The Price of Plurality - Stakeholders - Ofcom

24The essays in this chapter debate theprinciples of plurality in Public ServiceBroadcasting and how they should beconceived in a political and public policycontext. The authors have set out to lookbeyond institutional questions of the future roleof individual broadcasters to what outcomesgovernment and society might expect frompublic intervention in the age of mediaconvergence. All consider which of the valuesof the old world we need to seek to preservein the new.Robin Foster, Chair of the Convergence ThinkTank, established by the Government early in2008, identifi es a new priority for broadcasters,the successful navigating of public servicecontent, while David Puttnam, largelyresponsible for the key public service provisionsin the 2003 Communications Act, considersthe lessons for the new one. John Whittingdaleis Chair of the House of Commons SelectCommittee on Culture Media and Sport thathas argued for a restructuring of public servicefunding, while Patricia Hodgson, a BBC Trusteeand former Chief Executive of the ITC, warnsof the danger of the demand for pluralityundermining a prior virtue, the impact ofpublic service content. Simon Terrington andMatt Ashworth meanwhile challenge us todefi ne more sharply our terms as we enter thisdebate.