BOSSES at television regulators Ofcom have promised to come to the Borders and be put in the picture about fears over the planned scrapping of the Border TV news and sport services.
But a former director of STV and independent producer has branded Ofcom a bitter enemy of the Borders.
Alistair Moffat from Selkirk believes the regulator will be responsible for the loss of many local programmes – outwith news – by the end of thi
s year.
Head of ITV Sir Michael Grade wants to slash the number of regional news outlets across the UK from 16 to nine in a bid to cut his regional news budget from around £90 million to somewhere between £40 million and £60 million.
Broadcasting unions have warned that job losses could reach the hundreds and in a rare consensus there has been cross-party and cross-border opposition to the plans by MPs and MSPs.
Under Grade’s proposals, the Border ITV region would be likely to get nothing more than a six to 10-minute news-and-sport bulletin provided from the Tyne Tees studios.
Alistair Moffat this week hit out, saying: “Far from acting in the interests of the viewers, as former TV regulators have done, Ofcom is damaging the television service to the Borders fatally. When digital switchover occurs at the end of this year, three acts of cultural vandalism will take place because of Ofcom's absolute disinterest in Borders viewers. It simply could not care less.
“First and most important, regional programmes made for this area will all disappear – the whole lot will be gone by the end of 2008. About two years ago, ITV asked Ofcom if they could be allowed not to do them – to save cash – and Ofcom said OK. That means that the likes of The Reivers series on Thursday nights, currently winning high ratings, will never be made again.
“The BBC don’t have the cash and no-one else has the inclination.
“The second act of destruction will be the disappearance of Border News and Lookaround. If Ofcom accept ITV’s plea, Tyne Tees News will also cover Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, the Isle of Man and the Borders, probably in a 10-minute opt-out. What that means, in effect, is virtually no news on the telly from the Borders. And again, the BBC will not report what happens in the Tweed Valley unless is another disaster like foot and mouth.
“The third casualty will be mainly, I suspect, amongst old folk, the people who depend on their telly more than most. When digital switchover occurs, it is bound to come as a surprise to many, the coverage will not be comprehensive and the costs will not be small.
“It is all about money. The government wants the analogue spectrum, on which telly is broadcast at present, so that it can sell it off to private companies. And ITV wants to save cash. Ofcom is allowing it all to happen. And the Borders will be the first casualty of the thoughtlessness of a London-based regulator unable to see further than the M25.”
This week a number of politicians from the South of Scotland and the North England met with senior officials from Ofcom in London.
The meeting was chaired by Borders Lib Dem Michael Moore who urged Ofcom to visit the area.
The full article contains 569 words and appears in Southern Reporter newspaper.
