Lord Burns facing challenges as Channel 4’s new chairman
Nov 6 2009 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post
Lord Burns, a former chief economic adviser and permanent secretary to the Treasury, has been appointed as the next chairman of Channel 4.
He will join its board immediately as chairman-designate, regulator Ofcom said.
Lord Burns succeeds Luke Johnson, who retires on January 27 following two three-year terms.
Several names were the subject of speculation as frontrunners for the job, including Greg Dyke, a former BBC director general, Richard Eyre, a former chief executive of ITV, Lord Alli, the co-founder of production company Planet 24, and BBC Trust executive Patricia Hodgson.
But Lord Burns, who has the nickname “Lord Fixit”, was strongly tipped this week as the favourite to take the job.
Lord Burns said: “I am delighted to be joining Channel 4.
“This is a time of great change as we experience the impact of the rapid development of digital technology in the communications sector and Channel 4 has a very special and continuing role to play.”
His three-year appointment from 2010 has been approved by Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw.
In the past Lord Burns was mooted as a possible chairman of the BBC Trust, after Sir Christopher Bland stood down.
“Teflon Terry”, as Lord Burns is also sometimes known, will need to roll up his sleeves for some tough challenges ahead, in a difficult economic climate for commercial broadcasters which have seen shrinking advertising revenues.
In a speech to the Royal Television Society last night, the broadcaster’s programme chief, Julian Bellamy, acknowledged that “relentless competitive pressures” had forced the broadcaster to take almost £150 million out of its programme budget in the past three years.
But he also said he saw a “silver lining” in the broadcaster’s financial circumstances, with Channel 4 playing a “unique cultural role”.
Ofcom chairman Colette Bowe said: “Terry Burns will provide strong leadership at a time of considerable change in the broadcasting world.”
