Abstract
While chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 have examined the BBC’s environment and some of the external pressures that played a role for the process of change at the Corporation, and chapter 5 being concerned with how the BBC has been transformed since the late 1980s, the following chapters will raise and discuss some of the issues at stake concerning the future of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
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References
Parston(1993), p. 6.
Paterson(1993), p. 28.
Mulgan (1993b), p. 76.
Mulgan (1993b), p. 82.
For a proposal as to how such an organisation could look like see, for example, Handy, Charles (1993): Balancing Corporate Power. In: Mülgan, Geoff and Paterson, Richard (eds.) (1993): Reinventing the Organisation. London: British Film Institute. Handy argues that a more ‘federal’ approach should be applied to the running and organising of big institutions such as the BBC in order to obtain the best possible results for both the institution and those constituting it, as well as the people the organisation is meant to serve.
1994 White Paper, para 5.1. See also paras 5.2–5.3. Drawbacks include the licence fee being: difficult and expensive to collect; independent of licence fee payers’ income; possible to evade; increasingly difficult to justify; an unsatisfactory link between the BBC and viewers/listeners; not fully removed from the political spheres. To reduce some of these drawbacks the following measures were undertaken: in April 1991 the BBC took over responsibility for licence fee collection from the Post Office, and it is now possible to pay by monthly instalments. Nevertheless, especially the fact that the licence fee does not take into account viewers’ ability to pay leads Geoff Mülgan to claim that it “[...] is probably the most regressive tax in Britain today. [...] [It] stands as an inegalitarian flat-rate charge, linked in no way to ability to pay.” Mülgan, Geoff (1993a): Freedom and the Licence: The Political History of the Funding of the BBC. In: Barnett, Steven (ed.) (1993): Funding the BBC’s Future. London: British Film Institute, p. 8.
See 1994 White Paper, paras 5.4–5.9. The effects of the BBC being financed by other means than through the licence fee are investigated by numerous contributors to the debate. Proposed alternatives include subscription funding (advanced in particular by David Elstein), or introduction of a Public Service Broadcasting Council (suggested, amongst others, by Cento Veljanovski). The overwhelming majority, however, agrees that the licence fee still represents the ‘least worse alternative’.
1994 White Paper, para 5.10.
Suggestions for licence fee increases reflecting the real rises in broadcasting costs are made by Evan Davis and Andrew Dilnot. They propose tying licence fee increases to a GDP deflator-related formula. See Davis, Evan and Dilnot, Andrew (1993): Public Funding and the Licence Fee. In: Barnett, Steven (ed.) (1993): Funding the BBC’s Future. London: British Film Institute, p. 49. Andrew Graham and Gavyn Davies suggest that the licence fee should be linked to the increase in unit labour costs in the private service sector in the short term. In the long term, it should be tied to the increase in overall labour costs in broadcasting. See Graham and Davies (1992), p. 212.
In the Broadcasting Bill 1995 it was suggested that the BBC be given the option to provide additional services by means of subscription once digital terrestrial television is possible (see also chapter 6.12 and Postscript). Subscription, however, breaks with one of the principles of public service broadcasting: universal access. This means that subscription is no immediate alternative for the BBC’s core services. Moreover, it is doubtful whether subscription would improve the overall range and quality of the BBC’s services if they were all financed this way. What it would almost certainly do is to increase prices.
See 1994 White Paper, paras 4.10–4.19 and 1996–2006 Charter, clauses 3. (c) and 3. (u).
Lee, Matthew and Tonge, Gary (1994): Technology: Delivering the goods. In: Miller, Nod and Allen, Rod (eds.) (1994): Broadcasting Enters the Marketplace. Proceedings of the 24th University of Manchester Broadcasting Symposium. London: John Libbey, p. 87 (authors’ own emphasis).
See David Docherty, head of Planning and Strategy for BBC Network Television, in British Film Institute (ed.) (1993), p. 109 and Birt (1993b). Demands for significant licence fee increases did not feature in Extending Choice either.
John Birt quoted in N.N.: Staying on top. In: Ariel, Week 21, 23.5.1995, pp. 6–7. The article also provides a good overview of how Birt would like to see BBC Resources operate and interact with ‘customers’.
See Ehrenberg, Andrew and Mills, Pam (1990): Viewers’ Willingness to Pay: A Research Report. London: International Thomson Business Publishing (Broadcast); and Ehrenberg and Mills (1993). See also National Economic Research Associates (1992): Subscription. In: Congdon, Tim, et al. (1992): Paying for Broadcasting: The Handbook. London: Routledge, pp. 142–149.
Christopher Bland quoted in Brown, Maggie: All to play for. In: The Guardian 2, 22.1.1996, p. 13. (See also Postscript.)
Graham and Davies (1992), p. 195 (authors’ own emphasis).
1996–2006 Charter, clause 3. (e).
Television Licence Fee. A Study for the Home Office. [Conducted by Management Consultants Price Waterhouse] London: HMSO, 1991, p. 4.
The Future of the BBC. Second Report. Volume I: Report and Minutes of Proceedings. [In future referred to as National Heritage Committee (1993)] House of Commons Session 1993–94. London: HMSO, 1993, para 101.
