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WORRYINGAND
CHALLENGES FROM
Heggessey said that image was one that needed to be abolished: “We can’t afford to be aloof, distant and old-fashioned.”
But her job isn’t just about the audience, it’s also to do with the prod- uct itself.
“Our job on BBC1,” she under- lined, “is to inspire programme mak- ers to innovate – and
then to use intuition as
well as our knowledge of
the audience when decid-
ing which ideas to devel-
op further.
“Neither commission-
ing nor programme mak-
ing is a science. If it were,
we’d all have more hits
than we knew what to do
with. I respect those pro-
ducers who consistently
deliver high audiences
because I know how difficult it is and I know it can sometimes feel like a thank- less task.
“It’s vital to the health of any main- stream channel that we have successful series week in and week out, so that we are not struggling to persuade viewers to try new programmes in a world in which they’re already overwhelmed with choice.”
She claimed that after a “year of transition for drama on BBC1,” there was now “a bolder and more diverse portfolio that’ll reach the screen in the next 12 to 18 months,” pointing to cre- ative partnerships with director
Dominic Savage and writ- ers like Debbie Horsfield, Paul Abbott, Alma Cullen and Lee Hall.
Heggessey had begun her lecture with a solemn acknowledgement of the US tragedy, adding, “one of the things this horrific event has really brought home is the crucial role television now plays at times like this.
Like disseminating information, relaying the
speeches of world leaders, putting things into context, pulling together analysis as new situations emerge.
“The fact that every moment’s been captured on camera gives viewers round the world instant access to this cataclysmic attack. And it’s to televi- sion that most of us turn as we struggle
The conference opened with del- egates standing in silence for three minutes. The pivotal first session, “Thinking Global, Acting Global”, which was to have set the tone for the eight discus- sions which followed, had to be can- celled. Rupert Murdoch and Liberty’s John Malone were unable to leave the United States. No passenger planes were flying in or out.
Convention Chairman, BSkyB’s Chief Executive Tony Ball, the BBC’s Director-General Greg Dyke and Granada’s Executive Chairman Charles Allen - all grappling with domestic issues - kick-started the con- ference by respond- ing to Tessa Jowell’s announcement the previous evening.
“The BBC is loved and respected, like the NHS, the Queen and the Armed Forces but it must change and adapt as the world changes” said the new Culture Secretary, adding: “we need excellent public service broadcasting alongside a vibrant market. The BBC is a beacon to take us into the digital future.”
But the beacon was not shining brightly enough in the younger peo- ple’s entertainment genre. Having agreed to BBC 4 and two digital chil- dren’s channels, she announced, “I am not convinced that the BBC’s plans for BBC 3 (currently BBC Choice) are suffi- ciently distinctive with a sufficiently high level of new content not being provided elsewhere.”
From elsewhere, Charles Allen and Tony Ball permitted themselves a slight smile.
In tune with the global business focus of the Convention, Tessa Jowell
Photo above: Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell
named the world big boys, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, adding, “in that company, the BBC is a sardine, not a shark.” Much fun was had with that one over dinner at Kings.
Carlton’s programme boss Steve Hewlett leaned across to GMTV’s Paul Corley and asked: “If the BBC is a sardine, what does that make you - plankton?”
Tessa Jowell also made sure that regulation was
uppermost in many minds. Ball, Dyke and Allen were unit- ed. The less of it the better. With the Paving Bill for the super-regulator, OFCOM, due in October, Greg Dyke chided the Minister: “Do you ever wake up in the morning and think ‘I wonder about OFCOM. Is it right for the times.’”
The Minister shuffled.
In a fluent, worrying presentation,
the Henley Centre’s Martin Heyward poured icy cold water on already chilly share prices. Telly sales recovery looked distant.
But the real jolt and by far the most stimulating performance of the conference came from Don Tapscott, Professor of Business at the University of Toronto and author of “Growing Up Digital.” Illustrating “The New New Economy” with anecdotes about the digital and business exper- tise of his son, aged 12, Tapscott asked the UK’s top executives and producers if they belonged to “old leadership or new leadership?” Many twitched nervously and doodled.
He warned: “The people calling the new tunes are not the Under 25’s; they’re the Under 15’s and you better listen to them - very carefully.” ■
to make sense of something that until yesterday was unimaginable.”
She finished with a rallying cry to programme makers, actors and per- formers to “come and have fun with BBC1.” And to them as well as to viewers, “whose opinion I value the most,” Heggessey hoped they
could all “love BBC1 just as much I do.” ■
The whole text of Lorraine Heggessey’s speech can be found on the TV section of the BAFTA website at www.bafta.org
Events Extra
CHALLENGES FROM
CAMBRIDGE
CAMBRIDGE
The RTS Cambridge Convention was muted and pictures from America too vivid to concentrate fully on the future of an industry which had sent those heart stopping live scenes around the world, reports John Morrell
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