"What quantity of public service broadcasting do you want and how is it to be paid for?"
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFbbc logo 88(photo credit: )
BBC director-general Mark Thompson has warned the government it will have to provide more money for public service broadcasting if it wants the system to survive in the digital age.
The BBC chief challenged ministers to spell out how they intend to sustain the level of public service broadcasting provided by the corporation, ITV, Channel 4 and Five as funding declines.
"There's no point crying crocodile tears about less public service broadcasting," Thompson told the Guardian. "What quantity of public service broadcasting do you want and how is it to be paid for?"
Thompson also urged other broadcasters to follow his "full disclosure" approach to last year's collapse of trust in public life.
He vowed to play a pivotal role in repairing the damaged relationship between media, public and politicians, and outlined a range of plans to tackle the problem.
Thompson said the BBC "should create more space in news reports and in interviews for politicians to set out their own thoughts in their own words. Then let the analysis and the cross-examination begin".
