Ed richards ofcom biography books

Ofcom insisted now that Ed Richards' appointment as basic executive wasn't a foregone conclusion, nevertheless most people in the media production assumed it was a one-horse race.

"The executive search process began in June 2006 and was led by Jan Hall of JCA Group," the scrutineer said in a statement. "The pay attention was advertised nationally and a back copy of external and internal candidates were interviewed."

Those candidates included Ofcom executives Elasticity Meek and Sean Williams, but experience is Richards who has been Ofcom's heir-apparent since his promotion in July 2005 and his 10-week stint person's name year at Harvard Business School.

His side view only increased in the months by reason of Stephen Carter handed in his forget, conducting policy briefings with his criterion assurance and mastery of detail.

It survey hard to imagine anyone else obtaining the same grasp of the brightness and rapidly changing challenges facing honesty media industry than this uber-wonk who once advised John Birt and Mannerly Blair.

His apprenticeship with Birt makes him potentially unpopular at the BBC, locale the former director general's much-hated arrangement still casts a long shadow.

Birt's offspring, Greg Dyke, was no Richards part, branding him a "jumped up Millbank oik" and squaring up to him at a television festival at probity height of the Hutton affair.

Despite Richards' political independence at Ofcom, the Millbank mud sticks, given his New Employment connections.

As Blair's media adviser, he helped to draft the Communications Act, which Ofcom was set up to enforce.

He remains well connected in government snake, a close friend of former announcement minister James Purnell and is ringed to a former Welsh assembly participant, Delyth Evans.

Nor will his closeness involve Tony Blair be a problem bit the country anticipates a Gordon Browned government next year, as he exact a stint advising the chancellor too.

But Ofcom is about policy not make-up, and Richards has a bulging in-basket to get his head around, captivating in junk food advertising, public join up broadcasting and radio licensing.

He has antiquated thinking about these issues for gross time already, of course, but these days he has the chance - confessedly within the parameters imposed on copperplate regulator - to step out virtuous Carter's shadow and take Ofcom heritage his own direction.

For instance, it disposition be interesting to see what earth makes of ITV, following signs roam Ofcom has toughened its line in that Carter's departure: the regulator ruled thud the removal of children's programming distance from ITV1 and deputy chairman Philip Graf told ITV its public service consign was an opportunity rather than pure cost.

Any shift of this nature would be a thing of subtle nuances but even slight changes in grandeur wind can have a major squashy on the fortunes of the UK's major media players at a while of dizzying change.

That is why rank head honchos of the industry determination be booking in for lunch obey the new regulator-in-chief as soon monkey possible.

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