VLV’s 42nd annual Autumn Conference took place on Wednesday 26th November 2025 at The Geological Society in London, against the backdrop of an unprecedented national focus on public service broadcasting. To play back each individual session, please click on the relevant image.
To begin the day, the BBC’s Interim Nations Director, and member of the Executive Committee, Rhuanedd Richards, lamented the loss of two great public servants in Deborah Turness and Tim Davie and highlighted the BBC’s need for deeper, more creative engagement with audiences across all regions, whilst defending its editorial independence amid political pressures. A follow-up panel with Mark Damazer and Professor Steve Barnett, explored the BBC’s governance culture and structure, which contributed to the current crisis, questioning the Unitary Board model and calling for depoliticised appointments, greater transparency and accountability, ahead of Charter Renewal. The discussion emphasised how there was no foundation for the attacks of institutional bias.
In session two, the focus segued to impartiality in news broadcasting. Professor Stephen Cushion presented research evidencing strong public demand for unbiased reporting, generational differences in perception and concern over politicians presenting news programmes. Led by panel Chair Ritula Shah who, alongside Professor Stewart Purvis, Richard Ayre and Professor Stephen Cushion, explored the challenges of allocating equal airtime within a multi-party landscape and the importance of transparency in editorial decisions. The session concluded with a call for continued comprehensive audience research, to guide policy and reinforce trust in public service journalism.
After lunch, a session on podcasting, chaired by Katie Derham and featuring the leading lights of the podcast world, David Prest, Leeanne Alie and Nick Hilton, showcased the medium as a space for innovation, reaching wider audiences and amplifying diverse voices. The panel discussed the importance of exploring niche topics and experimenting with formats, from a 93-episode life with Parkinson’s series, to platforms for older or underrepresented voices. They also debated the significant challenges related to rising production costs, the growing importance of visual elements, inequities in advertising revenue and ethical concerns around misinformation, extremism and AI-generated content.
To end our day, attention turned to Sky/Comcast’s proposed £1.6bn acquisition of ITV’s Media & Entertainment division. Chaired by Torin Douglas and featuring a panel consisting of Professor Cathy Johnson, Gill Hind and Cat Lewis. Gill Hind outlined the three main regulatory hurdles to jump ahead of the sale. The panel then discussed the strategic rationale for the proposal, declining traditional audiences, global streaming competition and the need for scale, whilst highlighting potential benefits, including enhanced digital capability, advertising power and international reach. They emphasised ITV’s public service obligations and broader implications for consolidation, competition and the future of public service broadcasting within a globalised market.
Thank you to all of those who attended and took part, particularly our speakers, chairs and awards presenters.
Our next event will be our Annual Spring Conference and VLV Awards which takes place on Thursday 30th April 2026. More information and a registration link to book your place will be made available nearer the time.
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