<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I think it's less about trust and more
about accountability.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I still think that Ofcom missed a crucial
part of developing the Community Radio model when it didn't put a locally-owned
governance requirement as part of every licence.<br><br>If you look at the fallout from the last
six months, particularly at Channel 4 and ITV, the response seems to be a move
away from the sort of programmes which caused so much controversy.<span style=""> </span>This could be because Jeremy Paxman et al
have made speeches demanding it; but many commentators point out it is because
the audience wants it.<span style=""> </span>The audience
keeps ITV, C4 (and others) in check through the off button.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It's more of an issue at the BBC; which
although is controlled to a certain extent by audience figures, isn't purely
market-led.<span style=""> </span>Indeed, the BBC tends now to
use the Audience Appreciation Index to measure success of programmes.<span style=""> </span>That is backed up by the BBC Trust and the
Audience Councils; by no means a perfect solution but at least an attempt.<br><br>Community Radio doesn't have the mass
audience, nor the measuring capability, to be led by ratings (nor should
it!).<span style=""> </span>But it also doesn't have a default
system where the public at large can hold the station to account.<span style=""> </span>There are obviously safeguards built in for
registered charities, and the Ofcom regulations govern certain output
requirements.<span style=""> </span>And whilst many stations
have "listener panels" etc; these are advisory rather than governance and there
is an important distinction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">No Community Radio station has the right to
broadcast; they have to earn their place every moment they are on air.<span style=""> </span>Frequency is a publicly-owned asset, finite
in availability, and community radio stations are hugely privileged to have
access to this resource.<span style=""> </span>That is
something I think everyone working on a community station must constantly
remind themselves.<br><br>I also shudder at the "we are our audience"
notion as an argument as to why a community station doesn't need a broader
governance requirement.<span style=""> </span>That's not to
say it there isn't a level of accountability in this; but I don't think that
alone is sufficient.<span style=""> </span>Even if your
station broadcasts to a specific community, by the very nature that it covers a
geographical area does it not have to be accountable to everyone in that area;
in return for using the airwaves?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">And, I think there are issues about you are
always measured by your least bad part; and just as there is acres of excellent
television which is completely honest with its audience, the fact that a "small
minority" of outlets acted the way they did has ruined the reputation for
everyone.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps not to its audience,
but to its stakeholders, I think Community Radio is seen as a single entity,
and I wonder how much responsibility stations have to have to each other (this
is the concept of the professions being self-governing).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Olly<br><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br></span></p><div><span class="gmail_quote">
On 27/08/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Editor, Airflash Magazine</b> <<a href="mailto:michelle@commedia.org.uk">michelle@commedia.org.uk</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Dear All,<br><br>A YouGov poll published last Friday shows that nearly half of the UK<br>population "do not trust [television] very much to tell the truth".<br>As the subject of trust dominated the Edinburgh international
<br>television festival this weekend, I thought it would be good to find<br>out if any of the recent television scandals had had any rippling<br>effect in the community media sector? Do your audience trust you more<br>or less to tell the truth?
<br><br>Read Jeremy Paxman's MacTaggart Memorial Lecture: http://<br><a href="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Media/documents/2007/08/24/">image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Media/documents/2007/08/24/</a><br>MacTaggartLecture.pdf
<br></blockquote></div><br><br>