Britain's Broadcasting Future

Abstract

During 1975, Kenneth Adam was a member of the Executive Committee of the Standing Conference on Broadcasting, an independent body, set up by the Acton Society Trust, to analyse, articulate and promote the public in terest in broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It's membership included academics, trades union leaders, politicians of all parties, clergymen, artists and critics, together with one-time broadcasters enjoying managerial status, such as himself. ( Director of BBC Television Services, 1960-1969.) By way of a series of seminars, conferences and public meetings, the Standing Confe rence identified its key areas of concern, and prepared a series of papers, repre senting a high consensus of agreement among its active members, who typified its broad-based components. With the submission of these papers, to the An nan Committee (see below) in a two-day hearing and of supplementary docu ments requested by the Committee, the Standing Conference's purpose was accomplished. The paper which follows draws upon those documents, them selves largely the work of the Standing Conference Executive, with Kenneth Adam as one of the drafters. Much of what this important Conference - vir tually the only one, of some thousand submissions to the Annan Committee, without a vested interest - proposed and argued is understood to be influen cing the report the Committee is now in the process of preparing for the British Government.