Minister delivers BBC Charter Review update

Speaking at this week’s Oxford Media Convention 2004, held at Oxford University, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell discussed progress of the public consultation into the BBC’s Charter Review.
She revealed that a total of 450 responses have been received so far, while the dedicated website has received nearly 7,000 visitors. 2,000 copies of the main consultation document, Review of the BBC's Royal Charter, have been distributed and 400,000 leaflets are being sent out to libraries across the country.
Tessa Jowell highlighted the important social and cultural role the BBC and other public services broadcasters play in British life. She said: "This Charter Review needs to look in the broadest sense at what the BBC should be expected to deliver for the public and for the nation as a whole: not just in terms of what we see and hear on our screens and through our radios, but also in terms of the wider social and democratic function it fulfils.
"And, of course, we also need to consider the way in which the BBC accounts to its ‘shareholders’ for what it does and takes account of their views and interests."
Tessa Jowell also gave details of the pending reviews into the BBC's new digital channels. She said there would be two reviews - one for television channels and one covering radio. The names of the lead reviewers are expected to be announced in the spring and to start the process off. The BBC has also been asked to provide its own assessment of the channels.
(GB)