Broadcasting Debate Begins

Last week the debate on the future of broadcasting got well underway with First Minister Alex Salmond announcing a commission to examine the subject. The commission will be convened by Blair Jenkins, former Head of Current Affairs at BBC Scotland, and will have another 9 participants including former First Minister Henry McLeish.

The reception for examining the subject has been overwhelming welcomed by the broadcast sector. Its only really been other parties who have complained and attempted to distort what the commission is all about – for examples look no further than David Cairns.

The ‘Scottish Six’ has reared its head again but only as a symbol of the larger debate. Iain Macwhirter has an excellent piece in today’s Sunday Herald on the commission an mentions that he is one of the few people to have seen the BBC Scotland pilots of the Scottish Six. About 18 months ago I tried to get access to the two pilots that were made using FOI (the BBC being covered by the 2000 UK Act and not the more robust 2002 Scottish Act sadly). I`m sure you’ll be surprised to learnt hat the BBC refused my request. Although I may have to try again now out of curiosity.

Macwhirter has seen the pilots and has voiced his approval of them and their content. As he correctly observes in his piece having a form of regulatory control and even financing of broadcasting in Scotland would not be to give control of the airways in Scotland to Alex Salmond – as some Labour politicians would have you believe. Macwhirter states that this simply doesn’t add up as the UK government has ultimate regulatory control currently and that doesn’t mean that Gordon Brown as Prime Minister controls what goes on the BBC now.

I`m sure there are plenty of people in the Labour party who do not share with David Cairns view of doom and gloom should we actually invest in Scottish broadcasting. If memory serves Mark Lazarowicz was a strong advocate of the devolution of broadcasting among others – principally those involved with Scottish Labour Action.

What is clear is that if this is to be a robust debate those who are against the proposition to devolve broadcasting are going to have to come up with something fresher than the tired old (and untrue) nonsense that ‘you won’t get Eastenders’.