The Stage

Broadcasters must learn from scandals, urges Purnell

Published Friday 14 September 2007 at 11:20 by Matthew Hemley

Culture secretary James Purnell has warned broadcasters to put their “house in order” following recent scandals that have hit the television industry.

Purnell, addressing delegates at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, warned television executives that “lessons need to be learned” and that they must respect their audiences.

He said: “You need to put your house in order, and if you don’t, there will be a clamour for Ofcom and the BBC Trust to take further action.”

However, he said audience reaction to recent events, including rows over premium rate phone-in shows, demonstrated “people still rely on broadcasting for accurate and truthful information”.

He added: “Contrast that with people’s expectations of the internet, where people understand that not everything they see will meet the same high standards as they expect from TV and radio. At the end of a bad year, I don’t think the bell is tolling for broadcasting. I do think people feel let down. But you only feel let down if you hold something in high regard in the first place.”

Laying out his objectives for the industry, Purnell said markets should be opened up and outdated regulations should be removed.

He said: “We must guard against the risk of new bottlenecks and new gatekeepers emerging with the potential to stifle innovation. Not everyone will want to create their own content, but we must make sure that those who do can find their audience.”

Purnell added he wanted to secure “universal access” to distinctive and high-quality content and to address issues to do with content regulation.