Scotland To Get TV Commission
Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, is to create a new commission intended to implement a strategic way forward for TV broadcasting and production in the country.
In a speech given yesterday at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Salmond announced that Blair Jenkins will leave his current job as BBC Scotland head of news and current affairs to chair the commission.
Salmond said: “Scotland needs a new framework of investment and cooperation to grow our screen industries and make them world-class in their innovation and output.”
He added that the commission, which begins work in the autumn, will “combine substantial industry expertise with a broad spectrum of political opinion”.
Salmond also reiterated the need for the devolution of broadcasting powers to the Scottish parliament. He said: “Broadcasting has a crucial and central role in our democracy, but also in obtaining the full cultural and economic benefits of our creative industries.
“That’s why my government supports the devolution of broadcasting powers to the Scottish parliament. We see the policy as a means to an end, not just as an end in itself.”
Scottish National Party: www.snp.org