As part of its examination of management of the television companies, the Board has considered whether special powers should be created in the Television Ordinance to prevent persons previously convicted of corruption offences from being appointed to top managerial posts in commercial television companies, bearing in mind legal advice that restrictions in the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance concerning the employment of such persons cannot be applied. The Board has concluded that, having regard to the Authority's wide powers of control over ari programme content etc, the matter be best left to the
discretion and good sense of the board of directors con- cerned. However, since television is a communications medium of great public influence, the Government considers that every possible care should be taken to ensure that the people who control the franchised companies are of good Jakmily character and high standing in the community. For this
Polen breason, it is thought inappropriate that the appointment
to managerial or directorate positions of persons previously convicted not only of corruption but of any serious criminal offence should be left to the licensees' discretion. Legal advice on this question has been sought and the Crown Solicitor has recommended an amendment to section 10 of the Ordinance (which deals with the competence of applicants in for licences and conditions with which they must comply) to
the effect that no person previously convicted of a serious offence resulting in a sentence of imprisonment may, without the approval of the Governor în Council, be appointed to a managerial position in a television company or to such other position as would enable him to exercise control of the company.
Licensing of a Third Television Station
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On 22nd May 1979, after consideration of memorandum XCC(79) 48 on the revocation of the licence of Commercial Television Limited (CTV) the Council advised and the Governor ordered, inter-alia, that the Com- missioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing be invited to give his views on the question of a new third licence when the terms and conditions of the renewal of the licences for the two existing stations were reviewed. The Commissioner's advice given in the memorandum referred to above was that while the closure of CTV had moderated the acute competitive and financial pressures in the television industry, there was still a marked and undesirable imbalance in the financial positions of the two remaining stations. RTV in particular was financially very vulnerable. The Commissioner considered that, in such circumstances, the introduction
CONFIDENTIAL