They are only interested in looking good.It is unlikely this behaviour pattern is confined to No 10. This is government by scriptwriting.If normal people set out to write a script, they would produce words first and then clothe them in pictures. That is not how the scriptwriters of genius work, in Hollywood or in Downing Street. They fuse pen and camera, words and pictures.That produces great movies But it makes for lousy government The process of government should not be a film script It ought to be a hard slog through difficult events. In those days, despite Professor McLuhan’s fame, no one really knew what it meant Now we do He was being prophetic He is the philosopher of Tony Blair’s Downing Street. In the 1960s, Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian academic, briefly enjoyed cult status because of a remark he made: “the medium is the message”.

It seems that Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff at No 10, never consider a course of action without wondering how it will play on the news broadcasts. It is not an edifying spectacle.The Hutton transcripts depict a government obsessed by presentation. But its entrails and digestive processes have now been made public via Lord Hutton’s X-rays. All this from a government which has been determined to avoid releasing any information until it was sterilised and spun. It has not yet been properly analysed – though it will be – and there is a lot more to come.

Indeed, there are almost 9,000 pages of damage
That is the volume of paper already released on the Hutton inquiry website. Irrespective of Lord Hutton’s conclusions, his inquiry has already inflicted enduring damage on the Blair Government. Indeed, there are almost 9,000 pages of damage

Irrespective of Lord Hutton’s conclusions, his inquiry has already inflicted enduring damage on the Blair Government. But there are areas where the BBC can play a vital role, and some where only the BBC can make a real difference.For example, the BBC probably has the best television library in the world.

The digital revolution and broadband provide an easy and affordable way of making this treasure trove of BBC content available to all.. They will need the involvement, skills and financial support of government, local government, schools, universities, art galleries, museums, the voluntary sector and many other parts of our society. In particular, it will be about how public money can be combined with new digital technologies to transform everyone’s lives.As we move forward, the BBC will not, should not and cannot be the only publicly funded player committed to making the most of these opportunities. In radio, it is bringing many new specialist stations, and, in the world online, it has brought information and new types of communication to your fingertips.I believe we are about to move into a second phase of the digital revolution, a phase which will be more about public than private value; about free, not pay services; and about inclusivity, not exclusion. And, as before, it is changing the structure of our industry in profound ways.
The first phase of this revolution has produced some great things – in television, 200 channels, movies on-tap, imaginative interactivity, and 24-hour sport and news. The digital revolution has many things in common with the radio and television revolutions As before, it is making new and wonderful things possible As before, it is changing the way people use their time. For my mother, it was radio; for me, it was television; for my children it is digital.