Theme: Society & Culture | Content Type: Journal article

The Case for a Strong BBC. Cultural Sovereignty and Public Service Broadcasting in the Netflix Era

Mark Thompson

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NASA

| 1 min read

PSBs across the world are facing financial, technological and political pressures, yet audiences still need and want the benefits of public service media. If they are to survive, PSBs need to produce an agile response to the changing patterns of media consumption and the claims that markets can provide. Whilst the big streamers have produced great global content, they are unable to cover the range of the PSBs in reflecting the diversity and variety of British life and culture, nor take the same risks in nurturing new talent across the sector. Politicians must use the forthcoming BBC Charter renewal in 2027 to address the revolution in audience behaviour and changes in technology to reshape the choices available to the British public and beyond. The creative industries are a powerhouse of talent and contribute to some of our best prospects for global reach and economic growth. We must ensure they have a healthy future.

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    Mark Thompson

    Sir Mark Thompson is the Chairman and CEO of CNN. He was CEO of Channel 4 between 2002 and 2004, Director-General of the BBC between 2004 and 2012 and CEO of The New York Times Company between 2012 and 2020.

    Articles by Mark Thompson
Volume 96, Issue 3

Latest Journal Issue

Volume 96, Issue 3

This issue features a collection titled 'The Intellectual and Political Legacy of David Marquand', who died in April 2024, edited by Colin Crouch, Ben Jackson and Peter Sloman. In this collection, authors including Jean Seaton, Will Hutton and Hilary Wainwright consider Marquand's legacy as a great progressive thinker, his biography of Ramsay MacDonald, Labour's first prime minister, and the role of socialism for Marquand. Other articles include a commentary by Deborah Mabbett titled 'Welfare reform by numbers'; Jeremy Gilbert and Alex Williams on 'The Vices of Values: Matthew Goodwin and the Politics of Motivation'; Helen McCarthy on 'Why the WASPI has no Sting: Gender, Generation and Pension Inequalities'; and Sam Taylor Hill, Tariq Modood and John Denham on 'Multicultural Nationalism: Saving the White Working Class from Blue Labour?' A selection of book reviews feature Edmund Fawcett's review of 'Nationalism: A World History' by Eric Storm and Samuel Cohn's review of 'Controlling Contagion: Epidemics and Institutions from the Black Death to Covid' by Sheilagh Ogilvie.

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