Media Guardian: Emily Bell on Public Service Broadcasting

It's not often I agree with the views of Guardian Unlimited Editor In Chief, Emily Bell, however today I found myself nodding firmly in agreement with Emily. In response to Channel 4 head-honcho Andy Duncan's comments that if C4's revenues started to fall too much, Channel 4 News would be at serious risk, Emily replied:

"If axing the news bulletin is your first act of sacrifice, then you are not a public service broadcaster."

News is one of the cornerstones of public service broadcasting. It's not something you decide to go into lightly - it doesn't rake in the cash, as Sky News proved. The rolling news channel launched in 1989 and didn't break even until 2002 - thirteen years of draining the coffers of BSkyB. It's not cheap, it's not a huge ratings winner - it's purely about informing the public of what's going on.

If you can't even do news, then how can you even come close to proclaiming you're a public service broadcaster. As Emily Bell herself put it:

"If a commercial broadcaster cannot carry on programming without subsidy, it does not make it a public service broadcaster - it makes it a failed commercial broadcaster."