What prompted Tom Loosemore, Project Director in charge of web initiatives at the BBC, to jump ship for his ‘dream gig’ running OFCOM’s Public Service Publisher (PSP) programme?

Having a senior BBC person go to OFCOM is not exactly news, except this time it is being seen as a sign that the BBC’s web strategy is now falling under the control of its TV division, rather than

being seen as a media channel in its own right. When we last wrote about the PSP most subscribers said, ‘What, never heard of it’. Loosemore on his blog wrote about his new position, ‘I'll be leading

its thinking on the strategic and policy issues raised by the converging digital media environment. In essence, the PSP concept is for a public institution to be charged with delivering public value solely

via interactive media, rather than via broadcast’.

We used the Espresso C4 deal as an example and wrote that PSP could also be a kitemark for public broadcast content irrespective of delivery channel and that one of the key themes was likely to be

user-generated content.

While the BBC has so far not been over-enthusiastic about the PSP, it is likely that it will be involved. How convenient that the person Loosemore will be liaising with is his old boss Ashley Highfield, the

BBC’s Director of Future Media and Technology.

www.bbc.co.uk
www.ofcom.org.uk