The VLV Spring Conference 2018 and Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting were held on April 19th 2018 at the Geological Society in Piccadilly.
Session 1: Sir David Clementi, Chairman, BBC
Sir David Clementi, Chairman of the BBC, opened the conference. Sir David’s focus was on the BBC’s delivery of its mission by providing British content for a range of audiences. Concerned about maintaining BBC reach among younger audiences, he outlined plans to reinvent the iPlayer and Radio iPlayer so they are more of a destination for this audience.
The speech made by Sir David Clementi can be read here.
Watch the video of Sir David’s session:
Session 2: Damian Collins MP
Damian Collins MP, Chairman of the DCMS Select Committee, was the second speaker. He provided a fascinating update on the DCMS Select Committee’s inquiry into fake news which has uncovered new information about interference in democratic processes in the UK and US.
He also highlighted the problem of data manipulation which has serious implications now that people increasingly are moving away from traditional news outlets.
Mr Collins made it clear he believed that the tech companies and government share a responsibility to improve media literacy so we can protect ourselves online and recognise reliable content. He said regulators need to have access to tech companies to make sure that they follow data protection laws.
Watch the video of Damian’s session:
Session 3: Kevin Bakhurst, Ofcom
After lunch Kevin Bakhurst, Content Group Director at Ofcom, updated us on BBC regulation now that Ofcom has taken on responsibility for regulating the BBC. He highlighted that the BBC, along with the other PSBs, is being dwarfed by enormous global producers. He stressed that innovation, maintaining choice and reflecting the whole of the UK are key for the future of the BBC. He said that the full Ofcom report on BBC performance, due out in October, will provide detailed research on audience satisfaction.
Watch the video of Kevin’s session:
Session 4: Commercial Radio in the UK
The final session of the day was a lively discussion about the contribution commercial radio makes for audiences with broadcaster Nick Ferrari, Siobhan Kenny, CEO of Radiocentre, Matt Deegan of Fun Kids Radio and Folder Media, and Dr Tony Stoller, media historian, all masterfully chaired by Gillian Reynolds, radio critic of The Sunday Times.
Watch the video of this session:
VLV Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting
During the conference broadcaster Jon Snow presented the popular VLV Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting which celebrated radio and TV programmes broadcast in 2017.
Winners included Line of Duty, Blue Planet II, Unreported World(C4)and W1A in the television category. Radio programme recipients featured Dead Ringers, More or Less and Private Passions. Where in the World? on CBeebies won the Children’s Broadcasting Award. Mishal Husain was presented with the best individual contributor to radio and Laura Kuenssberg in the individual television category. The coveted Naomi Sargant Award was given to Professor Mary Beard OBE.
Read the full list of winners and nominations
You can view photos of the awards here.
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