Lord Birt, a former director-general of the BBC, issued a stark warning that “Rome is burning”, highlighting severe threats to British public service broadcasting.
His remarks were made during a House of Lords discussion on the Media Green Paper, which outlines the government’s new strategic direction.
Independent crossbench peer Lord Birt, who headed the BBC from 1992 to 2000, said: “Frankly, Rome is burning.
“Two of the UK’s greatest, most respected, and historic achievements are threatened by the globalisation of media.
“A lively, challenging, and diverse press, which we’ve had for centuries, an unmatched tradition of public service broadcasting encompassed by Channel 4 and ITV, as well of course as the BBC, which we’ve had for almost a century.
“For over a century, we have actually, through those means, created a very effective national debating chamber and brilliantly captured our national culture, talent, and capability.
“Does the minister accept that radical measures will be needed to arrest these trends?”
Responding, culture minister Baroness Twycross rejected the idea that “Rome is burning”, but acknowledged that “we need to see the warning signs”.
She said: “The government is fully behind the BBC, both at present time and as a future source of news and trusted news and content.
“Through the Charter review process, a lot of these conversations are happening, and so we’re looking in particular at how we can ensure the funding model is sustainable by being fair and affordable for households.
“And that’s one of the ways in which we’re clear, if we can get sustainable funding, if we can make sure we get the prominence regime on the internet as well as on the television screens, then we should go a long way to to ensuring a strong future for our press and media.
“I’d probably draw back a little bit from saying Rome is burning.
“There’s so much good practice out there that we should celebrate, but I do appreciate that we need to see the warning signs of what might come down the road.”
The government’s proposals include plans for trusted news sources to be given prominence on social media, alongside measures to reform public service media in the UK and help providers attract audiences online.
According to plans in the Green Paper, Watch This Space: A Strategic Direction For UK Media, social media companies and video-sharing platforms will be expected to prioritise content from publishers including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, as well as regional broadcasters STV and s4C.
The government says this is crucial for countering misinformation, especially during times of social unrest or crisis.
The paper also set out plans for a transition to internet-based TV in either 2034 or 2044, and on-demand rights for key sporting events to be added to the Listed Events Regime, making access to the World Cup and Olympics free.
The government will consult on the proposals.
Founder and director of the Free Speech Union, Lord Young of Acton, asked for reassurance that the government’s proposals are not a “Trojan horse for forcing some news publishers to bend the knee to a state-approved press regulator”.
The Tory peer said: “The green paper doesn’t simply propose that the prominence regime be confined to public service media, including public broadcasters. It suggests that it should be extended also to news publishers.
“If some news publishers are going to be included in the prominence regime, given various privileges, social media companies will have to promote the content of those news publishers, how are those news publishers going to be selected?
“And can the minister assure the House that this isn’t a Trojan horse for forcing some news publishers to bend the knee to a state-approved press regulator like Impress?”
Responding, Lady Twycross said: “This is entirely why we have a consultation period that runs to the August 31, so that we can work with relevant parties and engage relevant parties as part of the consultation to determine the criteria we use.
“We will decide the criteria of a trustworthy news provider in an open and transparent manner, and with regard to protecting media freedom.
“It’s not about censorship or people having to take a different view.
“This is about making sure that the general public can understand, and actually that we can understand as well, that everybody can understand what is more likely to be high quality content, and it comes further up the search mechanism.”
