Two bishops today warn of the risk that, without strong and vibrant public service content, broadcasting after digital switchover could sow confusion and mistrust rather than aid public enlightenment and social cohesion.
The voices of the many digital channels and the proliferation of user-generated content on the internet will otherwise be a bewildering cacophony.
In submissions to Ofcom’s Second Review of Public Service Broadcasting, the Church of England and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales argue that UK public service broadcasting must therefore be funded, sustained and adapted to fit the world after digital switchover.
The submissions call “for all necessary action to be taken to sustain and develop public service broadcasting for the common good”.
They support the funding of providers of public service content beyond the BBC and praise Ofcom for recognising that there might be new forms of subsidy for public service content.
The bishops go on to argue that the role of public service content in helping television audiences to reach a balanced understanding of the world must survive, and that if the quality and breadth of public service content is diminished following digital switchover, society as a whole will suffer.
Speaking today about their submissions, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, and the Rt Rev John Arnold, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster said: “There is a real risk that the flood of information from a proliferation of digital channels could be confusing and bewildering creating a modern Tower of Babel rather than being enlightening.
