Broadcast Letters Issue 6 June 2008

TV needs compliance, not handbooks

Well done to Channels 4 and Five for collaborating on a programme-makers' handbook to stamp out TV deception. I appreciate the sentiment but the irony of them being fined almost £1.8m between them in the past year isn't lost on me.
As someone who works in the industry, I would recommend that some of the major broadcasters look a little closer to home before throwing a guide book out to the independent production sector.
Yes, there is a training issue with some junior (and a few senior) members of the indie production community and perhaps in the past there has been an over-enthusiasm to blur the lines between concept and downright deception on the side of some commissioning editors in their chase for ratings. However, it remains a broadcaster's responsibility to comply with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code and a broadcaster's compliance function to ensure this is enforced.
All those terrestrials caught up in the events of last year would do well to remember this and invest heavily in their own internal compliance functions first. By that I mean TV compliance professionals and not a room of lawyers who have little or no interest in programme-making before publishing well-intentioned guidance to the independent sector.
I have found lawyers to be a fantastic resource for any broadcaster but the majority of lawyers I know working in TV have little or no interest in standing in a live gallery or dealing with commissioning editors on matters of the Ofcom Code or the mechanics of premium rate competitions. What they are good at though - among other things - is drafting handbooks.
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD

Still time to take up First Post
The obituary for First Post ("First Post scheme ends as funds dry up", Broadcast, 30.05.08) was a little premature.
Companies in the north-west and Yorkshire and Humber still have time to take advantage of this excellent scheme which will take their junior staff and mould them into dynamic, knowledgeable and keen members of the team. We are recruiting future stars in the autumn - get in touch with me (tristonw@skillset.org) for more information.
It is true that Skillset secured funding to pilot this scheme in a number of different places but its future is under discussion. The post industry, together with Skillset, will look at a number of options over the summer to identify a long-term sustainable and affordable solution.
This may mean working closer with the Skillset academies to ensure they produce graduate talent suitable for the needs of the companies, or perhaps developing an apprenticeship-style scheme where companies work in partnerships with education.
Not so much the last post for First Post as reported.
TRISTON WALLACE
London regional manager/facilities sector manager, Skillset