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From The Times
September 20, 2003

TV bosses urged to remember public duty

By A Correspondent
BROADCASTERS should have a “written constitution” requiring them to produce original and diverse programming, according to Ofcom.

The new media regulator is soon to begin a review into the country’s public service broadcasters — BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

Under Government guidelines, these broadcasters are supposed to include in their schedules a mix of peak-time news and current affairs, original British programming and genres such as arts, religion and science.

Stephen Carter, the Ofcom chief executive, said that he wanted to introduce a written charter to ensure broadcasters could not duck their responsibilities.

Speaking to the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention, Mr Carter said: “If public service broadcasting is to survive and thrive over the next 10 years and beyond, all of it needs a written constitution.”

But Mr Carter said that by and large he believed the standard of British television was “pretty good”.

Ofcom takes over as the broadcasting and communications regulator in December, replacing the existing Five media watchdog. The switch will lead to the loss of 240 jobs.

He promised that Ofcom would be a “light-touch regulator” committed to serving audiences.

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open quote mark With luck, the taxpayer could make a tidy profit, as happened with the Swedish bank rescue plan in the early 1990s close quote mark

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