Hugh Grant, Neil Gaiman, and Michael Sheen are among 120 public figures who have signed an open letter to the UK government attacking plans to reform the BBC and the wider public service broadcasting (PSB) ecology.
The letter, organized by campaign group the British Broadcasting Challenge, called for an open and transparent debate about the future of Britain’s public service broadcasters (the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5), which were described as a “significant national asset.”
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Addressed to culture secretary Oliver Dowden, the British Broadcasting Challenge raised specific concerns about the government’s PSB Advisory Panel, which is helping shape policy on the future of television and radio in the UK. The group includes All3Media CEO Jane Turton and Facebook executive Nicola Mendelsohn.
“We are concerned that the government is being advised by a panel not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines, meeting in secret with no public record of its agenda, discussions or recommendations,” said the letter, which is also signed by Steve Coogan,…
