Boing Boing reports with great enthusiasm on a Public Service Publisher (PSP), modelled on the BBC, but for digital content (online and for digital TV).

As it stands, I am not convinced that this is such a good idea. The main question is - how will it be funded? Broadcasting is funded by TV licences - the funding is ring-fenced and directly linked to the medium itself - only those with a TV finance the broadcasting. It would be impossible to levy any sort of similar internet or web browser tax to fund the PSP, so the funding would have to come directly from central funds - this then raises all sorts of hairy questions on long-term prospects (what if a future government needs to save a few million quid?) and on any editorial independence.

A single public service site would also overshadow the plurality and diversity of sites that provide public service (the BBC is not the only one out there). And the idea of being merely a ‘publisher’ may constrict them to simple content delivery, rather than more sophisticated tools and applications (TheyWorkForYou, linked up to a digital TV interface so you could use the red button to check up on the facts while watching the news or BBC Parliament, say, would be cool).

But, ‘public service publishing’ as an idea is nice. It needs to be bashed around a bit, though. A more autonomous organisation, with guarantees and a Royal Charter of its own, and maybe a backseat role - rather than there being a single PSP brand that swallows upall before it, PSP just acts as an enabler for individual publishers to make themselves known to the world.

Still thinking this over, thoughts welcome.