Select Committees, introduced in 1979, were intended as Parliament’s check on the executive. Their reports — while not binding on government — are usually not ignored. Taking up the above recommendation in the 1994 White Paper shows this. See 1994 White Paper, Appendix, recommendation xxiii.
The following example is not meant to conclude that the BBC has already given in to commercial pressures. It is merely intended to show what is at stake. When the BBC’s current affairs flagship Panorama screened an interview with Princess Diana in November 1995, this resulted in some of the highest ratings ever for the programme (estimated at around 21 million viewers). Moreover, sales on the international market for rights to transmit the interview were likely to generate the highest ever revenue for a factual programme until then, estimated to amount to £2 million. See Atkinson, Claire: Panorama tops £2m with Diana. In: Broadcast, 24.11.1995, p. 3 and Deans, Jason: Panorama leads royal chase for viewers. In: Broadcast, 24.11.1995, p. 5.
Graham and Davies (1992), p. 221 (authors’ own emphasis).
See Blumler, Jay G. (1993c): The Increasing Self-Commercialisation of the BBC: Profit or Peril? In: Barnett, Steven (ed.) (1993): Funding the BBC’s Future. London: British Film Institute; and Blumler, Jay G. (1993a), pp. 403–424.
In summer 1992, BSkyB and the BBC jointly outbid the ITV network by paying £304 million for the rights to cover matches for five years. BSkyB secured live coverage, while the BBC got exclusive access to highlights for only £22.5 million. The BBC’s participation in the deal was crucial for BSkyB because it is unlikely that the Football Association would have awarded coverage of the matches exclusively to a satellite service. Consequently, commentators often referred to the deal as a ‘pact with the devil’ because it strengthened BSkyB’s position further. The BBC’s involvement in the deal presented the following dilemma for the Corporation: on the one hand, for comparatively little licence fee payers’ money, it could bring football back to the screens of viewers. This made the Corporation’s continued presence in one of Britain’s top sports possible again. On the other hand, the deal meant depriving non-satellite viewers of any live coverage. Even more important was the fact that it gave succour to a competitive enterprise which somehow was the antithesis of public service broadcasting, owned by the man (Rupert Murdoch) who only some three years earlier had used his 1989 MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival to condemn the very existence of the BBC. Barnett and Curry point to another effect of the deal: “After a decade of constant and virulent attacks, one of the BBC’s most aggressive opponents retired from the fray almost as soon as the cooperative deals were announced. The constant barrage of hostile stories, with their highly destabilising effect on the Corporation, gradually faded.” Barnett and Curry (1994), pp. 141–142.
National Heritage Committee (1993), para 105.
Kaufman, Gerald: Extracts from Hansard of debates in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, February 1996. Printed under the title The trouble with Auntie in: The Guardian, 19.2.1996, p. 15. Kaufman is moreover doubtful whether the Labour Party can defend the licence fee indefinitely.
Gerald Kaufman quoted from a House of Commons debate in Lewis, John: Debatable prospects. In: Broadcast, 17.2.1995, p. 15.
This supports the claim of individuals like Ian Hargreaves who argues that the BBC can only become a major player in the emerging transnational marketplace if it is free to compete as a privately owned company relying on advertising and subscription for the bulk of its revenue, topped up with grants for specific projects. According to Hargreaves, former head of BBC News & Current Affairs, “[...] a purely public sector corporation faces mounting self-contradictions in the international marketplace of modern broadcasting.” Hargreaves (1993), p. 38.
See National Heritage Committee (1993), para 107.
1994 White Paper, para 3.3.
Garnham (1994), p. 15. This is supported by the six week commissioning stop on programmes in March/April 1995 when the BBC admittedly could not supply the resources needed to fund additional programming (see also chapter 5.3.2).
Extending Choice (1992) p. 82. The BBC’s new role is further elaborated as involving four major activities: providing comprehensive news, current affairs, and information programming; fresh and innovative entertainment; educational programming; and stimulating communication between Britain and abroad. See Extending Choice (1992), p. 83.
See Extending Choice (1992), p. 33.
Marmaduke Hussey in BBC (1992a): Annual Report and Accounts 1991/92. London: BBC, p. 3.
See 1996–2006 Agreement, clauses 3.1–3.3 where programme requirements are set out.
BBC (1995e), p. 7. See also the programme review and assessment of the Governors and of the Director-General therein. However, a critical assessment and evaluation of BBC programme output would require a much more detailed analysis, which would need to take comparable data into account (see also chapter 6.4.1).
Regarding questions of quality see also Broadcasting Research Unit (1989): Quality in Television. London: John Libbey; Mulgan Geoff (ed.) (1990): Questions of Quality. London: British Film Institute;
and Corner, John; Harvey, Sylvia and Lury, Karen (1994): Culture, Quality and Choice: the Re-regulation of TV 1989–91. In: Hood, Stuart (ed.) (1994): Behind the Screens. The Structure of British Television in the Nineties. London: Lawrence & Wishart. The latter note that “‘Quality’ became a key idea in the debate about the future of television because of its accommodating ambiguities.” (p. 17, authors’ own emphasis.) The authors remark further that, when debating quality, more attention needs to be paid to the political and cultural context within which television operates and is used, instead of focusing almost exclusively on programmes. What has been suggested here by Corner, Harvey and Lury regarding quality judgements is not reflected in the approach taken by members of the Adam Smith Institute. They postulate that high ratings are the only yardstick by which the quality of a programme should be measured. Anything else, according to the ASI, would be clearly elitist. See Adam Smith Institute (1984), p. 40.
