Jean Seaton speaks to The Guardian about Paul Potts’ role in choosing a new Ofcom chair

Paul Potts, who was appointed two years ago as an independent director of Times Newspapers Holdings, is now also the government’s “senior independent panel member” who will help pick the successor to Terry Burns at the head of the body that rules on standards and is to shape the future of public service broadcasting in the digital age. In an article by Vanessa Thorpe for The Guardian, Prof. Jean Seaton expresses her concerns about the appointment; “In what way is a Times man independent on the question of the regulation of British broadcasting?” Seaton asked. “Those newspapers aren’t. And the Times proprietor understandably isn’t.”

Ofcom has a budget of £131.9m for the current financial year, and its principal duty, according to the job specification, is “to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate, by promoting competition” in broadcasting and communications technology.

Read the full article on The Guardian.

Photo: Jim Linwood via Wikipedia. CC BY 2.0