Mark Thompson: Britain needs a channel like Fox News

[Jeffersons Ghost]

BBC's director general says rules on impartiality on television are outdated in internet era and advocates opinionated journalism

Mark Thompson, the BBC's director general, said British broadcasters should be free to launch an equivalent to Fox News in the UK because existing rules to guarantee impartiality in television were becoming outdated in the era of the internet.

Thompson, while speaking at a Whitehall seminar on impartiality in broadcasting, said that as the distinction between the web and television collapses, it no longer makes sense for public service broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, to have a "monopoly" over the airwaves.

The director general said: "There was a logic in allowing impartial broadcasters to have a monopoly of the broadcasting space. But in the future, maybe there should be a broad range of choices? Why shouldn't the public be able to see and hear, as well as read, a range of opinionated journalism and then make up their own mind what they think about it?

"The BBC and Channel 4 have a history of clearly labelled polemical programmes. But why not entire polemical channels which have got stronger opinions? I find the argument persuasive."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/17/mark-thompson-bbc-fox-news

[name not needed]

1. Isn't that what Sky News is?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. I don't know about Sky News; but I think if they want a FOX, they can have ours.

[madrchsod]

3. so they want to dumb down their teevee to american levels?

bbc america and bbc overnight is a breath of fresh air in the usa

[Liberal Veteran]

4. Britain needs Fox News like Canada needs malaria.

[burrowowl]

5. What an ARSE!!!!

[notesdev]

6. full corrected quote

"Britain needs a channel like Fox News like it needs a hole in the head"

[LawnKorn]

7. They can have ours - but only if they promise never to give it back