Chris Smith Defends White Paper In Media Question Time Interview

The secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport, Chris Smith has given an interview to MediaTel Group’s MD, Derek Jones, excerpts of which will be screened at MediaTel’s Media Question Time on Monday 26 February.

In the course of the interview, the minister defends the Communications White Paper he presented late last year against the reactions of the media industry and suggests that if his party is re-elected the government will push for early legislation.

He also discusses the role of the BBC in relation to the planned cross-media regulator Ofcom. Emphasising what he sees as the effectiveness of the current public funding system as a means of ensuring quality and variety in broadcasting, he says that he does not anticipate the licence fee being scrapped within his lifetime.

The interview will be screened during the third annual Media Question Time, which is once again being held at BBC Broadcasting House. An invited audience of industry representatives will have the opportunity to put their questions to a panel including John Billett, chairman of the Billett Consultancy, David Mansfield, chief executive of Capital Radio, Emily Bell, editor-in-chief of Guardian Unlimited and assistant editor of the Guardian, Jim Hytner, director of marketing and communications at Channel 5 and Marie Oldham, managing partner of the Media Planning Group. The discussion will be chaired by BBC Radio media correspondent Torin Douglas.

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