Folks, I thought the most interesting part of the day was a mini-debate or discussion concerning Ofcom’s Public Service Publisher, or PSP. It was pretty funny — Anthony Lilley and Tom Loosemore were on the panel defending the concept of a PSP. Both were defensive, telling the audience that thinking of a PSP was not about designing an institution at this stage. I recall Lilley said something to the effect of — ‘I’m not sitting around thinking of what types of chairs the publisher will have’. Instead, both supporters of the idea talked up how broadcasters don’t quite get it and how there was a need to coordinate the large amounts of money being spent in public value digital content. Stuff like that. At one point one of the pair remarked that Ofcom was throwing a stone into the water — getting a debate started.

Not a good analogy — stones make a brief ripple, then sink to the bottom.

Anyway, here is some free guidance to Ofcom on the PSP issue. If you want to convince a crank sceptic like me that it is a good idea:

– We were essentially told that MPs (particularly those that wrote the report) don’t seem to get it. That’s rich, especially considering Ofcom’s 2006 survey of MPs revealed that 60 percent of MPs think that Ofcom’s communications with stakeholders like MPs are ineffective.

– Why doesn’t Ofcom work on its own website and make it a best-in-class model before it tells the rest of the policy community it knows about how to foster high-quality digital content for the new media age?

Have a laugh — type ‘PSP’ into Ofcom’s search engine — it just returns a jumble of stuff.

– The audience was repeatedly told what the PSP is not. Well, what is it? Nobody seems to be able to put flesh on those bones — it’s approaching 3.5 years since the idea was first announced. I recall some silly exercise when Ofcom held a mock tender for it. But the ‘it’ seems to have changed. None of this is helping Ofcom’s credibility.

Ofcom found time for a mock PSP tender, but has unreasonably delayed the Sky Picnic application for months.

– I suppose I don’t get the PSP either. I think it’s pointless. Could I be convinced otherwise? Sure — I’m open-minded — if the benefits of a new project outweigh the costs, what reasonable person can oppose it? But the burden is on Ofcom. After more than 3 years it has essentially producing nothing other than mild scorn for people like me who fail to embrace the idea.

It’s time for Ofcom to either abandon this idea, or get working and really communicate with stakeholders.