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Academy First Person
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STRIVEFOR INNOVATION
Patricia Hodgson, chief executive of the Independent Television Commission and hotly tipped as a frontrunner to head up the new regulator OFCOM, outlines her hopes for the future of broadcasting.
Many people, since September 11, feel they are living through a turning point – certainly in world affairs but also in their own lives, as they face a more dan- gerous world. With terror co-ordinated over the Internet and a propaganda war conducted via global satellite links, we can see in starker terms than usual just how key communications will be to our future. So, there is a real premium on getting right the new Communications Bill – promised for next year – and the structure of OFCOM, the proposed new regulator.
Broadcasting in the UK has been, and still is, a success due to past policy choices and a balanced ecology based on a ground-breaking mix of public and private investment – up to £5billion of commercial spend via advertising and subscription, rooted in a foundation of public investment via the BBC, and a public-private ‘deal’ which gives Channels 3, 4 and 5 spectrum privileges in return for public service obligations.
