About the BBC - A collection of blogs from inside the BBC

Yesterday I gave a speech to the Voice of the Listener and Viewer (VLV), and I thought readers of this blog might like the chance to read it and also hear a bit more about what I was saying and why.

A few months ago, after discussion with the BBC Trust, I announced a substantial re-examination of the BBC's overall strategy. As technology developments gather pace and the economic outlook changes, we need to be sure the BBC is properly focused on our mission to inform, educate and entertain, and is able to deliver to the standards everyone expects. The big question in my mind was: what needs to change to make sure the BBC continues to do the very best for all audiences in what has become known as 'the digital age'.

At a speech to an industry conference in Cambridge, I sought to do two things: firstly, to highlight the importance in this country of 'public space' - those things which are open to all of us to use and take advantage of, including the BBC - and secondly, to acknowledge that, in a world of greater financial pressure, those of us who occupy that public space need to be able to justify our place both by being very clear why we are there and in delivering what we promise. That's what our strategy review is all about.

Yesterday, when I spoke to the VLV I wanted to make clear that - in reviewing our strategy - our focus would be getting the BBC in the best shape possible to deliver what the public really wants from us: quality programming. Even more than at present, our focus first and foremost in the future will be on quality: creative ambition, excellence and original programming across television, radio and online.

Work is progressing so I will be able to unveil early next year what will be changing at the BBC to allow that increased commitment. And as Sir Michael Lyons announced earlier this week, the Trust will consult publicly on those measures. But in the meantime, I want everyone to understand that quality is our priority and that is what is driving our approach.

Yesterday I also spoke about the importance of the BBC's independence from government and highlighted the difficulties faced by other broadcasters around the world who are not fortunate enough to enjoy the structures which secure the BBC's independence. If you have time, do read the speech in full. Also, you might like to look at a feature on Newsnight last night about the future of the BBC. A proud part of the BBC's heritage is that our news programmes do not shy from holding BBC bosses to account. And you can see that principle in action when Gavin Esler interviewed me, along with industry experts, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and his Conservative Shadow.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• NowPublic |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

I've never been a particular fan of mission statements because the worst of them have you grinding your teeth at their banality - and there are more bad ones than good ones in the world. But I do believe in being clear about what you're trying to do with a particular enterprise - and being able to define success.

So in the BBC project team we've been kicking around the big things we want to achieve in 2012 - partly to be open with our staff and outside partners about what we're doing, but also to share our aims with audiences. It's particularly important to get across that this is about the story of a year and its aftermath, rather than just 17 days of sporting action - massive though those are.

Please note: this is an extract. Read the rest of Roger Mosey's blog post and leave comments on his blog.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• NowPublic |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

This week sees the official launch of the new Democracy Live site at the Houses Of Parliament, bringing - as Total Politics said - "a decidedly 21st-century edge to watching parliamentary discussion". Now you can watch parliamentary activity across the UK nations AND from the European parliament, plus you can embed it, follow a theme/a speaker, make it your own...

In historical terms, there is of course a long, incremental story behind this expansive glimpse into the hour-by-hour workings of contemporary parliaments. In fact, its launch comes at a very timely moment - just 20 years, almost to the day, since the BBC began regular TV broadcasts from the Commons, on 21 November 1989. As with any innovation, that moment had not been achieved without a deal of struggle. There had been pilots, persuasions, a to-and-fro conversation. Even at its initiation, the Speaker, John Biffen, could only muster enough certitude to call it "a leap in the dark". MP Janet Fookes was way ahead in the freedom of information stakes, when she stated that "the public is entitled to see as well as hear and read what goes on in this place".

Others, however, were far less supportive. One MP, Joe Ashton, warned that TV would transform Parliament into a soap opera on a par with Dallas or Dynasty: "Cameras will turn the Commons into the Neil & Maggie Show or Scrap of the Day" (give that man a job in TV!). Tory backbencher John Stokes was similarly derisive: "Our dress and appearance would alter. It would be a great temptation for certain lady members to wear pretty hats. And viewers might be more moved by the length of their skirts than the length of their speeches. (Male) MPs might think they have to alter their hairstyles and wear make-up..." Well!

It's easy to chuckle at these comments, but it's also a reminder that change and innovation are never easy. Broadcasting, more perhaps than any other medium, holds the glass up to our world, and shows us how speedily it has changed, goes on changing.

In BBC History, we've been looking latterly at many of these innovation moments, and tracking their impact on all of our lives. You can find a Timeline of Innovation on our BBC Story site. It's by no means exhaustive, but what it attempts to show is how - decade by decade - perceptions have been shifted by innovations in TV, radio and other, newer media. And it's not just technology, it's also fresh creative formats, new and different ways of engaging audiences...

We wouldn't have had the recent dramatisation of Emma without the groundbreaking Forsyte Saga (1967); last week's Children in Need was transformed in 1980 by a revelatory new format called a 'telethon'. And Saturday evening family viewing would never ever be the same again after Delia Derbyshire's chilling electronic synthesiser from the BBC's innovative Radiophonic Workshop (see picture) ushered in the creation of Doctor Who (23 November 1963), still alive and well and constantly reinventing itself 46 years on.

I'm keen to capture audience perceptions of these (and many other) broadcast 'moments'. Go to The BBC Story for an opportunity to do this. Plus there's lots more to find out about the story of the BBC, from feature articles on John Reith, creator of the BBC, to case studies of the BBC's interaction with government, from video tours of Broadcasting House and Television Centre to a weekly object from our artefact/art collection.

(Robert Seatter is the Head of BBC History)

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• NowPublic |
• Reddit
• - What's this?