媒 - whether this is programmes for schools, the FE sector
or the OU.
We will
soon be submitting a proposal to Tessa Jowell for a digital curriculum
- a multi-media resource stretching across the curriculum, available
at school or at home, developed in partnership with teachers, the curriculum
authorities and other content providers.
We believe
this will make a significant difference to the experience of education.
Learning
is also about a skills portfolio for adults - and here we have worked
with the education sector to support literacy and numeracy, and internet
literacy. In its first six months last year, 5,000 people completed
the 大象传媒聮s Becoming Webwise course and were accredited.
That leads
me to our fourth implicit public service broadcasting obligation that
I talked about at the beginning - to connect.
It is no
longer enough to see the 大象传媒 as bountifully handing down information,
entertainment and education to a passive audience. New technology means
the audience can answer back.
And they
do - the 大象传媒 is involved in a two-way relationship as never before -
whether through websites, or contact centres - which receive around
two million emails and calls a year.
One area of public service broadcasting that has been central to the
大象传媒聮s purpose since its inception - indeed was the 大象传媒聮s inception
- is connecting with audiences through local broadcasting.
And here
new technology and learning are proving a powerful, new and relevant
combination.
The 大象传媒
is opening learning centres at local radio stations, five by the end
of this year, operating them in tandem with local education authorities.
We provide
the facilities and access to the learners; they (the LEA) provide the
tutoring expertise. The first one opened last year in Blackburn, complete
with a touring bus. It聮s already drawn in over 3,500 learners.
But figures
alone don聮t tell the complete story. Listen to what the people
have to say.
Video
- Blackburn Learning Centre
The benefit
of public service broadcasting, which the 大象传媒 has exemplified for 80
years, is to try out different things, to innovate, to experiment and
to take risks.
Sometimes
we get it wrong. Not everything will work. Mostly we get it right.
At its
best public service broadcasting can offer people new understanding,
not just of the world around us, but of ourselves.
So I believe
therefore that a public service broadcaster聮s biggest mission in
the early 21st century must be to help extend human experience, to reveal
us to ourselves and to ensure that what we offer our audience is as
relevant to them today as it has been in the past.
And we
should also try to be entertaining.
Tomorrow
will see a more sombre side of our output, as well as the most spectacular
demonstration of the relevance of public service broadcasting, to the
culture and traditions of this country.
Viewers
and listeners will engage and connect with a unique moment in history.
That聮s
because we remain a living medium.
Thank you.