Measures to operationalise programme quality has become one of the most imminent challenges for public service broadcasters in other countries, too. Suggestions as to how this could be done are given in Diem, Peter (1994): Leistungsindikatoren für den öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunk. Versuch einer mehrdimensionalen Operationalisierung der Qualität von Fernsehsendungen. In: Media Perspektiven (Frankfurt a./M.) 2/1994, pp. 67–71.
1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (a). The 1994 White Paper stated that the BBC should identify “[...] clear objectives for programmes and services, and the means of measuring performance, [...] in line with modern methods of resource management and the Government’s policies for improved accountability in public services [...].” 1994 White Paper, para 3.26.
See Extending Choice (1992), pp. 27–39.
1994 White Paper, para 3.3.
1996–2006 Agreement, clause 3.1.
In the week ending June 27th, BBC 1’s audience share amounted to 28.9 per cent while ITV’s Channel 3 gained a comfortable lead of 41.4 per cent. See Culf, Andrew: BBC1 rating dips below 30pc. In: The Guardian, 7.7.1993, p. 4.
Alan Yentob quoted in Leapman, Michael: ‘Elitist’ BBC admits it must go downmarket. In: The Independent, 14.7.1993, p. 1. In the press, Yentob’s announcement was widely interpreted as a move ‘downmarket’, while the BBC later defended its position by claiming that it meant catering more for the appeals of the lower socio-economic groups (C’s and D’s), instead of oversupplying the ABC l’s.
See also Leapman, Michael: Still looking for the right light touch. In: The Independent, 28.7.1993, p. 17. Matters of programme content, including an assessment of BBC output by Alan Yentob, are also raised in British Film Institute (ed.) (1993), pp. 48–83.
See 1994 White Paper, para 3.1.
See 1994 White Paper, para 3.6.
It was in particular Cento Veljanovski of the Institute of Economic Affairs who wanted to reduce the role of public service broadcasting simply to fill the gaps left by the commercial sector. Proposals for a Public Service Broadcasting Council reflected this approach. (See also chapters 2.3 and 3.4.2.)
An exception is the dealing with complaints about programme standards. To do so, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (set up in 1980) examines complaints of unfair treatment and unwarranted infringement of privacy, and the Broadcasting Standards Council (established in 1988) considers complaints from the public about the portrayal of violence, sexual conduct, taste and decency. Since responsibilities of the above bodies were often unclear to the public, the 1994 White Paper proposed to merge them into a single body responsible for maintaining standards in broadcasting, monitoring output and establishing guidelines for broadcasters. This was consequently taken up in the Broadcasting Bill 1995. See 1994 White Paper, paras 7.15–7.17 and Broadcasting Bill 1995, clauses 67–89.
Suggestions as to how the future course of the BBC can be removed further from the spheres of politics will be made in chapter 6.10.
‘Diversity and choice’ became a constant feature in Annual Reports from 1993 onwards and in other strategic documents, for example Extending Choice, Responding to the Green Paper and People and Programmes. See also 1994 White Paper, para 3.5 and 1996–2006 Agreement, clauses 3.1–3.3 for the government’s view on the above.
Extending Choice (1992), p. 55.
In the chapter High Quality Programmes it is claimed that the BBC is committed to “[...] creating and developing broadcasting services which nurture and express British culture and entertainment.” Extending Choice (1992), p. 31.
Questions of scheduling are also investigated by Docherty, Hill and Piatt (1994). See also 1996–2006 Agreement, clause 3.1 and chapter 5.4.
In November 1992 John Birt announced that the BBC’s overall television share will fall below 30 per cent by the year 2000. His remark can be interpreted as a very strategic move: either it will come true, then he can say his prediction was right, or it will not, which will enable him to say that the BBC is performing better than could have been expected. In November 1995, Liz Forgan followed on similar lines when she predicted that BBC Radio’s audience reach will fall below 50 per cent by the end of the century. See Forgan, Liz: Why less is still more. In: The Guardian 2, 6.11.1995, pp. 16–17. (See also chapter 5.4.2.)
In 1993 Alan Yentob admitted that there still remained a lot of work to be done for the BBC in order to cater for all sections of society adequately. In particular, this included representation of ethnic minorities. See British Film Institute (ed.) (1993), pp. 52–53 and 56–62.
See Paterson (1993), p. 24.
Mulgan (1993b), p. 79.
Hood, Stuart (1970): Creativity and accountancy. In: Wedell, Eberhard George (ed.) (1970): Structures of Broadcasting: A Symposium. Manchester: Manchester University Press, p. 73.
Mulgan (1993b), p. 78.
Michael Grade quoted in Barnett and Curry (1994), p. 245. See also Grade (1992). In his MacTaggart lecture at the 1992 Edinburgh Television Festival, Grade attacked BBC Management under Birt and Checkland which, in his opinion, stifled innovation while it put the highest premium on accounting (see also chapter 4.4).
