Lord Currie has started to organise the government’s new media and communication regulator OfCom, a move which involves merging the five existing regulators: the Independent Television Commission, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Radio Authority, the Radiocommunications Agency and telecoms watchdog Oftel. There is no word on senior staff at the new agency, though its board is more or less in place.
Dominic Morris, head of policy at the ITC, has been asked to take up a similar position at Ofcom, while Eve Salomon, currently legal adviser to the Radio Authority, will be secretary to the board.
The board itself will include current Radio Authority chairman Richard Hooper, former New Statesman and Independent editor Ian Hargreaves, former Channel 4 News editor Sara Nathan, former BT director Urmila Banerjee and Oftel director general David Edmonds. The post post of Chief Executive will be advertised next week – favourite for the job is ITC chief executive, Patricia Hodgson.