Purnell: Put TV scandals behind you

Media secretary James Purnell has told broadcasters to move on from the controversies that have dogged the TV industry this year.

Purnell, who was speaking at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, said that TV produced in this country was something to be proud of, and that it was the content that would "win out".

He did urge broadcasters to draw the "right lessons" from recent controversies, commenting that they need to "respect their audience", who expect a certain standard from UK broadcasting.

"You [broadcasters] need to put your house in order, and if you don’t there will be a clamour for Ofcom and the BBC Trust to take further action... I do think people feel let down. But you only get to feel let down if you hold something in high regard in the first place," he said.

He added that the industry should continue to produce good quality content in order to re-establish viewer trust.

"Deep pessimism is very rarely appropriate. We mustn’t cover our anxiety in a fog of jargon and lose sight of the basic facts. The basic facts are that broadcasting in this country is very good, and that, in the end, it will be the quality of the output that settles all the big questions," Purnell added.

Purnell also set out a number of measures which aim to consider the changes in broadcasting technology and how public service broadcasting is delivered on new media platforms.

These include a series of public debates, to start at the end of this year, which will initially consider how the government can secure open markets in the broadcasting industry and empower consumers.