Curran(1979), p. 252.
British Film Institute (ed.) (1993), p. 5.
Paterson (1993), p. 16. In his contribution, Paterson examines how, over the years, different concepts and ideas existed on how to guarantee an environment that encouraged creativity and innovation.
See also the case study of Ahmia, Tarik (1994): ‘The Exploratory’. A Case Study on the Development of New Television Formats in Public Broadcasting. M.A. Dissertation submitted at the University of Sussex at Brighton, Department of Media Studies, in September 1994. The author examines the profession of television producers in the BBC’s Science and Features Department and analyses the Corporation’s role as an institution in the process of cultural production. He concludes that recent market-driven reforms at the BBC pose a threat to the foundations necessary for creative and innovative work.
Michael Swann quoted in Annan Report (1977), para 16.43. Sociological aspects of individual, nation and identity as well as the role of the media in this context are examined by Smith (1993a), pp. 71–80.
Extending Choice (1992), p. 22.
See BBC (1969), in particular pp. 7–8. (See also chapter 3.2.)
See 1994 White Paper, para 3.12 and Harvey, Sylvia and Robins, Kevin (1994): Voices and Places: the BBC and Regional Policy. In: The Political Quarterly Vol. 65, No 1, 1994, pp. 39–41. Harvey and Robins examine the role regionalism has played in the BBC’s history and argue the case for further change in regional policy.
Extending Choice (1992), p. 47. The BBC still divides into national regions (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and English regions (South-East, West, Midlands and North).
See 1994 White Paper, paras 3.18 and 3.24, and 1996–2006 Agreement, clause 3.2 (h).
See Extending Choice (1992), pp. 46–48. This includes establishing closer links with the audiences in different regions through advisory bodies (see also chapter 6.8).
See N.N.: Breaking into the networks. In: Ariel, Week 24, 13.6.1995, pp. 8–9 and Culf, Andrew: BBC cuts 40 jobs in education. In: The Guardian, 16.5.1995, p. 5.
Graham and Davies (1992), p. 181 (authors’ own emphasis).
See also Porter, Henry: London stops calling. In: The Guardian 2, 12.6.1995, pp. 14–15. In his article, Porter argues that the BBC (and in particular John Birt) is almost obsessed with proportionality when it comes to regional productions. He gives the example of the television version of the radio hit The Moral Maze, produced by the Religious Affairs Department in Manchester, which involves great extra costs because it is produced in Manchester. Usually, it is necessary to fly most participants to Manchester from London (including hotel bills, meals etc.), although the programme could be produced much more cheaply in the BBC’s own studios in the capital. Ronald Neil, managing director of BBC Regional Broadcasting, replied to the above article saying that while the points made by Porter “[...] may or may not be valid”, the BBC will continue with its commitment to the regions because “The licence fee comes from every home and every street in the land.”
Neil, Ronald: Henry Porter’s criticisms of the BBC: a reply. In: The Guardian 2, 26.6.1995, p. 11. Government, too, raised the issue identified in Porter’s article but stated that it did not want to include quotas for regional productions in the new Charter. Instead, it relies on the BBC’s commitment to do so voluntarily. See 1994 White Paper, para 3.24; 1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (d); and 1996–2006 Agreement, clause 3.2 (h) where it is demanded that a “[...] reasonable proportion [...]” be made in the regions.
This is now common practice in the BBC’s Annual Reports. See for example BBC (1995e), pp. 43–44 and p. 96. The report states that the proportion of network programme spending commissioned from outside London and the South-East amounted to 24.8 per cent in 1994/95 in Network TV (up from 21 per cent in 1993/94; adjusted figures), and 25.2 per cent in Network Radio (up from 22 per cent in 1993/94). The target for 1997/98 is “broadly a third”. See BBC (1995e), p. 44. But since the figures provided do not necessarily indicate where programmes were made (this was done in the Annual Reports up to 1991/92), the argument that they are a carefully designed public relations exercise gains in weight. Following criticism from PACT (Producers’ Alliance for Film and Television), the BBC drew up new guidelines concerning regional productions. Due to be enforced from 1997/98 onwards, “[...] a regional network production will only qualify if it has been commissioned from, made by and managed by a BBC regional production department or a non-BBC production company with a business and production base outside the M25.” Littlejohn, Sarah: PACT deal set to increase BBC regional production. In: Broadcast, 24.11.1995, p. 6.
As part of the British Film Institute’s Charter Review Series, the BFI canvassed a number of different opinions regarding aspects of broadcasting and regionalism, including proposals for what could and should be changed, in their 1993 publication The Regions, the Nations and the BBC. London: British Film Institute, edited by Sylvia Harvey and Kevin Robins. For more information on this issue see also Harvey and Robins (1994) and McCormick, John; Redmond, Phil; Spencer, Mike and Marris, Paul (1994): Regions at Risk? In: Miller, Nod and Allen, Rod (eds.) (1994): Broadcasting Enters the Marketplace. Proceedings of the 24th University of Manchester Broadcasting Symposium. London: John Libbey, which includes proposals made by John McCormick, then controller of BBC Scotland, for more regional representation in the BBC’s output.
