Why I became a Governor
In agreeing to a third term as Senior Partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, I was keen to be free to take up some sort of outside appointment, ideally something rather different and something that my family could relate to. The chance to become a BBC Governor couldn't have fitted better. I've been a lawyer since graduation, and have always enjoyed working with my opinionated and clever colleagues. Getting involved in the BBC offered a new community of opinionated and clever people, but with rather a different approach from lawyers. The position of Vice Chairman and the timing added to the appeal. After Hutton, with Charter Review in process, a new Chairman and the publication of the BBC's Building Public Value, there was a real sense of change. The opportunity to be involved with the BBC at such a point was quite special.
I felt that my background in law and with a number of corporate clients would complement Michael Grade's evident deep knowledge of broadcasting. The legal background is a point about training and experience rather than a wish to act as a legal adviser. The BBC has its own eminently qualified legal team. But my experience enables me to contribute in related areas, like governance, Freedom of Information, and the BBC's commercial activities. I also chair the Fair Trading Committee, which looks to ensure that the BBC complies with its own fair trading guidelines and with competition law - again, areas where I'm not an expert as such, but where my legal background helps.
The BBC's been important to me ever since I was a child. My earliest memories of radio are listening to cricket test matches. Television involved a visit to a neighbour's house to watch Champion the Wonder Horse and the Lone Ranger. So much has changed since then - and promises to change with new technology. At times it takes those who live outside the UK to remind us just how valuable the BBC is to us all; we tend to take it for granted because it's always been there. But day after day it continues making a fundamental contribution to our lives; making us better informed, better equipped to understand and to deal with the issues and challenges we all face. It offers us ideas, glimpses of the world and of others' lives we cannot otherwise experience. And that's true not just here in the UK but worldwide.
It is a very clear to me that the BBC believes in its responsibilities to licence fee payers, in representing the diversity within the UK in accuracy and impartiality. Its traditions are a reassurance but conservatism (with a small c) would sell licence fee payers short. It has a duty to modernise and to innovate - to take risks. And I think it's important to recognise the contradictions it has to grapple with. For example, to justify the licence fee, it has to be popular, but without chasing ratings. It has to entertain, but distinctively. It has to represent various points of view yet meet viewers' test of impartiality. These aren't easy lines to draw, but they have to be drawn or we could be in danger of losing something very special.
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