With the possible exception of Rupert Murdoch, John Birt has had more effect on the British Broadcasting scene than any one individual in history. When he arrived as Deputy Director General in 1991, the BBC had two channels, four radio stations and an empire that included a transmission company and a full complement of in-house producers. When Birt steps down as Director General in April 2000, he will leave a BBC that will broadcast 10 channels rather than two, a new radio station (Radio 5), and a radically changed and more commercial radio network, a commitment to digital radio and TV, and Europe's most visited Web site. He has overseen the sale of BBC Transmission, the introduction of producer choice, a pact with the devil (Murdoch) which allowed BSkyB to poach top football for subscription TV, a joint venture with private sector partners, and a shedding of hundreds of jobs. And throughout this period of change, programming has been hugely affected - the introduction of docu-soaps, the popularization of current affairs and news, and more cut-throat commercial scheduling targeted at the mass market competition of ITV.
Media analyst Mathew Horsman provides an inside analysis of the Birt years. His was the most radical tenure of any Director General, and has fundamentally altered the British broadcasting environment, and established a model that may well ensure the privileged position of the BBC for generations to come, whatever the regulatory and technological outcome of the near future. Written with the co-operation of John Birt and other leading players, this book moreover provides an insight into, and assessment of, the workings of the BBC, and the implications of the challenges the BBC faces in the future.
- ISBN10 1842030116
- ISBN13 9781842030110
- Publish Date 1 September 2000
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 31 December 2008
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Orion Publishing Co
- Imprint Orion Business (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 256
- Language English