Like so many people across the country, I have been watching the events unfolding in Ukraine with a sense of horror, deep concern for the safety and welfare of the Ukrainian people, and an urgent desire for information to try to make sense of what is happening.
With such a vast array of sources of news available, it can be overwhelming to know where to turn to find reliable information. Independent journalism has never been so important.
Many of us turn first to television news as a source of truth – and our broadcasters have risen to the challenge so far. We should all be proud of the world-class British journalists who have risked their personal safety to bring us accurate and impartial coverage.
Channel 4 News has set an extremely high bar with its coverage so far, and has rightly received praise for its fearless reporting – bringing us powerful stories from the ground there.
But Channel 4 has also demonstrated the value of public service broadcasting during a crisis such as this - beyond the scope of breaking news.
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Recently they tore up part of their schedule to make way for coverage dedicated to President Zelenskyy, including the comedy that helped launch his political career, Servant of the People.
It was an excellent watch – but Channel 4 doesn’t profit from this. It makes decisions like this not with shareholders in mind, but the public.
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Channel 4 is funded entirely through advertising, but owned by the public, so they can make commissioning decisions that are clearly in the public interest even if they don’t generate a return on investment.
It’s why they’re able to bring Servant of the People to British free-to-air TV for the first time at this key moment in European history at short notice, bringing powerful Ukrainian stories into British homes. It’s worth noting at this point too that Channel 4 doesn’t take any money from the licence fee or from taxes.
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But the future of Channel 4 is uncertain. The Government is consulting on proposals to sell it, with a decision expected imminently.
Whilst it is absolutely right that the government should look at this from time to time, removing it from public ownership could change the whole way it operates, because it would have to put the interests of shareholders ahead of the public for the first time in its 40-year history.
This would weaken public service broadcasting and Britain’s soft power when we need it most.
It would also harm our creative sector, including thousands of small independent producers based across the regions of the UK from which Channel 4 commissions its programmes.
When Margaret Thatcher’s government established Channel 4 40 years ago as a publicly-owned broadcaster, they ensured that its editorial decisions would be made first and foremost with the British public in mind.
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Four decades on the world is just as uncertain, but the service that public service broadcasters like Channel 4 provide is even more important.
We are fortunate to live in a country that values media freedom and nurtures the careers of world-class journalists and programme makers from across the country.
We hope that continues for generations to come, and we urge the government to protect this as it considers Channel 4’s future.
Andrew Mitchell is former vice-chairman of the Conservative party and former development secretary
Also in Red Box today:
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