I was just writing a section of my PhD thesis about the tensions (if any) between expert decision-making and decision-making that is more public-driven. Ofcom do a bit of both. Some consultations, for example, those dealing with technical issues like radio spectrum, are more expert. Others, such as the funding of quality television…well… everyone has an opinion.

Which brings me to this funny entry on the Ofcom PSB Review blog:

‘Yiannis drew the short straw. Everyone in the team read some of the 270 phase 1 consultation responses. Some read many dozen. Rhona read piled up 13,000 postcards

But only Yiannis read all of the 5,000+ pages of sometimes dense prose, before producing a pithy 20 page summary (pdf) for the benefit of us mere mortals.’

***

So, if you submitted a consultation response, I hope you impressed Yiannis! I clearly didn’t… I submitted individual comments under a nom de plume* and they went unmentioned. So, unless someone on the Ofcom board really scours through the responses, my little point of view will never see the light of day.

I don’t know who I feel worse for: (i) the person who wrote Ofcom with views on ITV thinking the Ofcom board might actually notice or (ii) Yiannis, who had to read it!

*Someone asked me if this was legal. I have no idea, but if some group can call itself the Voice of the Listener and Viewer, then I feel comfortable using a pen name.