In this context, it is also illuminating to draw attention to the ITV network where moves have taken place in an opposite direction, away from regionalism. Even though franchises are awarded on a regional level, the recent mergers of ITV companies pose a threat to regional representation in the network’s schedules. Even more important was the decision to establish a central body, the ITV Network Centre, responsible for the commissioning and scheduling of all ITV output before 10.30 pm (see also chapter 1.10).
Forgan, Liz: Why less is still more. In: The Guardian 2,6.11.1995, pp. 16–17. (See also chapter 5.4.2.)
In November 1995 ITV, in partnership with BSkyB, secured coverage of the FA Cup final (which has been transmitted by the BBC for more than 50 years) for four years from 1997/98 onwards. ITV is to pay an estimated £15 million a year to cover the event. The deal was announced on the same day that Sky Sports was awarded live coverage of the Endsleigh League and the Coca-Cola Cup for £125 million. The contract will run for five years. See Culf, Andrew and Buckingham, Lisa: ITV snatches the FA Cup. In: The Guardian, 29.11.1995, p. 28. Another case illuminating the BBC’s dilemma when it comes to bidding for televising popular sporting events was the announcement that Formula One racing (another traditional stronghold of BBC sports coverage) would be awarded to ITV for five years from 1997 onwards for £60 million: nearly ten times the amount the BBC had to pay for its three-year contract until 1996.
See Culf, Andrew and Henry, Alan: ITV s £60m Formula One coup deals new blow to BBC pride. In: The Guardian, 14.12.1995, p. 25. Other events the BBC lost to BSkyB were the Ryder Cup and one-day cricket internationals.
Liz Forgan’s remark quoted earlier in this chapter must be seen in this context. It is very much in line with an announcement made by John Birt in 1992, when he predicted that BBC Television’s overall audience share will fall below 30 per cent by the year 2000. Patricia Hodgson follows in the same tradition: “audience share will be much more fragmented than it is now and no single broadcaster will have a dominant position in the marketplace.” Hodgson (1993), p. 68.
The question whether more channels equals more choice is left for debate here. Anthony Smith remarks on the issue that abundance of choice does not in itself constitute a transformation, since individuals will make conditioned choices, which is unlikely to increase the total viewing hours drastically. See Smith (1993a), p. 17. Free marketers, on the other hand, have regularly claimed that the quality of the system will increase automatically if more channels become available. See for example Adam Smith Institute (1984), p. 39. For more information on the issue see also Mills, Pam (1994): More channels equals happier viewers? In: Miller, Nod and Allen, Rod (eds.) (1994): Broadcasting Enters the Marketplace. Proceedings of the 24th University of Manchester Broadcasting Symposium. London: John Libbey.
Blumler, Jay G. (1993b): Public Service Broadcasting in Multi-Channel Conditions: Functions and Funding. In: Barnett, Steven (ed.) (1993): Funding the BBC’s Future. London: British Film Institute, p. 35.
This is due to the Broadcasting Act 1990 which prohibited listed events being shown exclusively on a pay-per-view basis but, crucially, did not also exclude satellite channels such as Sky. (Listed events in 1996 were: the English and Scottish Cup finals; the Grand National; the Derby; Cricket Home Test Matches; the Wimbledon finals; the football World Cup; and the Olympic Games.)
See MacDonald, Marianne: Bottomley retreat on ‘jewels in the crown ‘. In: The Independent, 5.3.1996, p. 3
and Thomson, Alice: Peer makes U-turn on TV sports Bill. In: The Times, 20.3.1996, p. 9. The Bill went back to the House of Commons in late April 1996.
The Labour Party has signalled that it plans changes in broadcasting legislation if it is to govern Britain. Regarding sports coverage, Labour’s Shadow Heritage Secretary Jack Cunningham hinted in early 1996 that his party would review the size and scope of listed events. See Smithers, Rebecca and Culf, Andrew: Move to safeguard TV ‘crown jewels ‘. In: The Guardian, 17.1.1996, p. 8.
Interaction with the audience has been a continuous problem throughout the BBC’s history. A scrutinised study examining the relationship of the BBC with its audience can be found in Madge (1989).
Liz Forgan quoted in N.N.: Quote of the week. In: Broadcast, 24.2.1995, p. 36.
Marmaduke Hussey quoted in Culf, Andrew: Viewers ‘accept sex and swearing’. In: The Guardian, 16.11.1995, p. 10. The five categories into which the BBC divides its audience are outlined in a chart supplementing the article.
For more information on issues of taste and decency see Reynolds, Robin: Shock horror. In: Ariel, Week 30, 25.7.1995, pp. 10–11.
It is striking that while the BBC acknowledges a growing fragmentation of society, since the launch of Radio 5 in August 1990 it had not been on the agenda to ask for an increase in the BBC’s output through provision of additional services. This changed when the BBC started lobbying government in the mid-1990s to be allocated digital terrestrial television channels (see chapter 6.12).
See 1994 White Paper, paras 7.8–7.9.
1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (e). See also clause 6.
See Madge (1989), p. 115.
