British Broadcasting Challenge

An independent group of media experts, academics and producers is calling on the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, to use the review of the BBC Charter to separate the corporation entirely from the influence of government, calling the current arrangements “no longer fit for purpose”. It wants a new permanent charter to establish the BBC in pertpetuity.

The British Broadcasting Challenge, set up four years ago to support public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, proposes that the forthcoming review of the BBC Charter should be used to give the BBC a permanent status and to remove the ability of the government to appoint BBC Board members.

The recommendations are contained in a report, Renewing the BBC: A New Charter for Britain and for the World published online by the group. The recommendations include:

A new and permanent Charter establishing the BBC’s right to exist in perpetuity
An independent body with responsibility for appointing the governing board
An independent assessment of BBC funding
A new BBC purpose of countering disinformation
Operating agreements between BBC and government to be updated every 10 years.

The campaign suggests that the BBC is Britain’s most effective defence against the dangers of global media power being concentrated in the hands of a few private individuals, and that Charter renewal offers “a perfect opportunity for this government to future-proof a uniquely British institution, and to insulate our democracy as well as our culture”.

Pat Younge, the chair of the self-appointed group, who was previously chief creative officer of BBC Television Production, said: “With the untrammeled consolidation of traditional broadcasting and tech platforms, privately controlled by a small number of seemingly like-minded individuals, the universal ownership and standing of the BBC as an independent institution is a vitally important bulwark to protect our democracy. The status quo arrangements are no longer fit for purpose.”