Journalism lecturer Jacquie Hughes has been given the prestigious job of advising the House of Lords on the future of the BBC.
Jacquie, who produced a report earlier this year calling for a major shake-up of the way the corporation is funded, has been appointed as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Communication as part of its investigation into reforming the BBC Charter.
Jacquie said: “I’m delighted to be invited by the Committee to advise on the Charter. This is an important role because it will ultimately decide how licence payers could potentially get better value for money.”
As well as having had a distinguished career in the television industry with 700 screen credits to her name, from reporter to executive producer, Jacquie is the author of Broadcasting by consent: The BBC, Public Service Broadcasting and Charter Renewal in 2017, published this year by the think-tank CentreForum.
The Select Committee will be reviewing the six public purposes of the BBC concerned with information, entertainment and emerging technologies. It will also be considering its fundamental purposes and ways of setting the licence fee, while ensuring that the BBC remains independent.
The specialist adviser assists the Committee by providing sources of expert advice, the preparation of written briefing material for oral evidence sessions, commenting on witnesses’ written evidence and assisting with a variety of tasks so that the Committee can carry out its functions.