See BBC (1993a), p. 9.
See 1994 White Paper, paras 6.16–6.23; Extending Choice (1992), p. 75; BBC (1995e), pp. 18–21; and 1996–2006 Charter, clauses 11–13. There still exists controversy relating to the way appointments are made to these councils and whether they constitute an ideal body ensuring public representation.
See Extending Choice (1992), pp. 75–76; BBC (1995e), p. 63; and N.N.: Programme complaints: ‘reassuring’ start for unit. In: Ariel, Week 51, 19.12.1994, p. 2. Handling thousands of telephone calls and letters adequately every day represents a serious administrative problem for the BBC. Acknowledging the amount of correspondence the BBC has to handle also says something about the Corporation’s status in British public life. In order to outline guidelines for dealing with the public, the BBC launched a 20-page booklet Courtesy and Care in 1993.
See also N.N.: The care code. In: Ariel, Week 41, 12.10.1993, pp. 8–9.
See Watts, Lesley: Open all hours. In: Ariel, Week 9, 28.2.1995, pp. 10–11.
Trying to find out more about audiences’ needs and wishes resulted in the most extensive research ever undertaken in the BBC’s history. Findings are summarised in People and Programmes, published in February 1995.
Bill Cotton quoted in Barnett and Curry (1994), p. 89.
See Ehrenberg and Mills (1990) and Ehrenberg and Mills (1993). Ehrenberg and Mills conclude that “The public’s overriding concern is the range and quality of their television service.” Ehrenberg and Mills (1993), p. 61 (my emphasis).
See 1994 White Paper, para 6.10 and 1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (b).
See 1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (k).
The appointment of Marmaduke Hussey as chairman was seen as such an appointment. See also Thatcher (1995), p. 637; Horrie and Clarke (1994), p. 60; and chapter 3.4.4.
See 1994 White Paper, para 6.15 and National Heritage Committee (1993), para 61.
Alternative selection procedures are examined by a number of contributors. Almost all have the overriding aim of making the Governors more representative of society, and of removing sectional (mainly party political) interests from nomination procedures. See for example Collins and Purnell (1995), pp. 22–24 and Weir (1994), p. 8. As has been pointed out beforehand, the Conservatives do not think much of any alterations to the system in operation. This was confirmed with the appointment of Christopher Bland who succeeded Marmaduke Hussey as chairman of the Board of Governors in April 1996. Before he took up the post, Bland was a member of the Conservative Party and once a Conservative councillor for the Greater London Council. It needs to be stressed that this does not imply that Bland will follow the party political line of the Conservatives in his function as chairman of the BBC’s Board of Governors. On the contrary, his knowledge of the broadcasting industry (Bland is a former chairman of the IBA and LWT) might prove to be beneficial for the BBC.
See McCormick; Redmond; Spencer and Marris (1994), p. 70.
See Stevenson, Michael (1993). In his contribution Stevenson outlines the BBC’s position on questions of governance.
See for example Stevenson, Wilf (ed.) (1994), pp. 71–77.
Foster (1992), p. 41 (author’s own emphasis). A possibility would be that the ITC or a newly created body would take over responsibility for regulating all broadcasting in Britain.
1994 White Paper, para 6.14.
Tom O’Malley claims that the BBC Governors are totally unrepresentative of society: between 1970 and 1989, 79 per cent of the Governors were men; 56 per cent were privately educated; and 49 per cent had been to Oxford or Cambridge University. See O’Malley (1994), p. 136.
See 1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (f). See also 1996–2006 Agreement, clauses 5.1 (c) and 5.2–5.5 where it is set out in greater detail how controversial subjects should be treated. It is also demanded of the BBC to draw up guidelines concerning the treatment of such issues.
John Birt in BBC (no year): Producers’ Guidelines. London: BBC, p. 2 (Foreword). See also Culf, Andrew: ‘Period before polls requires balance within programmes’. In: The Guardian, 5.4.1995, p. 6. The guidelines also draw on a seminar held by the BBC in November 1988. Contributions are published in BBC (1989): Impartiality. Representing Reality. London: BBC. In the publication John Birt outlines how he views impartial and balanced news and current affairs reporting. See Birt (1989), pp. 58–61. However, as Colin Morris points out in the same publication, at the end of the day it is still individuals who make judgements based on personal value systems.
See Morris, Colin (1989): Impartiality and Truth: The Problem of Moral Neutrality. In: BBC (1989): Impartiality. Representing Reality. London: BBC, pp. 21–25.
Furthermore, various other laws like the Official Secrets Act and the Obscene Publications Act need to be obeyed by broadcasters and thus restrict journalists’ possibilities to broadcast sensitive issues.
See 1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (f) and 1996–2006 Agreement, clauses 3.1, 3.2 (c), 5.1 (c) and 5.3–5.5.
See Bates, Stephen and Culf, Andrew: Major backs Aitken in attack on BBC. In: The Guardian, 28.3.1995, p. 24.
Culf, Andrew and Wintour, Patrick: Tory media blitz ‘aided by the BBC. In: The Guardian, 31.3.1995, p. 3. It was finally decided in court that the programme could be screened in England and Wales, but not in Scotland.
