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Creative Perspective

The future of PSB in the UK depends on a vibrant UK creative community. Without on-screen and off screen talent, the uniquely high quality and success of British PSB would be impossible to sustain. That is why, as part of our contribution to the Ofcom review of PSB, the BBC wanted to engage in a consultation with this community, and give it a voice and platform. We commissioned a series of lectures from distinguished programme makers, and a survey of the wider creative community, including CEOs of leading independent companies and broadcaster producers - all of which is published here on the website. Our contributors were entirely free to say what they wanted, with no obligation to stick to a BBC line or policy. Between them, they provide an illuminating insight into the concerns and passions of those on whom the continued health of PSB will depend.

• The Creative Perspective: The Future of Public Service Broadcasting book - PDF (1.41MB) The BBC creative community survey conducted by Human Capital - PDF (114KB)
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  Creative lecture series

  Sir David Attenborough

  "We thought too that we could play a key role in modern democracy. We would be able to broaden horizons"

  Read the transcript of Sir David Attenborough's lecture Watch the video of Sir David Attenborough's lecture

• Stephen Fry

  "A public service broadcasting without comedy is in danger of being regarded as no more than a dumping ground for worthiness"

  Read the transcript of Stephen Fry's lecture Watch the video of Stephen Fry's lecture

• Will Hutton

  "The quest to get at the truth, to equip the citizen with facts and knowledge and to sustain the public realm is at the heart of all good journalism..."

  Read the transcript of Will Hutton's lecture Watch the video of Will Hutton's lecture

RESEARCH

The BBC is committed to listening to a wide range of opinion as it develops its response to Ofcom's consultation. As part of this process we will draw on new and existing research, including the following, commissioned by the BBC Trust.

• THE BBC'S PURPOSES AND PRIORITIES

  For the first time ever, licence fee payers were invited to get involved in how the BBC should carry out its mission to inform, educate and entertain. As part of this, the Trust undertook a survey of over 4,500 people from across the United Kingdom. This work informed the Trust's decisions on the BBC's six-year investment strategy and the priorities it set for the BBC.
  
  BBC Purpose Remit Consultation - Licence Fee Payer Quantitative Research - PDF (752KB)
  BBC Trust Purpose Remits Closed Consultation

• DISTINCTIVENESS

  The Trust's research on purposes and priorities identified that one of the public's main priorities was for the BBC to work harder to provide more distinctive programming, particularly on television. The Trust carried out further analysis to understand better what audiences meant. Below is what the Trust published last December and the request it made of the Director-General and his team of directors as a result.
  
  Television Audience Perceptions of Innovation and Distinctiveness - Research Summary - PDF (78KB)
  Letter from BBC Chairman Sir Michael Lyons to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson - PDF (48KB)

• IMPARTIALITY

  Last year the BBC Trust published a report on the future of impartiality, which was the result of a major project which also involved senior members of BBC management.
  
  From Seesaw to Wagon Wheel: Safeguarding impartiality in the 21st century