麻豆社

Speech by Rona Fairhead, Chairman of the 麻豆社 Trust, to the National Federation of Women's Institutes 2016 Annual Meeting

Thank you everyone for inviting me to join you today.  I’m honoured to be here. Because in so many ways, our organisations have much in common – and I really believe that. We both want to make a difference. We care about shining a light on issues that matter. And it goes without saying, that we also both care deeply about independence.

I am well aware you have now reached a significant milestone in your history. So let me congratulate you on your centenary. For a hundred years, you’ve campaigned passionately, vociferously, and effectively - on issues you care about. Issues which matter, like equal pay, violence against women and cancer screening.

Speaking as a woman in business, as a working mother, and as someone who has undergone treatment for cancer, your work has made a difference to me. Just like your work has made a difference to thousands of women, of all ages, from all walks of life. Our organisations may act in very different ways. But as a member of the WI, you want to inspire people. To do that, achieving a sense of connection is vital. And I know that’s also true for the 麻豆社.

For me, my connection with the 麻豆社 started very young. I remember watching Valerie Singleton and of course Petra and Shep… on Blue Peter. As a girl, I had a menagerie of rabbits and guinea pigs, but what I learnt from the Blue Peter’s tortoise - Freda … was how to look after my own children’s pet tortoise, Kevin. Although sadly, Blue Peter never did tell me how to discover whether it was a him or a her. And indeed, Kevin was a she!

But as you know, connection isn’t just one to one, is it? Connection’s about families. It’s about friends. It’s about our country.

Growing up in Stockton on Tees, Saturday nights were a big thing in my family. It was all about The Generation Game and Doctor Who. And as an avid sports fan, I even got to stay up late to watch Match of the Day as a special treat. And it continues to bind my family together today.

I suspect I’m not the only one in this hall today… to take an interest in The Night Manager. I have to confess, I became addicted, as did my family. Our children came from miles around, often with their friends, to watch it together with us. It was so compelling. So when the final episode coincided with the first day of our family holiday in France, I have to tell you – we gave very serious consideration to postponing that holiday.

The 麻豆社 has inspired me too. Kate Adie, like me, grew up in the North East. I can still remember watching her on the news - outside the Iranian Embassy during the siege; In Serbia, in a flak-jacket during the civil wars; Or wearing those big ear-defenders on an aircraft carrier "somewhere in the Gulf". Cool under fire, and always word perfect. You may have heard the quip, "If you see Kate Adie arriving in a plane… you wanted to be on the next plane out." At that time, to see any woman as a top war correspondent was unusual. For Kate, I suspect she saw it as just getting on with the job. But for me she was – and is - a huge inspiration. And I wonder how many other countless young women she must have influenced from my generation.

I’m sure each of you has your own personal memories, your own stories. That’s what I believe is great about the 麻豆社 - its ability to unify while at the same time enabling very personal experiences. The very fact you’re here today is proof to me that you care about what happens in your community. You care about having an informed, educated population. You care about ensuring important issues are highlighted and addressed.

And I’d like to think that the 麻豆社 can play some part in that role for you. Whether it’s through radio broadcasts you listen to; the programmes you watch; or the 麻豆社 apps you use.

The simple truth is: I believe that what happens at the 麻豆社 matters – to all of us. There are some important changes coming over the next few months. But there are also many things which will remain unchanged. And I believe that’s very important too.

The 麻豆社’s purpose

As you may be aware, this year we undertook a massive public consultation about people’s views on the 麻豆社. The Government did the same. We asked the public what they valued about the 麻豆社, what they wanted it to keep doing, and what they wanted to change. And the public came forward and said very clearly:

"We don’t want fundamental change at the 麻豆社. We want you to continue to do what you’ve always done:

To inform
To educate
And to entertain."

Of course people don’t want to see the 麻豆社 set in aspic. They want to see some changes - even greater efficiency, leaner management, more diverse and reflective of the country we serve, more diverse in every sense, better at spotting talent in unexpected places. But overall, the public want us to go on building an even better 麻豆社, rather than tearing it down and starting again.

That’s what we need to deliver. And that means doing the key things right. Taking our social purposes seriously.

Sometimes the 麻豆社’s role is educational - through documentaries, history programmes, or channels and websites like 麻豆社 Parliament that help people understand how our public institutions operate.

