The BBC has sought to address the discussion over whether it is still committed to digital.

In a direct response to the column by Forrester’s Nick Thomas on whether the BBC still believes in digital, Kerstin Mogull, says the simple answer is “yes.”

On the BBC Internet blog, Mogull, Chief Operating Officer for BBC Future Media & Technology, says:

The proposals (PDF) announced this week are about providing clear focus in key priority areas to provide greater long term value to audiences and a more open approach to a wider online market. Doing fewer things to an even higher standard. BBC Online is very much part of the BBC’s future and we remain absolutely committed to the web as a third platform alongside TV and Radio.

He points to a round up on what is happening in the BBC’s digital future published by Silicon.com.

Malcolm Coles at Econsultancy also dissects the review to analyse what it means for the BBC’s web operations.

There is little doubt that the web, (and other digital platforms), are central to the BBC.  And there are indications in the review that the BBC recognises that the Internet is not simply another distribution channel.

Towards the end of the document, the BBC acknowledges the participatory and interactive nature of the Internet could change the public’s relationship with the corporation:

These characteristics of digital public space are transforming the BBC’s relationship with audiences. Some of the unspoken truths on which the BBC has often operated—that professionals know best; that control is always the way to ensure quality; that audience contributions are valuable but must be crafted or editorialised to be of most value; that the audience must only be given the finished product; that professionals will create more content than the audience—are being contested and overturned. To fit itself for the future, therefore, the BBC must demonstrate a willingness and an ability to engage in an open discussion about itself, its values and its operations.

I looked at these issues in a recently published study on the impact of blogging on accountability at the BBC. I concluded that:

During the period covered by this research, blogging was recognised by the BBC as a new media technology that encourages participation with the potential to foster a closer and more personal relationship with the audience than possible in broadcast. However, there are limits on how far the BBC has incorporated the participatory nature of blogs within its institutional structures. This research indicates that the corporation has yet to fully embrace blogs as a platform for a conversation with the audience, suggesting it is still heavily influenced by its broadcast culture and has adopted blogs as a publishing, rather than participatory, platform.  Despite a rhetoric of accountability, editors and executives tend to consider blogs as a way to explain and justify decisions, rather than to engage in a discussion.

The BBC is not unusual in its struggle to adapt to a new media environment. This is an issue for most established media organisations. But it is positive to see the BBC acknowledging its limitations in the review and committing itself to greater transparency.