BBC board of governors to be scrapped
The BBC's board of governors will be scrapped and replaced by a trust structure to ensure greater accountability, although for now the public service broadcaster will retain its licence fee and charter, the UK government proposed on Wednesday.
Launching her green paper on the future of the BBC, Tessa Jowell, Minister of Culture, Media and Sport, recommended that a new independent board of trustees would help end the contradiction between the governors' role as both “cheerleaders” and “regulators ” of the BBC.
Ms Jowell said the BBC needed to be more transparent and accountable and able to keep pace with changes in technology, while safeguarding its independence and values for the future.
“ Our proposals, including keeping the licence fee and renewing the charter for another 10 years, will enable it do just that,” she added.
The BBC will retain its Royal Charter, due for renewal at the end of next year, which should run from 2007 to the end of 2016. The licence fee will be retained but will be subject to a review before the end of the next charter period, which will examine the case for other forms of funding - “particularly subscription”.
In a compromise move which heads off more radical proposals in a recent report by Lord Burns, Ms Jowell said the trustees would focus on regulating the corporation with responsibility for setting the licence fee and making sure it fulfills its public service remit.
The trustees, who under the proposals will be appointed by the culture department, will step back from the day-to-day running of the BBC. The responsibility will fall on a formerly constituted executive board, who will deliver the broadcaster's services within a framework set by the trust.
“ The BBC Trust and Executive Board will provide much-needed daylight between two quite separate roles - running the BBC and making sure it is run well,” Ms Jowell said.
Ms Jowell's proposals go further than the reforms set in place by Michael Grade, chairman of the board of governors since last year, who has moved the governors to another building and proposed “service licence agreements” for each BBC service.
Mr Grade's strategy was a bid to make the running of the BBC more transparent in the wake of the Hutton report on the death of scientist Dr David Kelly. The report, which criticised the governors for being too close to management, prompted a fierce debate about the future of the BBC's charter and led to the resignation of former director general Greg Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies.
However, the government has faced down more radical suggestions championed by Lord Burns and former director general Lord Birt that the governors be replaced by a public service broadcasting regulator with powers to hand over a slice of the licence fee to commercial rivals. BBC 董事会制度将被废除
英国政府周三提议，英国广播公司 (BBC) 董事会将被废除，代之以一个信托结构，以确保公司负起更大的责任，尽管这家公共服务广播公司将保留其执照费（编者按：指电视机执照费，即拥有电视机的每户英国家庭每年必须交纳约 232 美元，作为英国广播公司的主要经费来源）和皇家宪章。
英国文化、传媒和体育大臣特莎?乔韦尔 (Tessa Jowell) 发表有关英国广播公司未来的绿皮书。她指出，董事会既是英国广播公司的“啦啦队”，又是“监管者”，这一角色存在矛盾，而一个新的独立信托理事会将帮助解决这一矛盾。
乔韦尔女士表示，英国广播公司需要更透明、更负责任，要能跟上技术革新的步伐，同时要面向未来维护其独立性和价值观。
“我们的建议将使之能做到这一点，建议包括保留执照费并将皇家宪章再延长 10 年，”她补充说。
英国广播公司将保留其皇家宪章，目前的皇家宪章将于明年年底到期，更新后应从 2007 年延续至 2016 年年底。执照费将得以保留，但将在下一特许期结束前进行审核，届时将审核其它资助方案，“特别是订费制度”。
伯恩斯勋爵 (Lord Burns) 在最近一份报告中提出了一些更激进的提议，但乔韦尔女士采取了一项妥协行动，阻止了这些提议。她表示，信托理事将把重点放在监管公司上，同时负责制定执照费，并确保公司履行其公共服务职责。
根据这些提议，信托理事将由文化部任命。信托理事将不插手公司的日常运作。这一职责将由原来任命的管理委员会承担，该委员会将在理事会规定的框架内提供该广播机构的服务。
“英国广播公司信托理事会和管理委员会将使两个相当不同的角色一清二楚：一是经营英国广播公司，一是确保经营有方，而这是人们非常需要的，”乔韦尔女士说。