Sometimes through specific learning resources such as 麻豆社 Bitesize. This is used in secondary schools – by teachers and children, in fact 4 out of 5 children take advantage of it. But it’s open to everyone. So a few weeks ago I was talking to some Masters students at Cambridge. When I mentioned Bitesize, I heard some giggling. It turned out these graduate students had used the Bitesize content the previous week to remember the key elements of wind power!

Sometimes the role  is informing - reporting news from around the world, whether that is the terror attacks in Istanbul or the Government’s flood plans, or probing the truth behind claims about whether to stay or leave the EU with Reality Check.

The 麻豆社 is not in a position to campaign as you do. But what the 麻豆社 can do is spotlight issues from an independent point of view. As it did last month to raise the profile of dementia awareness week. Or take the issue of domestic abuse in the home. The 麻豆社 addressed it in 1966 with Cathy Come Home. And it’s doing it now in The Archers. And what that’s done is spark debate about domestic abuse in the home more than anything I can remember in recent times.

Sometimes its role is to drive the UK creative economy, commissioning content from more than 700 production companies from across the UK  for our bases in Salford, in Cardiff, in Glasgow. Often this means investing in technologies and people or covering areas which are too much of a risk for others.

But the 麻豆社 has to take entertainment seriously too. And of course that means taking risks. But when it works, it really works. Imagine that first meeting where someone pipes up with – "Oh, I know, let’s have a major primetime programme about ballroom dancing". Or "How about a national home baking competition… filmed in a field… in a tent?" It’s hard to put a value on the alchemy that produces these kinds of ideas. Or which revamps the old ones, be it The Proms, Shakespeare’s Tragedies or Countryfile.

But those founding principles of the 麻豆社 – to inform, educate and entertain – and its commitment to its social purpose, are, I believe, what make the 麻豆社 unique. The big question is: How to ensure it remains so?

Future

Because the 麻豆社, as you know, doesn’t operate in isolation. And I can assure you – we face some challenges. And some tough decisions. First, we face a future in which we’ll have less money.

Last month, the Government set out the 麻豆社’s funding for the next five years in the White Paper. New obligations – such as free TV licences for the over 75s – mean the 麻豆社 will have less money to spend on programmes. I will ensure the 麻豆社 does everything possible to minimise the impact. To work more efficiently, and find smarter ways to get more for its money. But the reality is we can’t keep doing it all. Even though the public say they love everything we do.

So that will mean taking some tough decisions. But I also believe these changes must affect how the 麻豆社 works with others.

To be frank, this has not traditionally been a strength at the Corporation. There have been exception, but I’ve been told that, in the past, partnership was what something the 麻豆社 did to you – not with you. 

I know partnerships are the future. An opportunity to make our funding go further, and I want it to be an area in which the 麻豆社 excels. Co-operating with global brands – as we are doing with Netflix to produce the new Watership Down.

Openly sharing resources at our disposal – iPlayer – a great UK resource – or using our position to improve local news reporting.  For example, the 麻豆社 is to create a data bank available to local news media, and will make available 麻豆社 video clips of local sports team to local websites and provide the funds to pay for an additional 150 journalists to local news companies to  make sure that local issues are properly covered

And we will need to work with partners and players across the industry. As the 麻豆社 did with the Micro:bit – a codeable pocket sized computer which we have given to every year 7 student to help them to understand how to code. This was done by partnering with 29 partners, including BT, Samsung and Google. And with the new Ideas Service, we plan to partner with the UK’s great arts organisations like the Tate, Opera North and the Edinburgh Festival as well as the fantastic universities and scientific institutions of the UK.

Second, we face a 'world of choice'. A world where new technology is exploding. A world where there are more channels, more social media platforms, more devices competing for your time than ever before.

So we need to respond. Adapt. Invest. We need to use technology to connect with you better. To make sure we keep providing you with what you want in the way that you want it. To help personalize your experience. To be a trusted guide. To help you access the new, the unknown, the surprising.

If you’re watching Wolf Hall, say, you’re guided to histories of the Tudors on the website, to Hilary Mantels books via Radio 4, to William Byrd’s music on Radio 3. Each of those platforms is then a springboard to yet another fresh discovery.

And there’s another opportunity created by new media. The opportunity to enable, not instruct.  To involve, even as we teach. Take Springwatch on 麻豆社 Two. I feel incredibly lucky to have spent Thursday with the team in the beautiful RSPB nature reserve at Minsmere. It rekindled my sense of wonder in nature.

