Yesterday's Ofcom report into the future of Tv news suggests that in an increasing digital and competitive age we should no longer take for granted that broadcasters will provide news coverage as a matter of course.
Whilst suggesting that the last 50 years of public sector broadcasting has ensured the quality of news broadcasts,digital broadcasting,whilst giving significant opportunities to for news coverage,also presents some"fundamental challenges to traditional models and assumptions"
The report particularly highlights the problems facing regional news broadcasting thru the Itv regions which it predicts "in the absence of any regulatory framework will mean"commercial circumstances will make it much less likely that commercial organisations would choose to carry news at anything like the current levels"
There is no doubting that digital broadcasting has up to now brought many benefits to news coverage.Besides a plethora of 24 hour channels we have news on demand via interactive facilities and instantaneous coverage.Whether any of these services are cost effective to the broadcasters remains to be seen.
The report says that public service channels are still where the majority turn for a source of news.The internet is still a supplementary source "for some but not all users"
One benefit that the report highlights is that the cost of news gathering in the digital age is reducing meaning that a future competitor "may emerge to challenge the trio ploy of BBC/ITV/Sky.
Ofcom also have some interesting comments about impartiality.The traditional BBC/ITV duopoly was given an impartial mandate by the regulators.But is that really applicable in the digital age?
The report questions whether the rules of impartiality merely serve to stifle the expresion of views that are not part of the mainstream"
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I don't presume to be a Polyanna, or that market forces can remedy the issues you discuss here and elsewhere on your blog, but I've been pondering recently the moves US cable news channel MSNBC has taken toward designating 'Super Tuedays' as a single-theme event...perhaps encouraging more thoughful, detailed investigation of at least one issue? Again, the jury is out, and I'm not overly hopeful. But I am interested, and I would appreciate your thoughts if you care to visit my blog, Dim Bulb, at http://dimbulb.typepad.com. Thanks.
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