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11 J. Media L. & Prac. 1 (1990)

handle is hein.journals/tojmedlp11 and id is 1 raw text is: Editorial The Broadcasting Bill has been put forward as the most significant overhaul of broadcasting since the establishment of commercial television in 1955. The scale of the changes certainly lives up to that billing: it will allow for the creation of a fifth television channel, numerous local tele- vision stations using microwave transmission, three new national independent radio stations, and hundreds of independent local radio stations. But the changes envisaged will inevitably threaten the accepted basis of British broad- casting for 60 years - the cherished ideal of public service broadcasting. The expansion of televi- sion and radio threatens the principle of free and universal access. For example, the proposed Channel 5 is only designed to reach 70 per cent of the population. The changes to commercial tele- vision, or ITV, also threaten the ideal of public service broadcasting. It is argued that a deregu- lated Channel 3 with franchises awarded on the basis of competitive tendering will fragment the audience and subordinate quality to profit. However, the government has been willing to make some important concessions during the committee stage of the Bill which may silence critics for a while at least. From a civil liberties viewpoint the most important concession has been the curtailment of the draconian cl. 145. The clause would have given police powers to seize television and radio script and tapes, and even unbroadcast material. But the government agreed to scrap the provision relating to unbroadcast material, and has made the power of seizure dependent on the police obtaining a magistrates' warrant. Moreover, the government made two more concessions which might lessen the full impact of deregulation and could even herald a new system of regulation not that far removed from the present system. First, the government confirmed that franchises will not simply go to the highest bidder, but will go to a lesser bid if that bid includes programmes of a higher quality. Second, the government conceded that the Independent Broadcasting Authority's suc- cessor, the Independent Television Commiss- sion (ITC), will not have to make a blind choice simply on the basis of sealed cash bids. Instead the Commission will be able to assess programme and business plans as well as the cash bid. Both concessions depend on developing con- siderable discretion. It will be up to the ITC to decide what constitutes higher quality, and the government has steadfastly refused to define what constitutes *quality' or to delimit in any way the ITC's discretion. By so doing the government has given the Commission exactly the kind of ill- Contents Broadcasting after the Bill: Gold, franchises and murmerings of discontent by Robert Baldwin 2 An overview on access to government information legislation in Europe by Herbert Burkert 7 The importance of being honest by Andrew McGougan 17 Congress at bicentennial: the information policy record by Harold C. Relyea 23 CASE REPORT Re Lonrho plc and others 29 NEWS 30 BOOK REVIEWS 37 defined discretion which was supposed to have been removed by the new free market system. It is now up to the ITC to decide how to exercise its substantial discretion. But with the ITC set to play such a central role in analysing programme quality, there must surely be some doubts as to the wisdom of having a separate Broadcasting Standards Council to oversee programme stan- dards. The Broadcasting Bill, as first published, is analysed by Robert Baldwin in this issue. In a subsequent article the author will be considering the many amendments and alterations which are being made to the Bill during its passage through Parliament. From this issue the journal will be incorporat- ing Advertising & Marketing Law & Practice and will feature articles and case notes on all aspects of advertising, sponsorship and marketing. This expansion is in recognition not only of advertis- ing's central role in funding most of the world's media but also of the substantial proportion of advertising in the media. We are pleased to welcome Howard Johnson from the University of Cardiff Law School as Associate Editor to oversee this development.

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