I am not alone. This year, over 90 million people have engaged with Springwatch in social media – 5.5m in some active way e.g. by tweeting or posting. The programme recruited tens of thousands of viewers to track the onset of spring across the country. In the process, we discovered that spring travels up the country at 1.9 miles an hour. We discovered an arctic tern – and this was new to me - a bird that weighs no more than your mobile phone -  had travelled 90,000 kilometers in a year to return to the UK.

As importantly, our audience members are discovering their own countryside for themselves. Not just watching pictures of it but being inspired to get involved – for example in cleaning the beaches of Britain. They become participants, not just consumers. And isn’t that what being ‘active’ in this life is all about?

I envisage a fundamental shift from the 麻豆社 being a ‘dispenser of things’ to being an ‘enabler of people’. I want to make sure the 麻豆社 produces things audiences will love and cherish. And that would provide – in the wild west of media – that most precious of things - a trusted brand; a mark of quality.

But of course, not everyone is online and enabled quite yet. In fact, more than half of all TV and radio viewing will continue to be ‘live’ for some time to come. So the challenge will be to ride both horses. Within budget. To keep pace with technology. And for our trusted channels and radio stations to continue to excel. Dramas like Doctor Foster or Line of Duty will still be shown on primetime TV as they always have been. The Archers will continue to delight audiences on Radio 4. The 麻豆社 must continue to provide something for everyone.

Structure

But there are also changes - which brings me to the Board. A Board which I’ve been asked to lead. It’s an enormous privilege – but also a big responsibility. Because the new Board’s role will be to ensure the management is held to account in terms of quality of output, the ways risk is managed, and in how the licence fee is spent Crucially, the new 麻豆社 Board, like any company board, must remain focused on its primary duty. And that duty is to its shareholders. And for the 麻豆社 the shareholders are the people who – like you - pay the licence fee and make the 麻豆社 possible. And this sense of responsibility to the public keeps the 麻豆社 grounded.

I used to come home at the end of the day to a new screen saver on my computer, courtesy of my darling son. I remember one day having led a conference that had gone particularly well. And I came home feeling rather pleased. On the screen saver was a picture of a tractor on top of a telegraph pole. It read “Just because you’re at the top, doesn’t mean you’re useful”. Lovely child, my son.

But it is a fair point. The 麻豆社 needs to stay useful. One way I believe we achieve this is by staying even more connected with the public. During the Charter negotiations, we undertook enormous consultation with the public - commissioned research, used our audience councils and held public seminars all across the country. This engagement allowed us to ensure these views of the public were taken into account by the Government.

As I put together the new Board in the coming months, I want to bring fresh thinking to how we listen to and respond to the needs of our audiences. I want us to think differently about how we connect with everyone around the UK. Take their temperature. Act on their concerns. Something you, as members of the WI, know all about – having done so successfully over the last 100 years. Creating a genuine feeling that each individual still has a stake in the whole.

I am keen to hear more from you – and from others – about what lessons the 麻豆社 can learn.

Independence

One final point to make. One I mentioned at the very beginning - Independence. Because it matters.

Everything I’ve said about the alchemy that makes the 麻豆社 possible rests on one thing - the principle that the 麻豆社 answers to the Nation, not the State.

As an organization, we must have editorial and creative independence, with no scope for interference. And that means financial independence too - certainty and stability of funding; the ability to generate an income; autonomy in how it might be spent. This means ensuring more clear water between the Government and the new 麻豆社 Board. A Board which – for the first time - will be responsible for the whole direction of the Corporation, including editorial decisions.

It matters to the public. And it is something we will fight for.

Conclusion

Which brings me to these closing thoughts. I believe the future of the 麻豆社 is about much, much more than simply delivering great programmes. We have a mission to inform, educate and entertain. And we have a responsibility as an independent, national institution to fulfil broader social purposes. I hope you have confidence that we have heard you. That you will stay connected with us. That you will challenge us where you feel we merit challenge; and that you will support us in staying true to our mission.

As we explore new ways to continue our dialogue with audiences, I’d like you to be involved as 麻豆社 users. Whether that’s participating in research or attending public seminars or using technology differently. And my hope is that you will want to encourage others to do the same. Not just within the WI, but also across your family and your community more widely.

That dialogue and connection matters. If we can keep that connection alive and well, then we can look forward to a confident 麻豆社, an open 麻豆社. A 麻豆社 that can continue to play an important role in our national life and earn respect and love – not just here but all around the world. And that, I believe, will be an achievement of which we can all be proud.