See also Culf, Andrew and Clouston, Erlend: BBC pledges to fight ‘objector’s charter’. In: The Guardian, 5.4.1995, p. 6. Following the incident, the BBC’s managing director of News & Current Affairs, Tony Hall, outlined why impartiality should be a matter for the judgement of journalists and programme makers rather than the courts.
See Hall, Tony: Politics: the balancing act. In: Ariel, Week 15, 11.4.1995, pp. 6–7.
See Culf, Andrew: BBC chief bach PM broadcast decision. In: The Guardian, 14.4.1995, p. 6.
See Birt, John (1995): For Good or Ill? The Role of the Modern Media. An extract from a speech by John Birt, BBC Director-General, at the Independent Newspapers Annual Lecture, Trinity College, Dublin on 3 February 1995. [Unpublished manuscript] London: BBC. In the speech Birt outlined how he sees the role of those working in the news media.
See Wintour, Patrick: Tories revive unit to check media bias. In: The Guardian, 9.8.1995, p. 3. The BBC, in turn, started recording exchanges between politicians and producers.
Elstein, David (1986): An end to protection. In: MacCabe, Colin and Stewart, Olivia (eds.) (1986): The BBC and Public Service Broadcasting. Manchester: Manchester University Press, p. 90. See also David Elstein’s contributions in British Film Institute (ed.) (1993), pp. 85–92, where, again, Elstein argues for the BBC to be financed by subscription. Belonging to this school of thought are those who argue that in a ‘free’ broadcasting market political pressure would be drastically reduced as a logical consequence. See for example Bracken and Fowler (1993).
See Stevenson, Wilf (ed.) (1994), pp. 62–65 and 112–113. It is worth noting that the BBC is already partly governed by statute, in that the Broadcasting Act 1990 imposed on it the duty to commission 25 per cent of its output from independents and required the Corporation to take responsibility for licence fee collection. See Broadcasting Act 1990, sections 180 and 186.
Events surrounding the writing and re-writing of the 1992 Green Paper, depending on who was in charge at the Department of National Heritage, clearly demonstrate how the course of broadcasting depends on who is in charge (see chapter 3.5.1).
For more information on the differences between Charter and Act of Parliament see also Barendt, Eric M. (1993): Constitutional Aspects of BBC Charter Renewal. In: Shaw, Colin (ed.) (1993): Rethinking Governance and Accountability. London: British Film Institute, and Barnett and Curry (1994), pp. 260–261. An Act of Parliament would moreover specify the programme range expected from a public service broadcaster; set objectives such as training, research and innovation; set in law the duty to scrutinise and challenge public policy; be clearer about the division of responsibilities (even though the BBC tried to do this on its own initiative); and make the selection of Governors and their chairman more transparent.
See Handy (1993) and Garnham, Nicholas (1973): Structures of Television. BFI Television Monograph. London: British Film Institute, pp. 42–47. Some of the proposals made by Garnham, written more than 20 years ago, still feature in discussions of the Nineties. The BBC itself has partly reacted to calls for more regionalism, and the requirements of the new Charter to consult the national and regional councils more rigorously (see 1996–2006 Charter, clauses 12 and 13) might result in the regions gaining in significance, which could also prove to be beneficial for guarding the BBC’s independence (see also chapter 6.8).
See British Film Institute (ed.) (1993), pp. 100–104. (See also chapter 6.11.)
Winston (1994), p. 39.
1996–2006 Charter, clause 7. (1) (a).
BBC (1993b), p. 11.
Harvey, Sylvia (1993): Islands and Continents: The BBC and the Regions. In: Harvey, Sylvia and Robins, Kevin (eds.) (1993): The Regions, the Nations and the BBC. London: British Film Institute, p. 84. That is why Sylvia Harvey describes this process of presenting an organisation to the outside world through the mechanism of annual reports and accounts as the “politicisation of statistics” (p. 84), a consequence of complying with a changed understanding of publicly funded institutions.
Garnham, Nicholas (1993): The Future of Public Service Broadcasting in Britain in Historical Perspective. In: Shaw, Colin (ed.) (1993): Rethinking Governance and Accountability. London: British Film Institute, p. 17. Garnham examines how the problem of accountability has haunted the BBC since its birth. He looks at the issue from a historical perspective. This includes the discussion of various tendencies aimed at making the BBC more accountable, as well as an outline of problems that have been involved in this process over the years. Garnham also makes some proposals for the future regarding accountability. In his opinion, a Public Service Broadcasting Council would be a necessary alternative to secure that public service broadcasting survives well into the next century. Otherwise, he argues, it is almost certain that public service broadcasting will be left to the market.
For more information on organisational culture see also Child, Libby; Laidlaw, Gillian; Lind, Harold and Wade, Richard (1991): Advertising on the BBC. In: Miller, Nod and Allen, Rod (eds.) (1991): And now for the BBC... Proceedings of the 22nd University of Manchester Broadcasting Symposium. London: John Libbey, pp. 35–37.
