Lord Patten, maybe the next chair of The BBC Trust, and his thoughts on The Beeb

Chris Patten appears to have been very open about his thoughts on the BBC and his media consumption habits when he came before a Commons select committee.

On TV...

"he hardly watched television" "When I last watched the programme (Eastenders), it was even longer ago than when I last had McDonald's." "I watch the programmes that you'd expect somebody of my background to. That's who I am: I'm 66, white and well educated" – which means he binges on news and current affairs. But already he is trying hard to improve. The night before the hearing, Patten sat down in front of the box to watch Mud Sweat and Tractors: the Story of Agriculture on BBC4.

On Radio...

He begins the day, as all politicians no doubt do, listening to Today on Radio 4. Somebody rashly asked if he listened to the recently reprieved 6 Music – no – or even Radio 1, which he only caught, he said, when turning the dial between Radios 3 and 4.

On regulation....

“I think in the last few years – and this perhaps an issue which the Trust and the executive need to address – is that in the attempt to ensure the BBC reaches the highest standards, it has led to the creation of something of a ‘compliance culture’ in the BBC, which I think a lot of the best programme-makers and journalists have found to be an inhibition.”

Well I am glad he enjoys radio, he might champion it a little more than the 'candidates' we had at The Nations & Regions Media Conference back in January where I had to prompt them about radio or new media

Who will be the new chair of the BBC Trust?

Maggie Brown and  Tara Conlan have written an interesting article in The Guardian today looking at the poltics between the appointment of the new chair of the BBC Trust as the final interviews take place.

On the evidence of the last four years, becoming the public guardian of the BBC may seem tantamount to volunteering for a life lived on a bed of nails. From dealing with own goals including lewd voicemail messages, to public spats with politicians over executive pay and the corporation's funding, and a barrage of negative coverage from the rightwing press, the BBC Trust chairman is rarely out of the firing line.
However, as the final interviews to find a successor to Sir Michael Lyons take place today, it is clear there are at least five keen candidates for what is still viewed as one of the country's most prestigious establishment jobs. After each interview the selection panel is scoring the candidates, and none of them seem fazed by the annual reward of £110,000 – 16% less than the outgoing chairman Lyons earned, for a three to four day week. Lord Smith, the former Labour culture secretary, reckons it is "a very strong field".

However this reminds me of a session at the recent Nations and Regions Conference held earlier this month at The Lowry in Salford just over the water from Media City. The session was entitled "I’m not the Chair of the BBC Trust, Get Me In There!" and was billed as follows...

As Sir Michael Lyons steps down, we invite 3 leading figures to enter the jungle and pitch to be the Chair of the BBC Trust. 

The three 'candidates' were Tom Gutteridge (Standing Stone), Cat Lewis (Nine Lives Media), David Elstein (Broadcasting Policy Group). Although it was to be a bit of fun, the 3 'candidates' did explore not only what they would do if they were 'appointed' as the new chair, but also worked through some of the issues of what the BBC Trust is for and what it should do and I found the session very illuminating. However I was also very frustrated at all their 'pitches', as they all concentrated on broadcast television so at the end of the question session I asked -

"I have held some very interesting presentations today but all I have heard is television, television, and television.  In this age of digital culture of 'many to many', what about Radio and On Line, hello?"

and handed the mic back. They all were clearly a little embarrassed and quickly affirmed the need for public service radio in their summing up of several other questions from the floor  but still none of them mentioned on line and digital. So I do hope who ever is appointed to be the new chair of the BBC Trust for real doesn't just concentrate on broadcast televeison but connects with the 21st century and the various forms of communication models that are becoming rather popular now.