ITN warns of UK ‘news desert’ without broadcasting revamp
The UK could be at risk of a digital “new desert” where audiences are unable to access high-quality news online unless effective regulation is brought in by Ofcom, ITN has warned.
The production giant, which produces news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, warned against a situation where “significant numbers of people can afford only a limited number of subscription services, none of which carry regulated, accurate news”.
As a result, it urged Ofcom to ensure any future regulation of broadcasters guarantees news can be found quickly and easily. It also called for sustainable funding for journalism.
The comments came in response to the regulator’s consultation on the future of public service broadcasting amid shifting viewer habits and the rise of streaming services such as Netflix.
ITN argued there was a need to protect high-quality journalism, which it described as a format of “paramount importance, but with commercial challenges”.
It pointed to the events of the last year, including the pandemic and the storming of the US Capitol, as evidence of why it was crucial to uphold standards on impartiality and balance.
“Without a clear regulatory framework to ensure the provision and visibility of PSM [Public Service Media] news in a digital environment, misinformation and disinformation will continue to thrive while regulated, accurate, professionally-produced news will become harder to find. The ability to access independent and impartial journalism underpins any functioning society,” the submission stated.
Central to Ofcom’s review was the question of how to update broadcasting regulations as services increasingly move online.
ITN argued there should be a spectrum of accountability online, where public service outlets were proactively regulated and held to stricter levels of impartiality and accuracy.
It also called for a means of guaranteeing that funding is redirected to high-quality news sources and steps to ensure public service media is granted prominence in an online environment, allowing audiences to find it easily.
“ITN’s response to Ofcom’s consultation is based on the central premise that the quality of our journalism provides key social and democratic benefits,” said chief executive Anna Mallet.
“Any future system should seek to maintain the benefits provided to society from sustainably funded, quality, public service news provision.”
It comes after MPs made similar calls for the government to update broadcasting regulations for the digital age, ensure public service broadcasters were given prominence.
The DCMS committee also argued that the government has no choice but to maintain the BBC’s licence fee funding for the foreseeable future due to its failure to find a viable alternative model.