See Sharp, Andrew (1993): Finance and Control of the BBC: A Radical Alternative. In: Barnett, Steven (ed.) (1993): Funding the BBC’s Future. London: British Film Institute. In his contribution Sharp outlines how this concept could be applied to the BBC. Other concepts of more audience participation — including some of the difficulties involved — are outlined by Foster (1992) and Whitehead, Phillip (1993): Consumer Sovereignty and the BBC: How should it be Accountable to Viewers and Listeners? In: Shaw, Colin (ed.) (1993): Rethinking Governance and Accountability. London: British Film Institute.
See 1994 White Paper, paras 6.1–6.44 and 1996–2006 Charter, clauses 6–7.
For more information on technical aspects see Windram, Mike (1993): New Technological Options: The Next Fifteen Years. In: Mulgan, Geoff and Paterson, Richard (eds.) (1993): Reinventing the Organisation. London: British Film Institute, and Lee and Tonge (1994). The impacts which new technologies are likely to have on society, as well as an examination of existing opinions on these matters, are investigated in greater detail by Curran and Seaton (1991), pp. 234–246. The authors divide contributors to the debate into neophiliacs (among them Anthony Smith) and cultural pessimists (among them Nicholas Garnham and Richard Collins).
This is reflected in the government’s 1995 White Paper approving of digital terrestrial broadcasting (published in August 1995) and the Broadcasting Bill that set the regulatory framework (published in December 1995). See Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting. The Government’s Proposals. Cm 2946. London: HMSO, 1995 and Broadcasting Bill 1995. National Heritage Secretary Virginia Bottomley outlines her position on Britain’s role in the broadcasting market of the future in Bottomley, Virginia: The future is British. In: The Guardian 2, 15.1.1996, pp. 12–13. See also BBC (1995a): Britain’s digital opportunity. The BBC’s response to the Government’s proposals for digital terrestrial broadcasting. London: BBC, and BBC (1996a): Extending Choice in the digital age. London: BBC, in which the Corporation outlines its own position on issues regarding technological developments and the BBC’s participation therein. It is in particular the latter publication in which the BBC describes how it plans to master the challenges lying ahead of the Corporation. This includes major restructuring and will affect almost every BBC department. It effectively means that further drastic changes lie ahead of the Corporation’s workforce. (See Postscript for more information.)
According to David Witherow, the BBC’s DAB project director, initially the Greater London area and parts of the South-East will be covered (some 20 per cent of the UK population), while it is planned to reach about 60 per cent of the population by March 1998. Witherow, David (1995): DAB in the UK — The BBC’s role and implementation. Speech delivered at the MedienForum Berlin-Brandenburg 1995. Berlin, 30.8.1995.
See Broadcasting Bill 1995, clauses 1–29 and 1996–2006 Agreement, clause 2.4.
This includes services “[...] funded by advertisements, subscription, sponsorship, pay-per-view system, or any other means of finance [...].” 1996–2006 Charter, clause 3. (c).
Driving motivations of technological transformation, as well as cultural consequences thereof, are examined in greater detail by Smith (1993a), pp. 3–19 and pp. 81–94. See also Tracey (1993), p. 45.
Unregulated broadcasting tends to result in monopolistic structures because of the economic nature of broadcasting which limits access and favours large horizontally integrated conglomerates. In this context it also needs to be acknowledged that individual countries can no longer fully control their broadcasting destiny.
This could be achieved by viewers becoming their own schedulers. But since video recorders partially fulfill this function already (assuming that desired material has been broadcast previously or has been released on video), it is doubtful whether technological improvements like video-on-demand are going to have significant impacts on viewing behaviour, especially when taking into account the costs that are likely to occur. (In this context Curran and Seaton remark that policy is increasingly “[...] based on one right only: the ‘right’ to pay for extra services.” Curran and Seaton (1991), p. 236, authors’ own emphasis.) Moreover, since viewers will not know beforehand whether they will be satisfied by a particular programme or not, it can also be assumed that, as the range of programmes swells, many people still want an authoritative body to do most of the scheduling for them, instead of doing it all themselves. In time, this could become another important task for the BBC as a public service broadcaster.
Windram (1993), p. 129.
For the BBC this represents a welcome opportunity to make use of its huge archive material in order to generate additional income. The involvement in satellite channels such as UK Gold and UK Living show that the Corporation intends to make full use of its role as a programme supplier (see also chapters 5.3.4 and 6.13).
The European Union has made various attempts to create a Europe-wide framework for broadcasting. Until early 1996, European legislation did not have any significant impact on the BBC directly because stricter national rules mostly applied. The requirement (target) of the European Union’s directive Television without Frontiers to broadcast at least 51 per cent of programme material which is of European origin was one of the most significant impacts until then. (In the calendar year 1994 the BBC’s quota amounted to 71 per cent. See BBC (1995e), p. 67.)
See 1996–2006 Charter, clauses 3. (c) and 3. (u). (See also chapters 5.3.4, 6.3 and Postscript.)
The issues at the top of the BBC agenda in Europe are canvassed by Loughran, Cathy: Continental clout. In: Ariel, Week 8, 21.2.1995, pp. 10–11. See also BBC (1995b): Extending Choice in Europe. London: BBC.
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Spangenberg, J. (1997). Concluding Comments on the Issues at Stake. In: The BBC in Transition. DUV : Sozialwissenschaft. Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-09038-0_7
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