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REPORT: Policy Solutions and International Perspectives on the Funding of PSM Content for Children

CAMRI’s (Communications and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster) has published a comprehensive evaluation of funding possibilities for public service children’s content, which draws experiences outside the UK. Entitled ‘Policy Solutions and International Perspectives on the Funding of Public Service Media Content for Children’ and authored by Professor Jeanette Steemers and Feryal Awan. It highlights the challenges of funding home-grown children’s content without more substantial state interventions in response to the Government’s recent White Paper, A BBC for the Future: A Broadcaster of Distinction, which proposes a new Public Service Content Fund, which could be used to fund programming genres in decline including children’s content. The report addresses the following questions: what forms of alternative funding exist to support public service content for children in a transforming multiplatform media environment? What can we learn from the types of funding and support for children’s screen content that are available elsewhere in the world? And How effective are these funding systems and funding sources for supporting domestically produced content?

Read the report in full here.

SUBMISSION: Sustainability of Channel 4

BFI‘s submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications focuses on Channel 4 Corporation (C4C) and more specifically its engagement with film and moving image content. BFI’s view is that C4C contributes ‘more programmes of distinction’ to the National Television Archive than any other PSB, and singles out Film4 as a very important source of investment in UK film industry. It should remain ‘true to its statutory PSB remit’ in ‘maintaining a point of difference’ and ‘continuing to focus on setting a high bar for quality and diversity of screen content’ which appeals to younger audiences. Read BFI’s submission in full here.

SUBMISSION: The BBC: A Radical Rethink

According to Justin Schlosberg (Birkbeck, University of London) the government’s recent White Paper on BBC Charter Renewal, exhibits a ‘worrying development’ in terms of proposed changes to the BBC’s governance. The proposed system of a new ‘unitary board’ in which the majority of members will be appointed by the government, threatens ‘to give a direct government appointee overall editorial responsibility for all the BBC’s output.’ This government move goes against the previous Charter Renewal option of ‘top slicing’ of the licence fee, which was perceived as a commercial threat to this public institution. But Schlosberg observes that ‘a centralised and concentrated BBC is intrinsically more vulnerable to editorial pressures precisely because they can filter down the chain of governors, directors, managers and editors.’ On the other hand, top slicing, if structured in the right way, would potentially allow decentralisation of the BBC’s structure and governance, which would ‘need not involve any degree of privatisation or commercialisation’, and would potentially be even more immune to to market pressures. Read Schlosberg’s submission in full here.

SUBMISSION: Towards A Culturally Rich and Economically Sustainable Television Sector in Wales

The submission by Sian Powell and Caitriona Noonan (School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University) focuses on the Welsh public service broadcasting landscape in the context of political devolution. According to Powell and Noonan, while there is clear evidence of ‘success and a well-placed sense of optimism’ about the recent changes to the Welsh television sector, key issues remain, including a limited range of news sources about devolved politics, and a significant decrease in investment and production of English language programming in Wales. And while Powell and Noonan acknowledge Wales as being the key site for drama production, they also point out that the drama produced ‘rarely reflects life in Wales and Wales is solely a location for filming rather than part of the narrative setting.’ Creating the content that is representative of Welsh communities in the context of the decentralisation of broadcasting services is crucial, and it can be achieved by increasing financial resources, enabling local decision-making and strengthening a cultural commitment to change the public service landscape. Read Noonan and Powell’s submission in full here.

SUBMISSION: Future for Public Service Television in Northern Ireland

Public service broadcasting, according to Dr Ken Griffin, occupies a critical role in Northern Irish society as a provider of non-sectarian news and current affairs coverage. According to Griffin, UTV, has particularly strong connection with its audience and has built an excellent reputation for independent journalism during the Troubles. However, ITV’s recent takeover of UTV has ‘introduced considerable uncertainty about the station’s future’ due to ‘conflicting business models’, with a risk of diminishing local TV output. BBC NI, on the other hand, while ‘consistently securing lower ratings than UTV’, is a ‘highly valuable television service’ and the only NI provider for speakers of the region’s two minority languages and providing a ‘far wider range of programming’ compared to UTV. The governance provisions within the White Paper, however, focused on boardroom numbers rather than nomination procedures, and thus ‘represent a significant threat to the BBC’s editorial independence.’ Read Griffin’s submission in full here.