Nicholas Craig column

Feb 9 2007 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

The all-pervading power of television has been shown to extraordinary effect with the Big Brother row. Ignited by TV, the racist bullying allegations keep newspaper sales soaring.

This instant reaction of the press and the populace to a highly manufactured TV series sums up the immediacy, impact and influence of television on all of us. Apparently, 93% of us tune into the television every day - which is more than radio, newspapers, magazines and internet news combined.

We face an explosion in available channels, new forms of transmission and a highly touted convergence with the computer. Yet an increasing number of TV programmes appear to be produced as filler for the space between commercials.

Programming decisions are driven by a shrinking number of corporate executives, far removed from the audiences they supposedly serve.

TV remains the world's most powerful and pervasive communications medium. But what are we doing with the power?

Someone once wrote about how what we see via TV enters directly into our minds with hardly any chance of being questioned, while what we read has to be analysed (at least to the level of deciphering what the words mean) before we can take it in.

It is the covert, rather than the overt impact that concerns me with television programmes and decision-making. The news we never get to see, the assumption in many soap operas that violence is an appropriate response to a disagreement, the rare opportunities to genuinely see all sides of an argument, and the London-centric approach of presenters and news programmes all colour our viewing and condition our receptive minds.

When the power of television works to enrich our knowledge or reveal what we would not otherwise have known we can applaud it. When it misinforms or bends the truth it is a dangerous medium that requires robust regulation.

The proposed cutbacks at the BBC, financial problems at ITV, and the furore at Channel 4's perceived lack of leadership do not augur well. I'm not convinced that current authorities have the necessary clout or speed of reaction to fight the advertisers and station owners in these rapidly changing times. We are seeing a very interesting time in the evolution of the media. Let's hope we're fired up with knowledge rather than dumbed down as a result.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton law firm.