British Commercial News Broadcasting

Richard Tait

Since 1955 British commercial broadcast journalism services have provided an alternative to and competition for the publicly funded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). For 40 years, that competition resulted in high levels of investment in broadcast journalism, both news and current affairs, and high standards of editorial and production quality together with a commitment, in the main, to a quality editorial agenda. Journalism on commercial networks was supported by a regulatory regime that rewarded investment in high quality news and current affairs and insisted on impartiality and accuracy as the key journalistic values. For most of the period, commercial broadcast journalism enjoyed a reputation for enterprising and investigative reporting and was seen to match the BBC for quality. At the end of the twentieth century, however, growing competition for audiences and the progressive deregulation of British television led to a decline in the significance of broadcast journalism in commercial television. By ...

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