Why I became a Governor
I think the BBC is a very important institution in our democracy as a trusted source of impartial and accurate journalism. Events over the last year have underlined that importance, and one of the things that has come out of the Hutton affair was the way it highlighted the depth and strength of public support for the BBC's independence.
I became a Governor because after a career in public service broadcasting, both at the BBC and at ITN, I thought I had a contribution to make, at a time when the two things that seem to me to matter most about the BBC - its independence, and the quality and impartiality of its journalism - could be seen to be under pressure.
My broadcasting career was split almost equally between the BBC and ITN, At the BBC I edited The Money Programme, Newsnight and the BBC Television General Election Results programme; at ITN I was Editor of Channel 4 News and then Editor-in-Chief. So I think one of the reasons people thought I might be useful as a Governor was the extent of my experience in broadcast journalism.
For the last two years I've been Director of the Centre for Journalism Studies at Cardiff University, probably the UK's best vocational journalism school, and that's a good complement to my role as Governor, in that it brings me in touch with the next generation of journalists and programme makers. One of the interesting challenges, working with postgraduate students, is trying to heighten their awareness of the range of audiences they must answer to: different age groups, different cultural groups - and within those groups, perspectives and interests which change over time. It's an enormous challenge for the BBC to meet all those varied needs.
And the pressure on public service broadcasting is growing steadily. When I worked at ITN, the people around me believed in their public service obligations every bit as much as their competitors who worked at the BBC. But I think that's now under growing commercial pressure. I think it would be bad for everyone if the BBC became the last real bastion of public service broadcasting in the traditional sense. There are very good journalists in other broadcasters and in other media. One of the important perspectives Governors can help bring to the BBC is that wider overview, the ability to see the place as those outside see it.
Ultimately, what really matters is the contract between the BBC and the licence fee payers. In return for its privileged position, and the secure resources the licence fee gives it, the BBC has to produce excellence.
